Then we tested the idea by showing it to potential users of the application who were from the focus group we defined. The data collected during the registration process will be used to generate the list of products required for cooking according to the approved menu.
3 Research and development methodology
Lean startup approach
An important result of using the Lean startup method is to create, test and adjust - Minimum Viable Product. In the Lean startup system, an MVP's goal is to test a company's business hypotheses and accelerate the beginning of the learning process.
Service design methods
- Service design principles
Following Service design methodology and tools will help us analyze customer needs and wants and create the most effective way of interaction between business and end users, creating mutual value for customers and business. Also, one of the ideas of service design is to develop addictive products or services which definitely gain a significant competitive advantage because people get used to using them very frequently and it becomes a part of their daily life.
Data collection and analysis methods
The outcome will be an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) - which must also be tested and analyzed with end users according to the Lean startup principles by Eric Ries) and different business canvases of persona, value proposition, customer grouping, business context and others. The result of our development and research task will be the prototype (business model) of the.
4 Business plan
- Theoretical framework
- Marketing research and competitors analysis
- Promotion and Sales plan
- Business Model
- Break-even point
- Using a mobile application will be free of charge but to get the consultancy from the dietitian will cost 30 Euro, whereas the fixed costs (marketing, software) will be 300 Euro on average and,
- In this option added to all previous parameters we will have version PRO after one month and the cost of using the application will be 5 Euro monthly for every user. In this case, we can see
- Key metrics
When the application is ready, we are going to add the download link to the messages. WAU (Weekly Active Users) - the number of users who have opened the application at least once in the past seven days.
5 First research and analysis of the existing interviews and statistical data
Another finding of the Kesko group is that people are looking for easier solutions for their daily meals, but at the same time they prefer to cook at home and care about their health, balanced diet and food waste. We can see some behavior reversing post-pandemic, consumers in our survey said many of the changes will be lasting.
6 The first hypothesis for MVP
Target group and persona canvas
For the first hypothesis, we used the service persona canvas as a common service design tool. The persona canvas makes customers and their characteristics more tangible and concrete, and enables the creation of mental models and the sharing of a common language around the needs of potential customers.
First hypothesis canvas
7 Creating first prototype
- Theoretical background on building the prototype
- Building the prototype
- List of preliminary application functionalities
- Application flow-chart
- Application design prototype
Which will require the participation of the real dietitian only once during the construction of the chatbot conversation logic and then it can be reused. If users already know the native UI element, it will be easy for them to follow the steps as they will understand the application intuitively. We have created a list of preliminary features for the first version of the application based on Kesko's research and our own assumptions.
The list contains basic functions of the applications that are standard, such as login and registration, as well as specific functions of the application. Flow charts help design the logical flow of the applications and help check for logical errors in the workflow. After creating a list of preliminary features and a logic flowchart of the future application, we used mockitapp.com prototyping software to create our first prototype.
This will be beneficial in the phase of testing the application on users, it is much faster to create a prototype in Mockiapp and then add changes that will be needed after testing our prototype.
8 Interviews and testing the first prototype
Interviews
Analysis of the mobile application market
Mobile users spend 88% of their time on mobile apps and only 12% of their time on mobile websites. But even if users aren't actively using a mobile app, the app icon acts as a mini-advertisement for the brand and subconsciously influences users. We then analyzed mobile app usage globally to understand which ones are most in demand today.
According to Statista, paid downloads make up an average of 5% of the market, while the remaining 95% are free downloads. Advertisers are taking note of mobile apps' broad reach and deep engagement, with mobile ad spending on track to hit $350 billion in 2022 after surpassing $295 billion in 2021. But it's clear that the mobile app market is growing rapidly and is forecast to continue growing in the next couple of years.
But if we go back to Kesko's statistics and the data that 50% of the people searching are interested in developing their cooking skills, we can probably consider at least 100Td people as potential users of our app per year and if 10% and they will still stay and pay for the promotional version our guess from the business plan was pretty fair.
