Presentation and functioning MVP for a product development competition that won $3,500 as the highest placing undergraduate team out of 30 (2nd place).

1. Presented By:
Nithin Jilla & Derek Wong
Food for
any Mood.
Food for any mood.
Butterworth Competition 2013
May 17, 2013

2. Opportunity:
Choosing where and what to eat can be
especially difficult because of…
Problem:
The love for food is shared by virtually
every person on the planet. But the desire
to explore culinary creations is hindered
by certain constraints.
Information
Overload
Decision-Making
Dilemmas
Cluttered
Competing
Apps

3. We’ve created a simple mobile app that
recommends restaurants to people based on
their personal preferences.
Our app learns what types of restaurants
a user enjoys based on the time of day,
their mood, or a specific activity.
Our Solution
The problem of deciding where and what
to eat is a problem of the past.

4. Solution: TasteBuds
Dynamic Contexts
Our app provides a dynamic experience
that adapts to the time of day or any
special events and holidays. Food for any
occasion!
Mood & Activity
Discover new restaurants to fit your
mood or activity. Whether you're looking
for an Energy Boost or Midnight
Munchies, we got you covered!
Sponsored Contexts
Get access to special deals, coupons, and
promotions offered by brands and
restaurants. Perfect for the savvy eater!

5. Solution: TasteBuds
Food by Mood
Our app learns what types of restaurants
you like to dine at when you’re feeling
happy or under the weather.

6. Solution: TasteBuds
Filter by Distance
Walking to lunch? Picking up a friend for
dinner? Our app finds restaurants that
match your logistical needs.
Filter by Price Point
Our app will recommend the right
restaurants that match your budget each
time you’re feeling hungry. Keep your
stomach and wallet full!
Food by Mood
Our app learns what types of restaurants
you like to dine at when you’re feeling
happy or under the weather.

7. Solution: TasteBuds
Personalized Recommendations
Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized
preferences for better recommendations.

8. Gamification Features
We’ve integrated rich game elements to
make our user experience immersive and
rewarding. Users will be able to unlock
achievements and special deals!
Personalized Recommendations
Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized
preferences for better recommendations.
Solution: TasteBuds

9. Personalized Recommendations
Vote restaurants up and down and our
app will adapt to your personalized
preferences for better recommendations.
Gamification Features
We’ve integrated rich game elements to
make our user experience immersive and
rewarding. Users will be able to unlock
achievements and special deals!
Taste Quizzes to Train Application
Our app is all about improvement. Take
quick & fun quizzes to improve the
efficacy of our restaurant
recommendation engine
Solution: TasteBuds

10. Pages of Contexts
More contexts mean great variety and a
deeper user experience. Our app is
designed for continued usage.
Social Media Integration
Food is social! Check into favorite social
media sites. Find friends that have similar
preferences and grab food together.
“Freemium” Features
Unlockable achievements. Special deals
and discounts. Built-in loyalty card. The
opportunities are endless!
Future Features
Food Tagging & Social Feed
Users can tag food individual dishes,
flavors, and ingredients. Users can browse
through a feed that displays dishes their
friends have eaten to try them later!
The Food Genome Project
We want to create the world’s first
curated archive of all the food in the
world. It starts with this app!
Solution: TasteBuds

11. Meet the
Multicultural Millennial
Demographics:
+ Ages 18-34
+ Tend to be of minority descent
+ Urban/sub-urban environments
+ College-educated
+ Moderate-high levels of income
Psychographics:
+ 42% eat out once a month at
fine dining restaurant
+ 43% agree that coupons
influence food purchases
+ 32% are overwhelmed by daily
decision-making
Technology Usage:
+ Highest Smartphone usage
rate at 69%,
+ Use multiple devices for
sharing content
+ Heavy consumers of digital
media

12. State of the Game:
Competitive Analysis
No app provides personalized restaurant
recommendations or experience.
No distinct market leader (outside of Yelp)
Competing apps provide service offerings are
that are too broad and cater to the general
public.
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive
Cluttered & Fragmented
Lack of Specialization
Advanced
User Profiles
Personalized
Restaurant Recs.
Dynamic
Contexts
Gamification
Elements

