[Feedback] - First ever side project
Hello guys,
I've been lurking on IH for a long time but I finally decided to create an account a few days ago and now I'm creating my first post. I've hacked on a side project of mine whenever I've had some free time and now I'm looking for feedback.
I welcome all feedback, both positive and negative. I'm interested in everything from feedback on grammar to design and even on the idea itself.
Thank you in advance!
Agreed with ZPG that the price point is too high for the service, given all the free recipes out there. I think you would be better off framing this as a free newsletter (especially if there's no individual tailoring), and gather users that way. Probably ad supported is easiest to start, then subscription. Ben Thompson at Stratechery does an excellent job getting users this way: a free weekly article to entice folks, and then subscription service.
Much smaller note, but I also personally find the "how much money we could save you" a bit hokey and way too high. Someone making $20/hour ($40K/year) can save up to $15K, or 38% of their pre-salary tax with this? I think the main driver is the "how much time you spend deciding what to eat." I would change range from 5 to 40 minutes.
Thanks for the feedback. My only fear is that if I went free no one would sign up for the payed service or maybe I'm just scared.
Yeah, I changed it now so it only displays time saved.
@JoakimSkoog I like the idea and great job getting it out there:) I'm a big fan of trying to make the decision process around meals easier!
As many others have commented in the threads, it might be worth thinking of companion ways to monetize. Here's a few random thoughts (just stream of consciousness so take whatever's useful):
Order a book of the curated recipes to have them around the house while you're cooking (or printed versions of them mailed to you along with a shopping list) - I use Blue Apron 3 days a week and it's obviously helpful to have the cooking instructions physically ... of course it's helpful to also have the ingredients delivered :)
Affiliate Programs for Grocery Services. I looked around a bit to see if there were affiliate programs for services like Amazon Pantry and Instacart - could be interesting to have an 'Add to Instacart' button for your recipes (if they'd be willing to pay commission for something like that)
Use the emails to kick-start a community of people who encourage themselves to eat Vegan. Greatist was exploring something to this effect - essentially people paying each other to stay accountable - in your case could be take a photo of the recipe you cooked and chat about it with the community.
Hope this jam session might trigger further ideas! Keep up the good work!
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I'd sign up to a free version (maybe like once a week/month) then consider upgrading to more frequent (daily, meal-ly) if the recipes were good.
Very nice site though and what you're offering is communicated well.
Thank you for your feedback and kind words. Maybe have a free version that will send you ONE recipe per week instead of seven?
Yeah I'd sign up to that.
Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you!
Maybe do a 7-day free trial instead?
I went with this one, thank you!
I love the idea, I am vegan myself and sometimes struggle to find cheap and quick recipes. I would suggest having some free plan with 5 recipes or something where one can see the value of using your product compared with millions of recipes out there.
I like your idea! Do you think a free plan with 1 recipe per week or a total of 5 recipes once is best as a free option?
I think that 1 per week may work, at least people will see how your product looks like, feel it and use it
I would recommend using food for the hero image instead of a gradient background to help get your point across.
I think the pricing could be slightly clearer - the way you have laid it out makes it look like a basic/standard/premium choice on first look for me rather than monthly/quarterly/annually. I think the time periods used as names instead of bunny/panda/giraffe would be clearer.
I think the money saving calculation is a good idea but slightly disingenuous in the way it's set up. There isn't a straight trade-off between my time spent earning money and time spent shopping/planning meals and the size of the saving consequently seems too large. As a result I take it less seriously which is a shame. Not sure how you would come up with a better formula though.
Looks good overall though and this type of business can be relatively easily scaled if your product is a fit. Good luck!
Thank you for the honest feedback!
I quite like the animal names and think they work in the way you want, it just makes the pricing less clear in this case for me. Maybe there is another way you can work them in?
Time saved would make more sense to me personally.
I updated the site now to reflect your feedback on the pricing and savings. Hopefully I can work the names in, in some kind of way in the future.
The price point is a little high for just recipes. I could see the product being more successful if it had additional features like personalized recipes to my interests or schedule. Adding integrated coupons or an integration with grocery delivery service like Instacart would be a cool next step. Overall, the design is pretty good for an MVP.
Thank you for the great feedback! That is actually what I've been worried about. What kind of price do you think would be more fair? $9.99 /month? Keep in mind that I will also send shopping lists which will help people when they are grocery shopping.
I'd look at what competitors and similar services for other niche diets (i.e: paleo, veggie, etc) are to get a better idea of what people will pay for a service like this. Another factor in pricing is how big of value add your services offers. I would also suggest adding a free tier or free first recipe and list. I would also look at defensibility, it isn't difficult to build an app that provides curated recipes and autogenerated grocery list. Think about some value adds (coupons, social integration, good UX on the actual recipes themselves, etc). As a vegetarian who has been learning Chinese cooking for my girlfriend, I have found video / gif based recipes are a cool way for recipe sites to make it easier to cook and help inexperienced cooks develop better techniques, might be a cool way to make the experience more fun and help differentiate yourself.
If I may, I would suggest putting a few sample recipes (complete) on the page so that it gives an idea of "what's in store". While, it's possible to sign-up for a free 7 days trial, it's too much work just to check if that's a service which is likely to deliver quality recipes. Otherwise, it's a nice idea. #GoVegan
Hey @JoakimSkoog 👋
Here's my feedback:
Also very smart to be honest and open about who is behind the service, create relatability and start building your personal brand.
Much success on your journey from a fellow plant-based diet guy 😉
Two words: durian rider
Huh, I've never heard about the guy but he definitely seems...interesting to say the least
How about customizing your pricing based on number of recipes per week. Because not everyone follows a strict meal plan especially first time vegans. Say I want 10 recipes a week. 10*0.33 =3.3$ a week. This way you measure your growth by number recipes/plans subscribed and you don't have to give out your full plans upfront.
I love it . You need to probably reduce your pricing to a dollar or 2 less than your competitors initially. Also it would help if you write a blog post comparing yours with other top meal planners. You def need a clean blog. prob hire a passionate vegan to write and maintain it. You could also invite users who has pinterest vegan boards.
Love the idea, I constantly search for ways to eat healthier. I'm not Vegan but would be interested in using this as a way to transition smoothly.
Thank you! People like you are actually my target group. They are probably not vegan but are interested in ways to eat healthier.
Love the design and layout. The food looks incredible; if those are actual recipes you might consider adding the name of the dish below/near the picture so viewers know this is the kind of food they could end up with.
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