Gather: AI-Powered Grocery Coordination to Reduce Food Waste & Simplify Shared Shopping

ROLE

Research, UX, UI

Research,
UX, UI

Research, UX, UI

TOOLS

Figma

TIMELINE

Week-Long
Design Sprint

TEAM

Teresa Yip, Mariam Mohammad, Amanda Pinto

Solution

The Gather Mobile App

A comprehensive mobile application that is both a social networking platform & search engine that gives users access to authentic shopping/activity/dining locations in the country of their choice as well as incentivizes visiting more exclusive spots, with an emphasis on locally owned businesses, by generating a personal QR code with which they can earn points proportionate to the uniqueness of the location.

AI-Powered List Optimization

Notifies users when perishable items are close to expiring, helping reduce waste and encourage mindful consumption.

Smart Grocery List Merging

Automatically consolidates grocery lists from all roommates, preventing duplicate purchases and optimizing shared shopping.

Seamless Bill Splitting

Automatically divides grocery costs among roommates, eliminating confusion over expenses and simplifying payment tracking.

In-App Chat for Coordination

Built-in chat allows roommates to discuss grocery needs in real-time, ensuring better collaboration and decision-making.

Expiration Reminders

Notifies users when perishable items are close to expiring, helping reduce waste and encourage mindful consumption.

Multi-Vendor Ordering

Allows users to order groceries from multiple vendors in one transaction, ensuring the best prices and product availability.

Problem Space

Food Waste

Of the 931 million tonnes of food waste generated globally each year, 61% comes from households, driven by poor meal planning, confusion over expiration dates, and improper food storage.

On average, 31.9% of groceries are discarded, amounting to $240 billion in unnecessary expenses annually.

Methodology

Research

Understanding the Problem Space

Primary Research

Journey Mapping

Persona Creation

Define

Problem Statement

How Might We Strategy

Design

Paper Wireframing

High-Fidelity Design

User Testing

Iteration

UI Kit

Evaluation

Mentor Check-Ins

Reflections

Research

We conducted 9 interviews,

across members of different types of households.

STUDENT HOUSING

FAMILIES

SINGLE HOUSEHOLDS

COUPLES

Some common pain points we found included,

Multi-person households had trouble managing food inventory and shopping for people with different needs/dietary requirements/schedules.

In college group-living situations, students have trouble coordinating orders, payments and food inventory for maximum savings and minimized food waste.

Online shoppers found it difficult to ensure long expiry dates and quality of produce without being in store leading to items going bad quicker than expected.

Household members found it tough to keep stock of what was in the fridge to make sure to use certain things or remember to eat leftovers and avoid waste.

Going back into secondary research for a user group we found interesting - college students living in large groups,

80% of students express concern about food waste and sustainability but only 20% actively engage in food-saving behaviors such as meal planning

Students generally engage in frequent unplanned shopping trips - sometimes multiple times a day - further contributing to food waste.

Without coordinated grocery and meal planning, shoppers miss out on potential savings of up to 25% on grocery expenses and continue to create unnecessary food waste.

Define

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The tech product we create should,
1. Foster human interaction
2. Consolidate exclusive and valuable travel information from reliable sources
3. All information should come from well-intentioned individuals, online or directly from locals
4. All information must be supported by well-detailed, evidentiary resources and have a sense of familiarity

University students in shared housing generate substantial food waste due to poor meal planning, uncoordinated grocery shopping, and improper handling of leftovers.

Research highlights that 18- to 24-year-olds, particularly college students, often lack essential food management skills, resulting in missed opportunities to save money on groceries and reduce unnecessary waste.

HOW MIGHT WE QUESTION

The tech product we create should,
1. Foster human interaction
2. Consolidate exclusive and valuable travel information from reliable sources
3. All information should come from well-intentioned individuals, online or directly from locals
4. All information must be supported by well-detailed, evidentiary resources and have a sense of familiarity

How might we help students living in shared housing streamline grocery coordination in order to minimise food waste and save money?

PERSONA

Meet Ariel!

20 year old college student
Lives with 5 roommates off-campus
Tech savvy, uses ChatGPT regularly

Grocery Habits

Shops weekly with ad-hoc trips in between
Budget conscious, looks for deals
Shops groceries online through various platforms:

Common Problems

Struggles with meal planning and what to cook
What grocery items to buy for meals
Wasting food and money with staple items bought in bulk or are perishable (i.e. vegetables, speciality sauces, milk, bread)

Design

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION

The tech product we create should,
1. Foster human interaction
2. Consolidate exclusive and valuable travel information from reliable sources
3. All information should come from well-intentioned individuals, online or directly from locals
4. All information must be supported by well-detailed, evidentiary resources and have a sense of familiarity

Let's Connect.

Let's Connect.