Monthly Case Study

Foodie.fm's Social Groceries Benefit Consumers And Supermarkets

 

Finding a recipe and getting the correct food items together to cook a meal is probably a problem as old as the agrarian society. But in the digital age we have seen a radical shift in consumers' relationship with food retailers as well as in what form food gets into our mouth.

The main leaps in technological innovation have affected retailers. Shops and supermarkets have become aware and more efficient by digitally tracking merchandise and individuals' purchases through loyalty programs. However nothing has really improved customer's relationship with the supermarket before Foodie.fm.

Foodie.fm is on the forefront of how consumers and food retailers are finding each other. Launched worldwide at the LeWeb conference in Paris last year, consumers all over the globe now have access to Foodie.fm, a smartphone app and the web service that finds recipes to cook, automates a list of ingredients, and even remembers your preferences of what you normally get at the supermarket. And with Foodie.fm, consumers never have to write down a shopping list on paper again, yet still holding onto their favorite recipes wherever they go.

Foodie.fm technology is able to create highly personalized product and recipe recommendations that aim to answer a simple question, "what should I buy and eat today?" The result is a dramatically simplified process for discovering groceries.

At the core of Foodie.fm is a patent pending recommendation server, generated by mathematical modeling based on the usage patterns of the user and the neighboring community and family. Foodie.fm learns from users' eating and purchasing habits and suggests recipes and groceries that match their taste profile.

The application's smart tailoring takes also into account users' personalized preferences - food allergies, intolerances, predilections and budget restrictions. Users can express themselves by liking products and recipes, which Foodie.fm remembers and uses to create a personal taste profile.

But rather than just being some shopping list and a recipe app, the whole service is linked to retailers' real time assortment, giving users an easy option to buy all the products seamlessly through the retailer. In some areas Foodie.fm even supports grocery delivery to your door.

This integration into the retailer's database also provides a high level of transparency by allowing grocery retailers to provide details on what substances are in their food and where it comes from. Consumers are more environmentally and health conscious than ever, and this app allows direct and instantaneous access to the information consumers require.

What may not be clear from focusing on the consumer aspects of Foodie.fm are the benefits they provide to grocery retailers. According to a recent survey, 19% of the participants said Foodie.fm has increased the amount of visits to the participating retailer. Foodie.fm is also a great channel for direct customer feedback, recommendations, and discussions with these retailers.

The best part about Foodie.fm is that it is quickly accessible and that consumers are never too far away from the service. Foodie.fm comes as a multiparty application, and is reachable from the web, and as Facebook, iPhone, Android, and Nokia applications.

From here, Foodie.fm plans on expanding globally to more locations, and partnering with more local retailers. The company is also expanding its community features with social ratings on grocery products. So far it has raised financing from Vera Venture and Veturi Venture Capital.

CEO Kalle Koutajoki explains, "we already do this in many industries. Take electronics for example. There is full price transparency - search for a brand name and in a split second, you will find customer ratings and prices with a possibility to directly buy it. The next step is doing this with groceries. This is not scary, just a new way of doing things that requires new way of thinking. Be there early with your customers and you will win! It's just that simple. It's Social Groceries."