We have never been more aware of the importance of the planet we live in than today. If we have always considered that “taking care of the planet” was not important, today this no longer happens – especially after a global pandemic like COVID-19 or wars that have serious repercussions on the environment. Perhaps because by dint of thinking in such a global way, we tell ourselves that small daily gestures do not help to improve, but this is not the case.
Today is celebrated around the world earth day, a good time to stop and think about how to integrate new, more ecological practices into our daily lives. And it is that our daily routines are very important and not just in the most usual way that we can think of, such as recycling (which is also essential) “small” daily actions like eating food can help a lot.
Indeed, the combination between technology and sustainability can be essential to integrate these ecological practices into our daily lives. In Europe, exceptional applications are being created that combine these technologies that will help us make the healthiest and most sustainable decisions, always with the aim of reducing our impact on the planet. One of these apps Love (3,99$ in the App Store), look for help us reduce food waste at home: something that will not only be good for the planet, but also for our pocket.
Kiff: let’s take advantage of these foods that we forget at home
“It all started during the COVID-19 quarantine. That moment when you don’t know if it’s Tuesday or Friday, if you cooked this yesterday or last week.” – this is how the story of Kiff begins as he tells it to me Nerea Martafounding partner of the application at the Topxel agency, with whom she shares asier martinez. “There are two of us at home, and although we don’t practice “batch cooking” (cooking large quantities for the whole week) it is quite common to cook at least one dish of 4 or 6 portions, which we finish by consuming over several days.“The problem that many of us have here is precisely the leftover food, because surely we all remember it too late and maybe it has already spoiled.
Nerea tells me about the option we all did at some point, to solve the problem with a marker and some stickers, but they decided to give a more digital approach: “It’s not like the sticker is going to give tupperware superpowers to warn us about inside the fridge, so the analog solution probably wouldn’t have been very effective.”
To do this, Kiff’s idea It’s as simple as it is powerful.: an application that allows us to easily add the foods we have at home to manage the expiration date or the time just before they spoil. This way we will know when to eat our food in the best possible condition (not at the last minute) – it works even when we freeze food.
Nerea describes very well the magnitude of the problem posed by this small daily occurrence and its impact on climate change – Here we can all help you, from now on: “In particular the role of the household, where the vast majority of food is wasted compared to the rest of the actors in the chain (producers, restaurateurs and supermarkets). We are sensitive to the problem and we believe that Kiff still has a lot to do. contribute to this space. .”
The interface is simple but it has those little details that explain to the user what he needs no need for complex designs: you can add a product by scanning its barcode, or add it manually. Everything is very nimble (the scanning of the products is very fast and allows us to add several without leaving the interface, since they pass us the purchase at the supermarket). Manual entry autocomplete with icons the type of food we add, for example, in the case of “avocado” (where your matching emoji will appear instantly).
In Kiff, Nerea and his companion launched the app design in a way that is not traditional in the development world: “We don’t design each of the screens in detail before implementing them. Instead, we start with a list of features which, along with design principles, allow us to develop the application directly in SwiftUI. is not an easy task and requires constant rethinking of everything, from how to simplify a process to how to add value to functionality directly while programming.”
This allowed them to better understand the process and to add essential features today: “The version of Kiff that we initially launched is very different from the one in the store today. It didn’t have a barcode scanner, it was impossible to order and it didn’t allow inventory management!” Nerea emphasizes that this incremental improvement is still guided by the principles with which the app was born. “That’s the beauty of this profession. Keep pursuing a vision and enjoy the journey, as you shape an app and it shapes you back.”
smoke it a good idea turned into a better appeven fun when we come back from shopping in our daily life, but it will continue to evolve: “The highlight of this year will be the ability to use Kiff with multiple household members. Meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking are teamwork and we know Kiff will play an important role in many homes. .”
Participation in the Apple Entrepreneur program was essential for Kiff
Nerea was one of the founders invited to participate in the Apple Entrepreneur Programa business initiative to support – among other groups – businesses founded and led by women entrepreneurs like her. “I was very struck by the effort that Apple puts into this type of initiative and especially the opportunity to learn from people with such experience. There are few opportunities to talk to Apple engineers when you encounter a problem while developing your application and it seemed like a golden opportunity to solve any problem both at the technical level and in other aspects related to design, business, marketing…”. This access has also helped them on a traditionally lonely road. “Having access to a network of women entrepreneurs with whom to share this experience was also an important point in my decision.”
“Apple Entrepreneur Camp had a bigger impact on Kiff, and on me, than I can express right now. But if I take anything away, it’s the need to focus on the core problem. .”
“Being part of Apple Entrepreneur Camp is perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire professional career.” – Nerea explains his adventure in the Apple initiative – “You can see the love that has been put into the program and it was an honor to be in the same ‘room’ to learn and receive guidance from professionals with a long history at Apple”. This experience shared with other founders is also a great source of feedback, in his own words and also for taking Kiff to a new level: “Understand how to get the most out of the technologies and resources Apple makes available to us throughout the app lifecycle (from development to in-store release).”
Kiff has a big load of environmental awareness with food waste, but apps and their technology can help make a positive impact in the real world. “I want to think that we’re still coming out of the infancy of app development and are about to enter the teenage phase. It’s getting easier and easier to build software, and we’re constantly trying out different business models to make that development sustainable. But it is our job as people (developers, designers, entrepreneurs), to seek and find this balance to have a positive impact”*.
Topxel has more to offer than Kiff, such as “Re”: an app under development for help us take medicine. “As curious as it may seem, Kiff is the little sister and was born at a difficult time in the development of Re. Changing human behavior and improving medication adherence is a challenge in itself and Re is a more complex application than it seems. may seem at first glance.”. However, after the process of love to agreelearnings and tips could work very well in the future of Re: “Start with a smaller feature set, find a niche of users and tie in tightly with a beta as soon as possible and focus on one country.”
There is also another small project for the Apple Watch where Nerea tells us a bit more about what is known today: *”It started as a small project to understand the challenges of developing and designing software for the Apple Watch. First and foremost, to understand the function this device performs within the Apple Hardware ecosystem. The way you interact with the watch is very different (glares and brief interactions) compared to the time you spend staring at the screen of the iPhone.”
Anyone can start coding an app: Apple tools like “Swift Playgrounds” and available courses are great for all ages
The objective of this future small application for the Apple Watch is help us stay focused on a specific task, with a twist on the Pomodoro technique. It is still under development, but they are clear on the scope: “While nothing like it exists, we saw that it’s a relatively saturated niche market and it wasn’t worth launching another app without strong incremental value.”
Nerea’s adventure and experience in the development of Kiff have also They should be an inspiration to all of us.who want to start programming applications, but have not yet taken the time to do so: “If you have never programmed, I recommend that you start with programming education that although it is aimed at kindergarten, primary and secondary teachers, it is a very comprehensive course that uses Swift Playgrounds to teach all the fundamental concepts of programming.”
Anyone can program: “Seriously, it doesn’t matter if you say infant, primary, and secondary, in first grade, they teach you the same content in half the fun format. Plus, Swift Playgrounds is designed for gradual learning and even though it seems like a version “toy” you will use the same code and access the same frameworks as its big brother Xcode. The proof is that now with version 4 you can even publish your applications directly on the App Store.” If you have more advanced knowledge, his recommendation is the free CS193p (Application Development for iOS) course from Standford. Give it a try if you’ve ever thought of it!