tastebuds: product development
DESCRIPTION
Presentation and functioning MVP for a product development competition that won $3,500 as the highest placing undergraduate team out of 30 (2nd place).TRANSCRIPT
Presented By: Nithin Jilla & Derek Wong
Food for any Mood.
Food for any mood.
Butterworth Competition 2013 May 17, 2013
Opportunity:
Choosing where and what to eat can be especially difficult because of…
Problem:
The love for food is shared by virtually every person on the planet. But the desire to explore culinary creations is hindered by certain constraints.
Information Overload
Decision-Making Dilemmas
Cluttered Competing
Apps
We’ve created a simple mobile app that recommends restaurants to people based on their personal preferences.
Our app learns what types of restaurants a user enjoys based on the time of day, their mood, or a specific activity.
Our Solution
The problem of deciding where and what to eat is a problem of the past.
Solution: TasteBuds
Dynamic Contexts Our app provides a dynamic experience
that adapts to the time of day or any special events and holidays. Food for any
occasion!
Mood & Activity Discover new restaurants to fit your
mood or activity. Whether you're looking for an Energy Boost or Midnight Munchies, we got you covered!
Sponsored Contexts Get access to special deals, coupons, and
promotions offered by brands and restaurants. Perfect for the savvy eater!
Solution: TasteBuds
Food by Mood Our app learns what types of restaurants
you like to dine at when you’re feeling happy or under the weather.
Solution: TasteBuds
Filter by Distance Walking to lunch? Picking up a friend for dinner? Our app finds restaurants that
match your logistical needs.
Filter by Price Point Our app will recommend the right
restaurants that match your budget each time you’re feeling hungry. Keep your
stomach and wallet full!
Food by Mood Our app learns what types of restaurants
you like to dine at when you’re feeling happy or under the weather.
Solution: TasteBuds
Personalized Recommendations Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized preferences for better recommendations.
Gamification Features We’ve integrated rich game elements to make our user experience immersive and
rewarding. Users will be able to unlock achievements and special deals!
Personalized Recommendations Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized preferences for better recommendations.
Solution: TasteBuds
Personalized Recommendations Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized preferences for better recommendations.
Gamification Features We’ve integrated rich game elements to make our user experience immersive and
rewarding. Users will be able to unlock achievements and special deals!
Taste Quizzes to Train Application Our app is all about improvement. Take
quick & fun quizzes to improve the efficacy of our restaurant recommendation engine
Solution: TasteBuds
Pages of Contexts More contexts mean great variety and a
deeper user experience. Our app is designed for continued usage.
Social Media Integration Food is social! Check into favorite social
media sites. Find friends that have similar preferences and grab food together.
“Freemium” Features Unlockable achievements. Special deals and discounts. Built-in loyalty card. The
opportunities are endless!
Future Features
Food Tagging & Social Feed Users can tag food individual dishes,
flavors, and ingredients. Users can browse through a feed that displays dishes their
friends have eaten to try them later!
The Food Genome Project We want to create the world’s first
curated archive of all the food in the world. It starts with this app!
Solution: TasteBuds
Meet the Multicultural Millennial
Demographics: + Ages 18-34 + Tend to be of minority descent + Urban/sub-urban environments + College-educated + Moderate-high levels of income
Psychographics: + 42% eat out once a month at fine dining restaurant + 43% agree that coupons influence food purchases + 32% are overwhelmed by daily decision-making
Technology Usage: + Highest Smartphone usage rate at 69%, + Use multiple devices for sharing content + Heavy consumers of digital media
State of the Game: Competitive Analysis
No app provides personalized restaurant recommendations or experience.
No distinct market leader (outside of Yelp)
Competing apps provide service offerings are that are too broad and cater to the general public.
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive
Cluttered & Fragmented
Lack of Specialization
Advanced User Profiles
Personalized Restaurant Recs.
