Day 2 Interview
Introduction
My interviews this time coincidentally focused on meal prep. What are the benefits, what are the drawbacks, and why people do it. As Cocina’s benefit is that customers can meal prep while having fun it is important to understand if meal prep can be improved from what is being done right now.
Exec Summary:
- Meal prep is done as a necessity of convenience
- People pay more for meals if it includes a good social experience
- Cocina’s main appeal is still the experience, but with meal prep as a “bonus”
Brian Maas
Key Insights:
- Meal prep is a big part of routine to save time
- Eating out fulfills social needs
- With regards to Cocina, the time he saves needs to justify the price he will pay otherwise it is just a once in a while experience
Demographics/Behaviors:
- 30
- Male
- Married
- Pharmacist
- Hobbies include soccer, gym, beer, reading, programming
Brian’s main eating habit includes cooking at home with his wife which will be 5 dinners out of the week, eating lunch from his office’s cafeteria, and eating out for remaining meals. Brian’s primary motivator to cooking at home is health, followed by cost. For cooking at home, he practices meal prep, cooking many meals in one batch. If he was to cook everyday he wouldn’t be able to do it. Brian likes the actual cooking, but not anything before that such as groceries. To him, cooking is relaxing and therapeutic, and he wishes he was a better cook. If his meals tasted better he would cook more often.
For eating out, the primary motivator is the social aspect, followed by variety. Lack of effort and convenience of eating out rank lower. Getting dressed, going to the restaurant, and coming back is sometimes more effort and time than cooking at home. Brian buys lunch at work often as a means of convenience, and the fact that the food is pretty good for the price he pays.
As for the idea of Cocina, it would be prohibitive for him to be a regular customer if it didn’t work for his schedule, if it took too long or cost too much. He would try it for the experience and to socialize. If the price was worth the time he saves he would consider adding this to his dining decision process.
Krishna Patel
Key Insights:
- Convenience is important motivator for meal prepping
- $10 a meal requires a better experience than what Blue Apron offers
- Cocina is a way to kill two birds with one stone (socialize and do a chore)
Demographics/Behaviors:
- 28
- Female
- Pharmacist
- Married
- Hobbies include TV, reading, outdoor adventures, exploration, solo exercise, lifting
Krishna cooks at home often (4–5 days out of the week). Primary motivator for cooking at home is cost effectiveness, lack of guilt (eating healthy), and health. When cooking she practices meal prep where she cooks with her husband once or twice a week, but with enough meals to last a few days. However, some aspects of cooking she doesn’t enjoy include repetitive ingredients/recipes, the effort of thinking of/trying new recipes, going to the grocery store, and cleaning. Sometimes the thought of cleaning demotivates her from cooking. Krishna eats out a few days week, mostly on the weekend, as a way to treat herself for being disciplined with cooking and eating healthy. Primary motivators when deciding to eat homecooked meals versus eat out are health, cost, and convenience. Overall, she is satisfied with her behaviors especially with meal prepping as during the work week she doesn’t have to think about what or where she’s going to eat every day. She has never tried Blue Apron and would not try soon due to the fact that $10 per meal is so expensive she would rather go out to eat and pay for an experience.
She would definitely use and pay for Cocina right now as a way to “kill two birds with one stone because you’re socializing while getting a chore done.” However, she would be cautious if the price was too high.
Callie Wilkinson
Key Insights:
- Groceries and risk of ingredient spoilage can be a demotivator of cooking
- Blue Apron meal prices do not justify the deliciousness of the meals
- Perceived stigma of meal prep (and therefore Cocina) is that it is done on a Sunday
Demographics/Behaviors:
- 25
- Female
- Unmarried
- Student
- Hobbies include reading, traveling, exploring new recipes
Callie is trying to be better at cooking, but finds it challenging. It is hard to make single serve meals, and making multiple meals of the same recipe gets boring to eat quickly. She does cook because she wants to go through the groceries before it goes back, followed by the health reasons. Further, because of going through groceries she feels buying all of the ingredients knowing she may not go through all of them during the week is a disincentive to buy any ingredients and cook. While she does like to try new recipes which will motivate her to go grocery shopping, everything thereafter feels like a chore, and she feels as if she would still waste food. She would try more recipes and cook more if she lived with her partner and could share the experience (feel social). When she goes out the main motivator behind that is to eat a variety of food, to do something social, and a convenience factor. However, the major drawback is the cost of eating out. Blue Apron is something she has never tried and has no desire to try due to the price and the fact that she can create something just as delicious and fresh as the ingredients in a Blue Apron box.
With regards to Cocina, she perceives Cocina as a fun thing to do with friends or a date night, but her main motivator to go would be to prepare meals. However, she perceives meal prep as a Sunday activity and those days are “recharging days” for the week. With all of this, she would go once in a while (not every week) and would pay $10-$15 if it included the experience, cleaning, ingredients, etc.
David Roberts
Key Insights:
- When cost of eating out is eliminated, health is a major concern
- Ease of trying new recipes is important for cooking
- Cocina is a social experience with meal prep on the side
Demographics/Behaviors:
- 29
- Engaged
- Male
- Hobbies include snowboarding, craft beer, baseball, hiking, softball
David works many hours at his job (65–85 hours) and is mostly concerned with convenience and health. For lunch he eats meals his partner makes due to the fact it feels as if there’s no cost to it, the ease that it is already made, and the diversity of food his partner makes. For dinner though, due to the late night he works, his company pays for the meals. However, his motivator switches to health and usually orders salads. One or two nights a week he is eating dinner at home to socialize with his partner and to enjoy his food at home. When eating out (once or twice a week) it is to fulfill social needs, followed by trying new places. What he currently dislikes about his current eating habit is that with so much delivery at night it is unhealthy for him. He does enjoy cooking as he enjoys the creativity, the process, and the satisfaction of creating something with an end result. However, he doesn’t like the time investment, and the planning (making sure he has the right ingredients on hand). He does not enjoy Blue Apron as it does not serve his need of being time efficient although it does solve planning for a meal.
For Cocina, he would use this as a social experience with meal prep as a “cool bonus.” He wouldn’t go only for meal prep with social experience on the side. He would try it and repeat it once every 6 months with his willingness to pay up to $15 per meal.
