Samsung readies smart food app launch

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Samsung readies smart food app launch

Published: 24 Aug. 2023, 18:16 Updated: 24 Aug. 2023, 18:19

SEO JI-EUN
seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr

A demo video of the Samsung Food mobile application [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics will launch a new app, Samsung Food, that personalizes recipes using AI, is compatible with Samsung's kitchen gadgets and will be compatible with the Samsung Health app in the future.

The app allows users to find recipes, plan meals, manage ingredients and share content among its many functions.

"We want Samsung Food to act as a personal nutritionist providing personalized food experiences," Park Chan-woo, executive vice president and head of Service Biz Group of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics, said in a media briefing on Thursday.

Samsung Food will start service on Aug. 31, available in 104 countries and eight languages. It will be promoted at the IFA 2023, the world's largest consumer electronics and home appliances trade show taking place in Germany, the day after its release.

With over 160,000 simple recipes, the app uses AI to create customized recipes based on what people like, their nutritional needs and their preferred cuisine. For example, it can change meat recipes into vegan ones or suggest fusion recipes such as turning Italian gnocchi into a Korean-style dish. The app also factors in difficulty, personal skills, and time available.

"We will bring a global collection of recipes from Whisk, a British food tech startup we acquired in 2019," Park said. "Some recipes come from partnerships to which users can also contribute. Once it is launched globally, we will add even more recipes from different countries and tastes to the app."

A screen capture of the Samsung Food mobile application [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

The app can send personalized cooking instructions to Samsung's Bespoke Oven so users do not need to set the temperature and time. Samsung also plans to link more appliances to the app, starting with the Bespoke Oven and Cooker, and possibly even non-Samsung brands, in the future.

The app also has a community feature where users can share their recipes and ideas. Samsung Electronics aims to attract over a million global users to Samsung Food by the end of the year using this community approach.

Samsung also plans to connect Samsung Food with Samsung Health, the company's healthcare tracking app, allowing users to receive recipes and meal plans based on their weight, body composition and calories. The company is also working on adding a Vision AI feature, which will bring up nutritional details and recipe information from a picture of the food, next year.

Samsung Electronics' move to embrace the realm of food technology by introducing Samsung Food is driven by the market's substantial growth prospects.

"With the size of the home cooking market exceeding 90 billion dollars and food securing the second spot in global leisure activities, right after music, it's evident that food is a vital part of our daily lives," Park said. "Building on our experience in providing diverse food-related solutions [such as the SmartThings Cooking service,] we are now rolling out comprehensive solutions and services in this sector."

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]