How we build new products at Cookpad
I’ve posted some non-work related things here in the past however now it’s time to share what my team and I have been doing. Without all the new experiences in Bristol, this idea would never have happened!
Our mission here at Cookpad is pretty big: to make everyday cooking fun. Because we believe that cooking is key to a happier and healthier life for people, communities and the planet. The Cookpad platform is the start and our product teams are constantly working on ways to make the platform better and better.
But there are other barriers that get in the way of people enjoying cooking. And that’s where the Business Innovation team comes in.
It’s a grand title for a team that started as a side project back in Autumn. It’s a really small team (three and growing…) and it really does feel like a very early-stage start-up at the round-the-kitchen-table stage.
Our focus is on taking an idea, building an MVP and testing it out to see if there’s something in it. We’re lucky because we have a clear mission so all our ideas are tested against how they contribute to achieving it which gives us a great guiding framework.
Here are the two questions we ask to filter our ideas:
- What problem are we solving?
- What (and how big) is the market?
After a couple of false starts we came up with an idea in October. Based on this hypothesis: most of us these days are very detached from where our food comes from or how it’s made. But as you cook more, you become more aware of what ingredients you use. The more you do something, the more ‘attuned’ or aware you become. It’s the same as other creative processes: when you play musical instruments, your ears become more sensitive and aware of sound; when you draw or paint, your eyes become more attentive and aware of colour and details. When you cook, your taste becomes more developed and aware of what you’re eating . When you grow fruit and vegetables, you become more aware of nature and everything that contributes to the harvest.
We talked to lots of people who grow their own fruit and vegetables: complete beginners and people who’d been doing it for years. The one thing they had in common was that they were all learning every day — from books, from the internet, from friends and family and neighbours… There’s a lot of wisdom out there but information-sharing is very individual and localised. We thought we could use the knowledge we’ve gained building Cookpad to apply a similar solution with home-growers.
To apply our two filter questions:
- The main problem that we heard from home-growers was how to know what to plant and when.
- In the UK alone, there are 27 million gardeners (according to the RHS). And there are an estimated 330 thousand allotments (according to the NSALG) with more than 90 thousand people on the waiting list.
Introducing Homefarm
We decided to create an app that provides information and advice to people growing their own fruit and vegetables and herbs.
We chose a simple sow-to-harvest format so people can look for information depending on the time of year as well as if they already know what they want to grow. And we built in a knowledge share so people can share their own tips. In November we built our first beta. Now that the app is live we’re focusing on making it better and better. It’s vMVP (very Minimum Viable Product).
We’re working on the design and we’re developing the content based on the wisdom we hear and see in action among everyone who’s growing their own produce.
And we’re testing it with lots of people around the UK — as well as in our own mini-garden created in our Bristol office! So more news to follow soon.
P.S.
When we talk to home-growers there’s another common problem: at harvest time, there’s always a surplus whether it’s radishes or courgettes! While friends and family (and neighbours and random passers-by) help out and there’s always the pickling jar, it’s the problem we’re going to solve next… watch this space!
Cookpad is hiring https://bit.ly/cookpad-jobs