13. Business Model:
Mobile Advertising is a Growing Market Opportunity

14. Business Model:
Mobile Advertising is a Growing Market Opportunity

15. Hyper-targeted ad platform for restaurants
Customizable Sponsored
Contexts
We have incredible insights
regarding our users’ eating
habits, allowing our ads to
reach the right users.
Special Coupons & Deals:
Restaurants can promote
their discounts with our app
to attract more clientele
Receptive Target Audience
TasteBuds users are the
most ideal advertising
audience- hungry and intent
on making a purchase.
Flexible Advertising Model:
Allows restaurants to
capitalize upon seasonal
events & holidays (e.g. Pizza
Hut “Super Bowl Special”)
Highly Receptive to Mobile
Ads
Most receptive demographic
and 33% desire content
from personally-relevant
companies like local
restaurants.
Business Model:

16. Multiple Sources of Recurring Revenue
TIER 1
Advertising Revenue:
Sponsored Contexts
from Local
Restaurants. Expand
to franchises and
chains.
Negotiated Terms:
24-hour Dynamic
Contexts mean more
advertising
opportunities; (PPC,
CPM, Revenue Share)
TIER 2
Subscription
Revenue:
Premium Users (Pay
for special discounts &
features)
Monthly Subscription:
Users pay $5/month
TIER 3
Customer Insights &
Data:
Sell Data to Academic
Institutions &
Companies
Monthly Database
Access:
Companies would pay
a nominal fee to
access our curated
database
Business Model:

17. The Story So Far:
Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0
Working Mobile App

18. TasteBuds Website
Working Info Page
The Story So Far:
Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0
Working Mobile App

19. UC Irvine TasteBuds Survey: 83 Responses
92% Expressed
Strong Interest
80%
Use Mobile
Apps to Find
Food
79.7% Price is Important
70.2% Proximity is Important
Customer Validation
Primary Research
The Story So Far:
Current Accomplishments
TasteBuds 1.0
Working Mobile App
TasteBuds Website
Working Info Page

20. Mr. Walid Antonios Mr. Dennis PaivaMr. Daniel Esquerra
Mr. Dale Schall Mr. Kevin Boylan & Keith Treiman
The Story So Far:
Current Accomplishments

21. Milestones:
June
2013
September
2013
TasteBuds 2.0
+ Social Media Sharing
+ Expanded Contexts
+ Immersive Gamification Features
TasteBuds 3.0
+ Food Tagging & Social Feed
+ Premium Paid User Content
+ Start Phase 1: Food Genome Project
February
2014

22. Request for Financing:
Operations:
+ 2 iOS Developers
+ Curators for Restaurant Tagging
+ Prepare for On-Campus
Marketing Efforts starting in Sept.
Metrics:
+ 500 downloads on iOS
+ Secure 10 Restaurants
+ Develop Android App
Operations:
+ 5 Interns for Curating Content
+ Acquire Sales force for Outreach
+ Plan expansion to campuses
including UCLA, USC & UCSD
Metrics:
+ 1,000 downloads on iOS
+ Secure 50 Restaurants
+ 20 Premium Users
$2,500 $5,000
June
2013
September
2013
TasteBuds 2.0
+ Social Media Sharing
+ Expanded Contexts
+ Immersive Gamification Features
TasteBuds 3.0
+ Food Tagging & Social Feed
+ Premium Paid User Content
+ Start Phase 1: Food Genome Project
February
2014

23. Our Team:
Derek Wong: Strategy & Marketing
+ Delta Sigma Pi: Western Province COY
+ 2012 Paul Merage Business Plan: First Place
+ CampusCred: UC Irvine Campus Director
Nithin Jilla: Tech & Development
+ Kenya Dream: President & Founder
+ ICS Student Council: VP of External Affairs
+ UCI Startup Weekend: Co-Coordinator
Candace Wu:
Product Analyst
Norman Tran
UX/UI Specialist &
Designer
Bryan Cuevas
Front-End & Backend
Developer
Michael Thomas
Back-End Database
Developer

24. Presented By:
Nithin Jilla & Derek Wong
Thank you
for your time.
Questions?
Food for any mood.
Butterworth Competition 2013
May 17, 2013