Fridggie Vietnam
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) 2021 food waste index report showed that the world is... View more
Organizer:
- Organized by
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SOCIAL INNOVATION
“Food management application, educational programs, and social activities, boosting sustainable consumption and community well-being.”
Social challenge
The target social problem that Fridggie Vietnam aims to solve is food waste from households, especially households in Vietnam. In many communities, awareness and access to proper food and nutrition management and preservation are lacking, leading to environmental consequences and long-term negative health effects. This problem is especially prominent in most households, where information on how to manage and preserve food is limited. Fridggie Vietnam recognizes that nutritious food management is important for minimizing food waste in the environment and overall human health. By providing app solutions, educational programs, and social activities, Fridggie Vietnam seeks to bridge the gap in food awareness and provide practical solutions to improve the cognitive status of our target groups. Through our initiatives, Fridggie Vietnam strives to promote healthy lifestyles, reduce the rate of food waste in the environment, and contribute to the overall prosperity and development of individuals and communities.
Social solution
Fridggie Vietnam offers a compelling social solution to address the important issue of household food management and raise awareness of food waste. Through innovative mobile applications, educational programs, and engaging social activities, we provide a comprehensive platform for households and individuals concerned about food to access food management practices. Expert food management, educational resources healthy meal options, and portion counting. By leveraging the power of technology and expertise, Fridggie Vietnam empowers families. Our solution not only promotes awareness of a supportive community but also a series of activities to share knowledge and meals with individuals in need of support. With Fridggie Vietnam, we envision a future where all people have a deep awareness and respect for food.
- Project description:
Fridggie Vietnam was established to help families who are having difficulty managing food or who want to improve their knowledge of nutrition. This app aims for households to make informed decisions about food and nutrition for their family. This application has several smart and easy features for households to use, such as a reminder to use food on time, a food diary, menu suggestions for available foods, and so on.
- Target social issue
Vietnam is currently the second country in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of food waste index. Up to 8.8 million tons of food were lost or thrown away each year, equivalent to 2% of GDP (Van, Minh, and Thuy, 2023). Typically in households, the main cause of this waste was the lack of control in food purchasing as well as the calculation of reasonable portions when preparing food (Visschers, Wickli, and Siegrist, 2016). Although food waste still happens every day, there are still many people living in poverty, and having enough food every day seems like a luxury to them (Stuart, 2009). From the above analysis, the study concludes that people were not aware of food waste and did not have enough knowledge to consume food reasonably.
Following secondary research, the apparent causes may be broken down into the following 3 factors: production factors, family factors, and community impacts.
Our qualitative research also has revealed the root causes, relevant to our primary research. The results of presenting this idea to 419 quantitative study participants have been overwhelmingly positive for Fridggie Vietnam.
- Sample: 419 included 341 people who used food preservation methods and 78 who did not use research methods
People who used food preservation methods:
- Age: from 20 to 40 years old
- Location: HCMC, Hanoi, Danang, Cantho in Vietnam
People who did not use research methods:
- Age: 20 to 40 years old
- Location: HCMC, Hanoi, Danang, Cantho in Vietnam
- Social solution idea
To address the root causes, Fridggie Vietnam provides three main solutions: a food management app, education programs, and social activities. As the flagship solution of the project, the food management app named Fridggie is diligently designed to change its users’ behavior in better ways with a comprehensive experience of stages before, during, and after food consumption. To be specific, to input food data, users only need to use a scanning feature by letting the phone’s camera identify the food information (i.e., product name, expiry, etc.) or a voice feature, in addition to manual typing. In this way, users can track their in-fridge food, classified by usage status (i.e., food that has been consumed/is about to expire/expired) anywhere and anytime. Moreover, the app will promote its capabilities to support users’ consumption process through the reminder feature to notify users of approaching expiration dates for food items. In particular, this application is available for both iOS and Android operating systems, which a majority of food management applications cannot do. Furthermore, the Fridggie app also helps users take advantage of excess food in their refrigerators to avoid food waste and process it into new dishes thanks to the meal planning suggestion feature with AI support. In particular, the partnership with food retailers (i.e, supermarkets, grocery stores, etc.) in-app creates an online shopping space for those who need to buy food items through a click on the phone’s screen. In addition, a news portal in-app, which is considered to be the same as a social media platform, creates a positive space for those who have a habit of surfing news related to knowledge of food waste issues as well as its impacts on the environment and the society, in addition to sharing food management knowledge to community from personal experience. With the desire to raise the community awareness, Fridggie Vietnam provides education programs, besides the food management app. To be specific, online/offline workshops and seminars organization, with the presence of food experts, chefs, nutritionists, etc. will be the valuable opportunity for Fridggie directly interact with its potential customers. Last but not least, due to the desire to create impacts on community engagement, Fridggie throws meaningful social activities, such as food rescue collaboration, charity donations, farm tours, and sustainability fairs.
The link below is our video for the presentation:
We also provide our working papers and pieces of evidence, including:
- Working evidences:
Qualitative research evidence: Interview record and transcript, Guideline interview