Dynamic Contexts
Gamification Elements
Business Model:
Mobile Advertising is a Growing Market Opportunity
Business Model:
Mobile Advertising is a Growing Market Opportunity
Hyper-targeted ad platform for restaurants
Customizable Sponsored Contexts
We have incredible insights regarding our users’ eating habits, allowing our ads to
reach the right users.
Special Coupons & Deals: Restaurants can promote
their discounts with our app to attract more clientele
Receptive Target Audience TasteBuds users are the most ideal advertising
audience- hungry and intent on making a purchase.
Flexible Advertising Model: Allows restaurants to
capitalize upon seasonal events & holidays (e.g. Pizza Hut “Super Bowl Special”)
Highly Receptive to Mobile Ads
Most receptive demographic and 33% desire content from personally-relevant
companies like local restaurants.
Business Model:
Multiple Sources of Recurring Revenue
TIER 1 Advertising Revenue: Sponsored Contexts
from Local Restaurants. Expand
to franchises and chains.
Negotiated Terms: 24-hour Dynamic
Contexts mean more advertising
opportunities; (PPC, CPM, Revenue Share)
TIER 2 Subscription
Revenue: Premium Users (Pay
for special discounts & features)
Monthly Subscription: Users pay $5/month
TIER 3 Customer Insights &
Data: Sell Data to Academic
Institutions & Companies
Monthly Database Access:
Companies would pay a nominal fee to
access our curated database
Business Model:
The Story So Far: Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0 Working Mobile App
TasteBuds Website Working Info Page
The Story So Far: Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0 Working Mobile App
UC Irvine TasteBuds Survey: 83 Responses
92% Expressed Strong Interest
80% Use Mobile Apps to Find Food
79.7% Price is Important
70.2% Proximity is Important
Customer Validation Primary Research
The Story So Far: Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0 Working Mobile App
TasteBuds Website Working Info Page
Mr. Walid Antonios Mr. Dennis Paiva Mr. Daniel Esquerra
Mr. Dale Schall Mr. Kevin Boylan & Keith Treiman
The Story So Far: Current Accomplishments
Milestones:
June 2013
September 2013
TasteBuds 2.0 + Social Media Sharing + Expanded Contexts + Immersive Gamification Features
TasteBuds 3.0 + Food Tagging & Social Feed + Premium Paid User Content + Start Phase 1: Food Genome Project
February 2014
Request for Financing:
Operations: + 2 iOS Developers + Curators for Restaurant Tagging + Prepare for On-Campus Marketing Efforts starting in Sept.
Metrics: + 500 downloads on iOS + Secure 10 Restaurants + Develop Android App
Operations: + 5 Interns for Curating Content + Acquire Sales force for Outreach + Plan expansion to campuses including UCLA, USC & UCSD
Metrics: + 1,000 downloads on iOS + Secure 50 Restaurants + 20 Premium Users
$2,500 $5,000
June 2013
September 2013
TasteBuds 2.0 + Social Media Sharing + Expanded Contexts + Immersive Gamification Features
TasteBuds 3.0 + Food Tagging & Social Feed + Premium Paid User Content + Start Phase 1: Food Genome Project
February 2014
Our Team:
Derek Wong: Strategy & Marketing
+ Delta Sigma Pi: Western Province COY
+ 2012 Paul Merage Business Plan: First Place
+ CampusCred: UC Irvine Campus Director
Nithin Jilla: Tech & Development
+ Kenya Dream: President & Founder
+ ICS Student Council: VP of External Affairs
+ UCI Startup Weekend: Co-Coordinator
Candace Wu: Product Analyst
Norman Tran UX/UI Specialist &
Designer
Bryan Cuevas Front-End & Backend
Developer
Michael Thomas Back-End Database
Developer
Presented By: Nithin Jilla & Derek Wong
Thank you for your time. Questions?
Food for any mood.
Butterworth Competition 2013 May 17, 2013