9 Second hypothesis for MVP
- Target group and persona canvas
- Creating the second prototype
- Application prototype changes
- Conclusion
The changes we need to make to our application template, which will add functionality with menus for the people who have special conditions, is to create an additional page with the possibility to select those special conditions or needs. For the first version of the application, for example, we can select a diabetes and lactose intolerance diet and then expand the list of the diets. There are resources that contain useful information about meal plans for people with this condition, for example www.diabetes.ca.
After making the necessary changes to our app to meet the requirements we gathered from the people we interviewed and the information we found, we have an app that focuses on special diets. The problem we've run into is that we can't use a dietitian consultation because we can't do blood tests. As this information is general, we may use a chatbot to advise users.
So for us, it will be a one-time payment to the specialist, and then we can use this data again.
10 Interviews and testing the second prototype
Interviews
11 The third hypothesis for MPV
- New business model
- New monetization options by using in-app advertising
- New financial model
- Third value proposition canvas and service blueprint canvas
- Customer journey and service blueprint canvas
We removed delivery services and supermarkets because, as we discussed earlier, it was difficult to realize them and organize the delivery service option in the early stages of the start-up. But then we need to find another way to monetize our app instead of consulting dietitians and we decided to consider an in-app ad for our business in a more detailed way. In the new business model, we don't have a separate dietician option, we focus more on the special needs of the people regarding their diet, and we also want to consider new ways of monetization, an in-app ad that will be elaborated more in the next subchapter.
App monetization strategies are still dominated by in-app advertising and generate most of the revenue for mobile applications. These display ads appear in different sizes and at the top or bottom of the app screen. Most of the time they are promoting a product or mobile app that is somehow related to the content and purpose of the promoting app.
And finally the most rewarding case revenue per install: we get paid for every install of the advertised app by the users of our app.
12 Application architecture
- Technologies used
- Application architecture
- Database structure for version 1.0
- Chatbot
- List of endpoints for version 1.0
It was great pre-built UI blocks and opportunity to link pages of the apps so the mockup would be clickable. For the first version of the application we are going with the simplified architecture of the database. In the user table we will store all the information related to the user, for example name, age and the list of allergies.
Then we will have a table with the recipes, which will contain all the necessary information for the recipe and there will also be a foreign key that connects to the table of special diets. A special diet table in the first version will contain a name and description of the diet. Then we have a user_recipes table of recipes that users have added as their favorites.
Unified interface - it simplifies the architecture of the application and makes it easier to see the interaction between resources.
13 Conclusion
The fastest way to create such an application is to use React and React's native JavaScript libraries for the front-end of the application, and to use the PHP programming language for the back-end. The best monetization method according to our research, calculations and assumptions we made would be a combination of a subscription (5 euros per month, which is very affordable for everyone) and different methods of advertising mobile applications, which are described in detail in the chapter New monetization options with the use of in-app advertising.
2011. The Lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. New York, NY: Crown.
Appendices
Break-even point. Option 1
Break-even point. Option 2
Application flowchart
Application design
After successful login or login, the user is redirected to the main page containing a list of recipes with images, customized using the information the application collected during the registration process. User account page will contain the link to the list of favorite user recipes, this page will use the same layout as the main page but will be filled with recipes that the user has selected. Weekly meal plan will be displayed as a table containing four meal types: breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
Users will be able to click on the recipe name and be redirected to the recipe details. Open the chat with a chatbot that will give general advice that will be customized using the information collected during the registration. After clicking the button to generate a shopping list, users will be redirected to this page.
On that page, users will be able to print the recipe or share it with someone.
Diet recommendations table
Break-even point
Interviews
I also decided to eat less meat and more vegetarian food since the new year, but I don't know much about vegetarian cooking. I think it will be good to have an app that will have tips and menus for these people. But it would be helpful to have access to a simple healthy meal planning app.
In fact, I wonder why such an app still doesn't exist, because it would be very useful.
