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What is the ideal shopping app for cooks? – survey results | Shop'NCook
What is the ideal shopping app for cooks? - survey results
  • 25
    Sep

What is the ideal shopping app for cooks? – survey results

Over one year ago, when I started working on my new mobile cooking application, I sent a survey asking people what they want of a cooking app. I imagined a (common) scenario where you are in the supermarket and decide to modify your meal plan – either because a key ingredient is not available or because you decide to make something else in function of what you find in the store. How do you make sure you get the right ingredients?

I received hundreds of detailed replies with fantastic ideas. It took me at the time two days to go over and compile them.

Here is below a short summary of the results of the survey.

The survey contained only two questions:

  1. On which device(s) the mobile app should run
  2. What are the two most important things that a mobile cooking application should be able to do?


1. On which device(s) the mobile app should run
The main devices mentioned were principally:

  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Android phone
  • Android tablet
  • Blackberry phone
  • Windows phone 7
  • iPod touch

and a number of other types of phones.

I have grouped below under “iOS” the devices running iOS, that is iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and under “Android” the Android phone and tablets.

There were 63% of people wanting an app for iOS only, 13% for Android only, and 14% for both iOS and Android.

About 10% didn’t have either access to iOS or Android.

On which devices should a mobile cooking app run?

2. What are the two most important things that a mobile cooking application should be able to do?

Many mentioned they wanted an app that can both organize recipes and make shopping lists, a smaller number wanted also meal planning and inventory.

What cooks want of a mobile app?

There were too many feature requests to list them all here – including a request for an app that reaches the top shelves and carries the bags (!)…

Here is a summary of the main requests:

Recipe manager features of the perfect cooking app

For the recipes, the feature that most of the respondents wanted is to be able to access their own recipes on their phone. Many wanted also a good recipe search, in particular the possibility to search recipes by ingredients.

Other things that people wanted:

  • scale recipes to adjust the number of servings
  • adding a recipe should be as easy as in Shop’NCook software
  • share recipes with friends
  • nutritional analysis
  • costing of the recipes

Features of a perfect shopping app for cooks

The shopping list features most asked for were the import of shopping lists from Shop’NCook software, but also to make shopping lists from recipes directly in the app, as well as adjusting and removing recipes from the shopping list as needed.

Besides these, the most requested features for the shopping list were

  • checking off purchased items – and that checked items move out of the way
  • the shopping list should be sorted along the aisles of the supermarket, and the app should also allow for several stores
  • it should be possible to add individual items to the shopping list, not just ingredients from recipes

The use case most often mentioned was to be able to browse your recipes while shopping, find rapidly recipes with ingredients you want to purchase and add them to the shopping list on the fly.

That’s it for the survey results.

If you didn’t have the chance to take the survey at the time or have more suggestions or requests, please write them in the comments below. Even if it is too late for the coming release (I will write more about it soon), I will take all your comments into account when planning for the next update.

To receive more information on the coming app, please subscribe below:

17 Comments

  1. Gus says:

    I’ve been testing the app and I love it. It has everything I need. Prior to using the beta version of this solution, I tried other apps without satisfaction. I can’t wait for it to be GA.

  2. Please add a place to upload a picture.

  3. J R Palmer says:

    Provide the functionality “Now Your Cooking”. The is available on PC’s.

  4. dan bartholomew says:

    Hi Mathilde,

    I’m still loving shop n’ cook pro! When will your iOS version be released?

    Thanks

    dan

    • Mathilde says:

      Hi Dan,
      I am glad you are still enjoying Shop’NCook Pro!
      The release date depends on Apple. They need to approve the app before publishing it. Their review process can take anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks – or even months if they reject it first – and I have just sent it for submission.
      Since they have just released iOS 6, I am expecting that a lot of apps are being updated now and it may take longer than usual…

  5. Gilles Langlois says:

    What about a french version.

  6. Kathleen Larson says:

    Great news! I’m looking forward to the new app! Thank you for all your hard work. :-)

  7. 1. Definitely be on Android and IOS. Most of the market uses an Android device. An ingredients list as part of a recipe is the same as a shopping list.
    As a general note, the organic and all natural movement is exploding and going to be an important part of food choices for many. Maybe consider healthy alternatives for ingredients to limit sugar, white flour and all processed foods.

  8. Day says:

    Maybe if at home we gave a list of ingredients we had to the
    Software, and it could give a recipe that would have those items
    And you did not have to go to the store or waist any food
    you had maybe left over ?

    • Mathilde says:

      Hi Day,
      The app can sort the recipe according to the number of ingredients you have to purchase, taking into account what you have in your pantry, so you can see which recipes you can cook without purchasing any additional ingredient.

  9. Murat Kunt says:

    Congratulations Mathilde,
    You have designed a great software. I enjoy using it.
    Just in case, if your App can tell what recipes we can use on the basis of what we have at home (Day’s comment), I think it will be the greatest.
    All the best
    Murat

    • Mathilde says:

      Thanks Murat!
      The app can already do that: it can sort the recipes in function of the number of ingredients you need to purchase, taking into account what you have in your pantry.
      The recipes with no ingredient to purchase are the one you can do with what you have at home…

  10. Dan Bartholomew says:

    Hi Mathilde,

    One of the things I am looking for is more on the creative side. I always shop with a list, but there are times when in a shop you see an awesome leg of lamb, or salmon filet, or, or, or. . . . I even know I have a fabulous recipe or more that would be the bomb, but without access to my recipe database, I am flying blind in the ingredients. Sometimes I hit it, sometimes not. Would this mobile application help?

    Thanks

    Dan

    • Mathilde says:

      Hi Dan,
      With iShopNCook, you can take all your collection of recipes with you.
      Not just the recipes you have in Shop’NCook software – you can actually easily add the recipes from any cookbooks, newspaper clip, etc. too just by taking pictures of them… (the text is analyzed on my server and sent back to your phone, as if you had typed it in)
      Then you can rapidly find the perfect recipe for the leg of lamb or salmon filet…