Distinction, Mobile, 2012 Communicator Awards
This popular recipe app was created to help food brands get a deeper connection with consumers; and to help New Zealanders expand their repertoire of weeknight meals using local products. It has been an ongoing success.
Research revealed that Kiwis have between five and seven dishes they regularly cook for weeknight meals. The app store at the time was crammed with international recipe apps, but none that reflected New Zealand’s local market. In New Zealand searches on recipes from mobile devices were growing, which helped demonstrate that there was a desire from consumers to find new ideas.
The idea was born to create the only recipe app that celebrated local products and flavours. Adding a seasonal aspect to the app was part of the strategy to keep the app current, and get over the common scenario that apps are downloaded, used for a bit, then abandoned.
Acting as the UX Lead, Zef ran collaborative design workshops with target customers where they explored features such as shopping lists (that you can text or email to someone else) as well as social media sharing of what you’re cooking. These insights informed the design of paper prototypes which were tested on the target audience. A working prototype was then released to a limited audience and their behaviours tracked via analytics and user diaries.
The result was an app that immediately hit the mark with the target audience. The app reached number one in the app store within hours of release, knocking down Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Epicurious – and has reappeared there many times since. And engagement is high. Users are accessing the app an average of 13 times a month to decide what’s for dinner tonight, and the use of the app has not waned since it has been in the market.
Here’s what users have said:
“I love the app! Honestly one of the best recipe apps around!” Jane
“Yours is a great app and have used it many times. Love the seasonal updates. Keep up the great work!” Eunice
“Easy to use, fantastic with local ingredients. You can add NZ local products to your shopping list!” Richard
This popular recipe app was created to help food brands get a deeper connection with consumers; and to help New Zealanders expand their repertoire of week night meals using local products.
The Challenge
This popular recipe app was created to help food brands get a deeper connection with consumers; and to help New Zealanders expand their repertoire of week night meals using local products.
Research
Research revealed that kiwis have between 5 and 7 dishes they regularly cook for weeknight meals. The app store at the time was crammed with international recipe apps, but none that reflected our local market.
Searches on recipes in NZ from mobile devices (including within supermarkets) were growing which helped demonstrate that there was a desire from consumers to find new ideas.
The Idea
The idea was born to create the only recipe app that celebrated local products and flavours.
Adding a seasonal aspect to the app was part of the strategy to keep the app current, and get over the common scenario that apps are downloaded, used for a bit, then abandoned.
Features such as shopping lists (that you can text or email to someone else) as well as social media sharing of what you’re cooking were also designed to follow trends being displayed by consumers in other media.
The Results
The app reached number one in the app store within hours of release, and has reappeared there many times since.
Users are using the app 13 times a month to decide what’s for dinner tonight, and the use of the app has not waned over the almost two years it has been in the market.
Agency: Click Suite
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