‘Netflix-style’ discovery platform developed for retail: ‘Why has this not happened in food?’
Spoon Guru describes its latest food and discovery platform as ‘Netflix-style curation for food’.
The tech start-up’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered offering uses predictive modelling and trend analysis to gather ‘unprecedented insights’ into shoppers’ consumption habits and purchasing habits.
Just as Netflix, YouTube, or Spotify learn from consumer behaviour and consumption, Spoon Guru’s service can also bring ‘highly tailored’ recommendations to customers, CEO and co-founder Markus Stripf told FoodNavigator.
“The reason we are comparing ourselves to Netflix is that we think: why has this not happened in food?” he said. “Most people have a dietary or food preference, or a lifestyle choice, and they don’t change that often.
“Supermarkets should, by now, be able to learn from my interactions [as a consumer], from my purchases – what specific foods I prefer, and what specific foods I am more likely to buy. And then they should be able to provide me more relevant recommendations,” he added. “Our technology allows retailers to do that.”
Artificial intelligence for health and wellness
Spoon Guru works with a number of retailers around the world, offering services that help in areas such as transparency in food labelling. Big-name partners include Tesco in the UK, Woolworths in Australia, and Albert Heijn in the Netherlands.
This latest offering is centred around health and wellbeing. A suit of five modules is designed to help consumers discover the right foods for their individual health objectives and dietary needs.
“We are hoping to be able to change the paradigm away from search, into discover.” – Spoon Guru CEO and co-founder Markus Stripf.
Spoon Guru’s Health and Wellness Suite:
- Spoon Guru’s Basket Analyser allows customers to track the healthiness of purchases over time and how the current shopping experience compares. The module also provides insights to retailers to track health targets for all shoppers across departments, categories (commodities) and brands.
- Healthy Swaps suggests healthier products and recipes associated with items being browsed in real-time.
- Recipe Recommendations delivers highly personalised recipe suggestions to each consumer through the use of machine learning and ensures individual ingredients in shoppable recipes match dietary requirements.
- Product Recommendations utilises machine learning to understand customer purchase behaviours to power food search and discovery.
- Health Scores analyses entire basket or individual products and recipes for shoppers’ relative health merit in alignment to market needs.
Each module works in tandem and can be used by consumers when shopping online, or in-store if integrated into the retailer’s smartphone app.
By licensing the modules, retailers can encourage better health in the CRM (customer relationship management) system or loyalty programmes, the CEO continued.
“The advantages for retailers are clear. Our Health and Wellness Suite allows our partners to provide healthy food options whilst driving value. Health is a major differentiator in the price wars and a powerful vehicle to drive long term loyalty.”
