The US throws away 30-40% of its food supply, with the most significant source of food waste coming from households.

Sadly, 80% of people throw out perfectly good food because they misjudge when/if it goes bad. People want to reduce their household food waste, especially when it comes to hyper-perishables. These foods don’t come with storage instructions and typically go bad before expected.

The user base for this project consists of people in the 25-64 age range whom store and prepare food at home. The main areas of focus were use & preperation, the ability to monitor, and sustainability. Wasteless needed to be easily understadable and seamlessly integrate into daily life.

TARGET & CHALLENGE

Miro, Otter.ai, Figma, inVision, Zoom, Google Forms, VS Code, Adobe Illustrator, Usabilityhub.com

TOOLS USED

Concept to Presentation: Completed in 2 week sprint.

TIME FRAME

5 Person Team

TEAM

By leveraging existing knowledge for reducing food waste to power a mobile app that makes it easy to properly store, monitor food usage, and waste by connecting it with tech-enabled containers users are guided to form new habbits through positive nudges to take action. Each user flow allows for the possibility to learn more.

PROBLEM SOLVED

TASK #1

Activate storage container by scanning QR code and entering food item

Screenshots of a mobile app interface for managing mushroom containers, including QR code scanning, adding items with text input, and tracking mushroom status and freshness.

TASK #2

Check freshness status of food item by viewing the food’s container page

Smartphone screen showing a food tracking app with a greeting, a dashboard, and a list of food containers with images, names, and freshness timers, including strawberries, arugula, and baby bella mushrooms.

Mobile screens displaying an app interface for tracking food waste impact, showing total items stored, consumed, and wasted, with a line graph and tips on using spinach effectively.

TASK #3

Respond to notification and follow prompts to avoid food waste

Three smartphones displaying mobile apps related to food storage and preparation, including notifications about expiring strawberries, instructions on how to freeze berries, and making strawberry jam.

The UX study, product design, and a Hi-fi prototype were released in the incredibly short time span of just 18 days. Thanks to the general user base, we were able to validate the UX flows in two release cycles. Built to validate a customer idea, the prototype is currently helping to develop the product prototype.

OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS