Akshaye Jalan is the Founder of Plan My Food. With millions of hours of research, store and nutritionist visits, doctor consultations, math and statistics refresher courses, and technology malfunctions, he created multiple proprietary algorithms that break down each product to the molecular level, analyze the quality and nutritional value of each ingredient and compare how well they match our unique needs and PlanMyFood was born. He has completed his Masters from Thunderbird, the top ranked International Business program in the country.
How many decisions do you think you make about food daily?
Let’s start from the time your annoying alarm reminds you that the universe has a schedule for you – Do you think about what to drink? The warm water or detox tea your dietician, fitness guru or influencer recommended or your favourite tea or coffee concoction? Whether to listen to your doctor and skip the sugar and go with an unfamiliar tasting “natural” sweetener or to take charge of your health and ditch a sweetener altogether. Before you know it, your stomach awakens and asks you what’s for breakfast? Your brain ever responsive, kicks into overdrive, evaluating whether to skip breakfast or order it or make it or give instructions to someone to make it or to simply grab it on your way to work? And this is just the first few moments of your day!
200 decisions a day. That’s how many we make on average. Just for Food.
Imagine the number of decisions, if you are looking to lose weight or gain muscle or have dietary restrictions, a lifestyle disease or food allergies! Imagine the number when you’re trying to choose from 10,000 groceries screaming that they are the best choice for you or picking a lunch option from the 1,000,000 options on your go to food delivery app.
Now imagine this; what if you didn’t have to?
What if you woke up to boiled water and a sachet of your dietician’s recommended detox tea, got nudged by your phone that your breakfast was either ready in your fridge, arriving (tailormade to your dietary needs) in 30 minutes or the ingredients were ready in your kitchen for you (or your help) to whip up along with the recipe to give you the right start your day deserved!
Data Science, AI and technology has opened up a pandora’s box of possibilities that will change the way we make, consume and engage with food. Imagine a world wherein food recommendations were made keeping your genetic predispositions, health parameters and your consumption behaviour. Where all this data; your health, the medical and dietary diagnosis and the world of packaged food and foodservice all worked in complete synchronicity to help you alleviate the burden of the 200 daily food decisions and empower you to lead a healthier, happier and more content life.
Seems far-fetched? Well think again. Powered by tech advancements and driven by AI, work has begun in all of these areas. Big Data and Analytics are allowing companies to innovate by better understanding consumer decision making, behaviour and consumption habits. Re-identification is helping analyse traffic flows in malls and grocery stores, and AI powered bots are collating, monitoring and evaluating consumer interaction and feedback to give Brands, Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers and Advertisers consumer insights like never before. NLP and ML are helping create state of the art automated solutions to help enhance customer satisfaction and experience. IoT is creating targeted messaging opportunities at POS and helping the retail trade optimise inventory and price points. Blockchain traceability is helping the foodservice industry increase transparency in and optimise their supply chain and drive fresher, more nutritious supplies.
Personalised Food Intelligence is empowering consumers to demystify what’s really in the food that they are buying and understand how it matches their health goals, dietary restrictions and allergies. One no longer needs to overwhelmed by the overcrowded grocery shelves and ingredients one cannot pronounce. Something as simple as buying bread no longer needs to be an impossible task even if you gluten intolerant, on a Keto challenge, watching your cholesterol and hypertensive; a simple scan and your phone will tell you the best one for you! One no longer needs to learn that their favourite healthy cereal is the primary cause for their heart condition due to the presence of hidden trans fats and ingredients that are banned in other countries!
The best options for you and your family, based on your taste and price preferences will instantaneously flash on your phone or wearable requiring only a swipe to order. No more trying to read labels, no more pick the celebrity not the product, no more playing Russian Roulette with your lunch order, no more not knowing whether what you eat is actually right for you!
Welcome to a world where the entire ecosystem revolves upon helping you effortlessly make better choices, not 200+ daily decisions! It is your life and health after all. Welcome to Personalised Food Intelligence.