As the coronavirus pandemic presses on, most people have settled into routines that involve a lot more home cooking, and studies suggest these habits will continue long after the pandemic. It can take between 18 and 254 days to form a new habit, and cooking is not immune to this (pun intended). So it's safe to say that pandemic-induced home cooking has been a necessity for a lot longer than that.
The New Normal
Here at WHATZ2EAT, we believe home cooking is the new normal. A survey conducted by Bloomberg News of 2,200 US consumers found that the “NEW” intention to keep up with home cooking is especially strong among younger demographics. When asked about their post-pandemic plans, 43% of Gen Z respondents said they intend to cook at home more, even after the pandemic is over. When ask why, many responded they feel unsafe going to restaurants and stated financial concerns as a problem, resulting in more home-cooked meals, which come at a lower cost and often create leftovers that can be stretched much further than restaurant meals.
All of this comes at a cost; more repeat meals, time wasted searching for new recipe ideas, prepping and cooking fatigue and more. We’ve learned that people are cooking an average of nine meals a week, which revealed that the average household has cooked the same meal 28 times since the pandemic began. Even consumers who love to cook may find themselves losing steam when it comes to whipping up multiple meals a day.
How Does Whatz2eat Fit In?
So where does WHATZ2EAT’s revolutionary new technology fit in? How can the WHATZ2EAT APP help solve these and many other culinary challenges the average home cook is faced with each and time they open their refrigerator and pantry and wonder, “what to eat”?
At WHATZ2EAT, we recognize that millions of people from every culture lack culinary confidence and skills needed to properly prepare and cook delicious meals. Understanding that cooking can be a drudgery, our team of data scientists, developers and APP designers created a mobile application that helps people choose and cook delicious meals using the food items they already have in the kitchen. With a simple scan or snap shot of your refrigerator contents and pantry items, WHATZ2EAT’s image recognition capabilities identifies those food items, creates a personal, virtual pantry for you, and then in just a couple of seconds (yes seconds) recommends meal ideals you can cook with little human interaction and no guesswork. It’s amazing technology!!
Imagine, no more figuring out what ingredients work together in harmony, no more searching for recipes only to realize your missing ingredients and gone are the days of having to make that extra trip to the market. This all adds up to better utilization of your ingredients, thereby saving you time, money and eliminating food waste.