MealCast is an online, visual meal planning tool. Browse through thousands of recipes, streamed in from your favorite food blogs/sites, and pin them directly to your calendar. As you add recipes to different days of the week, a grocery list is automatically generated, making grocery shopping and planning easier than ever.

• Meal planning is difficult and time consuming when you have a busy/active lifestyle

• Grocery shopping can be expensive when you don’t have your meals planned• Many people don’t know what to cook, therefore break the bank by going out and ordering in

• Existing meal planning sites/services are badly designed and confusing to use• People with dietary restrictions or on special diets can have a harder time catering to their needs

1. User comes to MealCast and can visually browse through thousands of recipes, streamed in from different food blogs and sites across the web.

2. User can search and filter for specific recipes/ingredients that suit their needs.

3. User can view specific recipes and have the option to save (“pin”) to different days of the calendar, or save to a pantry box, for later reference.

5. A grocery list is automatically generated with the ingredients from the recipes the user saves to their calendar.

6. For those who don’t want to hand-pick and plan their own meals, users have the option to browse through (and purchase) pre-planned “MealCasts,”—calendars that are curated with daily meals, prepared by well-known food bloggers and chefs.

4. The pantry box serves as a library to house all of your saved recipes. Create different “pantry boxes” according to theme or ingredients. This is similar to creating different boards on Pinterest.

• Nearly 3 out of 4 U.S. households typically plan at least some dinners in advance, and half plan breakfast and lunch meals.

• of the 71% of households that plan at least some dinners in advance, 24 percent plan nearly all dinners in advance. Of the 53 percent of households that plan at least some lunches in advance, 13 percent plan nearly all lunches in advance. Fifty-one percent of households plan at least some breakfast meals in advance, and 26 percent plan nearly all breakfasts in advance.

• According to the report findings, the primary shopper and meal preparer is typically the woman in the household. The most common challenges for these meal preparers are getting new ideas for main meals, finding meals that are quick to make, and staying within a budget.

• Cost, variety, and convenience are constant challenges for household meal planners, and an opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to become part of the solution.

• Understanding the meal preparation process prior to grocery shopping, behavior around recipes, impulse purchases, and the use of prepared foods can help manufacturers, food retailers, and marketers design effective strategies for increasing loyalty, trip frequency, and basket size.

Statistics are gathered from NPD.com

MealCast has two distinct target populations:

1. Family households with children under 18 years old. This group of people is generally busier than other families with their time split between work, home and their children's activities. This group may be single parent households, which only adds to the stress resulting from lack of time, coupled with the need for proper meals for their children.  This provides them with a desire to provide their families with good meals and free time to enjoy being together.

Statistics are gathered from NPD.com

2. Family households with no children living at their home. This group has a need for our services, as hectic schedules, professional careers, and daily demands on time come up against the need for tasty, healthy meals.  Depending on their work and home situations this demographic could use our service to enhance their selection of meals all the while minimizing their time in the kitchen. This group does recognize the benefits of our service and want to enjoy making meals for themselves and socializing through our business.

1. FreemiumUsers can browse through thousands of recipes and pin them to their calendar, at no cost.

2. AffiliatesPartner with existing meal planning sites, food bloggers, and chefs to create and sell curated meal plans on the MealCast site.

3. Coupons / AdvertisingEventually tie in localized deals and coupons, revolving around the items on your grocery list.

4. Team up with Grocery Delivery sitesPartner with grocery delivery sites like Instacart, Fresh Direct, and Peapod.com, and receive a percentage of the transaction.

Foodini (foodini.co)Site generates daily recipes/meals for you, based on some short surveys/questionnaires that you fill out. It is unclear/inconsistent where the recipes come from. Site is difficult to navigate. (For 3 customized meals per week, they charge $5 a month. For 5 meals per week, they charge $7 a month. For 7 meals per week, they charge $9 a month.)

Food on the Table (foodonthetable.com)Plan meals using local grocery sales.

Zipongo (zipongo.com)A healthy meal planning service that incorporates discounts from your nearby grocery stores.

Ziplist (http://get.ziplist.com/)Create comprehensive grocery shopping lists based on the recipes you find and save. This concept revolves around planning your recipes via shopping list rather than a calendar. Browse various “lists,” receive local coupons, and find stores nearby.

Design My Meals (http://designmymeals.com)Browse through thousands of recipes, streamed in from various sites and food blogs, and instantly drag to your calendar. You can only use the site if you sign up for one of their plans ($9.95/mo, $54.95/6 mo, $94.95/12 mo) (There has been backlash within the online food community about how the sources of the recipes are not getting a percentage of the profit.)

Social Media Marketing: Twitter, Facebook, PinterestCreate a robust social media presence that shares content and engages users. Share recipes, hold contests, and conduct interviews with prominent chefs and industry leaders. Showcase featured meal plans on facebook.

Online AdvertisingFacebook advertising, Google ad words. Doing a media buy for a banner campaign across food-related sites.

Referral ProgramRefer up to 5 friends and get credit towards a sponsored meal plan.

Tech Media / PRPromote on blogs and sites, written articles promoting MealCast

Sponsored Blog PostsHave prominent bloggers write posts to promote MealCast.

Jessica RosenbergFounder / CEOOver a decade of design / advertising / marketing experience. Has worked in the startup world for the past few years. Graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, with a BFA in Communication Design and a BA in Creative Writing, minor in Photography.

Worked at prominent agencies as an Art Director (Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Goodby Silverstein + Partners, McCann Erickson, Saatchi LA, Deutsch LA). Worked at Sharethrough and Mindjet as Lead Visual Designer.

Passionate about creating and coming up with great ideas.

In Search of:Technical Co-Founder!

Currently seeking Seed FundingOnce the site is developed and has a healthy amount of users, it will be easier to determine how additional funding we need to grow.

Enhancements• Develop a mobile application, integrating recipe searches, calendar, and shopping lists.• Implement a local deals/coupon functionality• Integrate with local food delivery sites/companies: Instacart, Fresh Direct, Peapod• Partner with local CSA/farm delivery services.

Data / Analytics DashboardCreate a data / analytics dashboard that measures certain statistics that would be beneficial to brands and stores. It would measure who is making what, when, and where are they located? How old are they? Do certain areas have larger amounts of people with dietary restrictions? Healthier habits?