1. Proposed Idea iOS Leftover Ingredients. Barcode Reader Tip’s
Social Media
An iOS app that recommends other recipes based on the leftover ingredients used.
Barcodes reader can be used to scan items and set reminders for when they should be used by.
Users will also get tips on how to use or store products in order to be as efficient as possible with their food.
Users can sign up or sign in with their social media accounts.

2. Did you know…
There are two main reasons why we throw away good food: we cook or prepare too much or we don't use it in time.
I chose to focus on household food waste as it shows that is where half of the food waste in the UK comes from. There are two main reasons why we throw away good food: we cook or prepare too much or we don't use it in time.
What product do you think we throw away most?
"The Facts About Food Waste". Lovefoodhatewaste.com. N.p., Web. 4 Nov

3. Everyday in the UK we throw away…
Whole slice bread lead 5 times more.
Source: ONS
Everyday in the UK we throw away…

4. Young, Independent or Confused
As part of my marketing research I had to define who the target audience will be for. So the Young, Independent or Confused.

5. Most common student meals
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Jacket potato with a filling
Frozen pizza
Stir-Fry
Beans on toast
Pasta and pesto
Bacon sandwich
Curry
Microwave ready meal
Tuna pasta bake
By young I am referring to those from This is a list of the most common student meals. This and along with my survey has shown the the relationship between food and students to be quick and easy to make. It suggests that students are just not confident enough, whether it’s to cook or whether it’s worth spending the money on something they might not eat in time.
SWN.com

6. Expiry Dates
Independent. Some of us that have just left home or are living alone for the first time might not really get the hang of expiry dates and what the different terms can mean.

7. Best Before 45% Sold By Consume By Use By
Finally, confused. In my survey of people and their relationship with food, I asked them about their understanding of “Best Before Date”, the result showed that nearly half of the people that took the survey didn’t know the meaning behind it and thought that the product had to be used by this date.

8. "Best before" dates are about quality, not safety
"Best before" dates are about quality, not safety. When the date is passed, it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.” - NHS
It’s basically another way the manufacturer saying that they can’t guarantee the quality.

9. “To Help You Waste Less & Save More”
When thinking of a solution I found a lot of recipe books, websites and apps are a great way to find ideas and inspiration to cook. But they often encourage you to buy more and eventually waste more mainly as it doesn’t know what you have in your fridge and cupboards or the fact it only asks you to use a certain amount of the product so the rest gets forgotten somewhere.
“To Help You Waste Less & Save More”

10. Barcode
The first solution from the app, it’s going to allow the users to use their cameras on their iPhone’s to scan the barcode of their product. The user may also enter it manually if needed. Let’s say you took half a loaf of bread from the packet and put in the freezer for later.
Photo

11. Reminder & Recommendations
They can then choose the date in which to be reminded about the expiry of the product or ask the app on for recommendations of what to do with the product. The app will be responsible for determining the quantity of the product you scanned or entered manually and recommend recipes of what you can do with it. The example above shows a lemon sorbet and lemon cheesecake, however the cheesecake will only be possible if the user has entered sugar, cream cheese, digestive biscuits needed to make a cheesecake into the app beforehand. The same goes for the sorbet.

12. Tip’s
It will also give you tip’s such as how to check quality, preserve, use ingredients more efficiently as well as how to cook for just 1! As we saw spaghetti bolognaise are quite common amongst students. But how many times have you made too much or too little spaghetti? With me I have a spaghetti spatula. If you have one of these in your cupboard somewhere and never knew the purpose of the hole other than drain water, then I’m about to change your life. If you just slot the spaghetti through the hole, you’ll actually find that it is the recommended portion for one. If you haven’t got one of these then a simple water bottle will do. It is little tip’s like these that I believe will help users become more efficient in the way they deal with food so that there is a very minimum amount of waste left.

13. Artefact
These are my artefacts that I have tested and created.

14. Gantt Chart
This is a timeline of how I plan to use my time on specific areas of my project. I have given a lot of time for my development as I believe it will be the hardest challenge as well as it colliding with my dissertation at the start.

15. Must Won’t Capture barcode with camera.
Remind user on when product is about to expire.
Recipe’s based on leftover ingredients.
Must
This is my project scope and what I aim to achieve by the deadline. I want to make sure that it can capture the barcode, remind user and create recipe’s based on leftover ingredients.
Won’t
Revive expired products.
GPS tracking of product.

16. Summary It will help you save money!
The app is easy to register with and can use social media accounts to register.
The product can be easily stored using the barcode that it comes with or manually if needed.
Tip’s and recommendations on how to make the most of your food so there’s less waste.
The app is intended to be free.
It is going to save you money. Especially with the easy usability starting off with the social media to register and barcode to capture. Then the best part which is the tip’s and recommendations to help you waste less. Finally it is intended to be free. However my research also showed the interest of local markets and butchery who think it would be a good way to promote their business as local produce tend to last longer than supermarkets.

17. Creative Cost-Efficient Healthy
I want to finish off by saying that 8.4 million people struggle to put food on the table every day in the UK. And although we can’t always give them our leftovers, our demanding lifestyles have an influence on why it’s harder for them to put a meal on the table. As a student and a cook I hope this app will reflect my ambition to encourage the young and old regardless of their current knowledge in food to become more efficient in the way they deal with it. I want the experience with food to be creative, healthy and cost-efficient so that we are doing it not just because of guilt but because it is simply better for us.