Inflation – particularly in grocery items – has left Canadian families in a precarious position. With prices fluctuating constantly and little understanding of what drives the volatility, it has become near impossible to manage food expenses while maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet. In turn, many families are being forced to choose unhealthy, lower-cost foods. And in 2022, over 8 million Canadians skipped meals, forced to choose between essentials like food, rent, medication, and clothes. Foodbank usage also skyrocketed, increasing 425%.

Food Banks of Canada and Skip Express Lane wanted to empower Canadians to make informed choices helping them adapt to real-time price fluctuations, save on groceries, and cultivate wholesome dietary habits.

Our initiative aimed to position SkipExpressLane as an innovative alternative to traditional grocery options, while providing a personalized, budget-conscious, and reliable tool for families.

Inflation Cookbook is a digital grocery shopping tool that tracks real-time food pricing data to help Canadians get inflation out of their cart. It addresses the complex challenge of price volatility in the industry, influenced by unpredictable factors such as supply chain disruptions, weather events, or even religious holidays (lamb prices explode at Easter and Eid). By harnessing real-time data insights, the platform tracks weekly price fluctuations of 400+ key ingredients across major retailers and 80+ locations nationwide.

The core creative idea lies in its ability to transform real-time data on price volatility into actionable, budget-conscious options for consumers. Providing this invaluable information to Canadian families while grocery shopping allows them to make informed decisions that lead to significant savings and healthier meal choices. This inventive approach disrupts the grocery industry pricing strategies and creates a lasting impact on the lives of Canadian families, amidst historical inflationary conditions.

The data gathering is done through our unique algorithm which collects real-time pricing information for over 400 key ingredients from major retailers and locations across the country. This process ensures comprehensive coverage of the diverse grocery pricing landscape across Canada’s different regions.

Targeting is done geographically, accounting for cultural, income, and weather variables across the Canadian provinces.

To maximize the shopper’s window to react to the volatility of pricing, a mobile-first web interface was made. The accessibility and convenience of portable devices allow Inflation Cookbook to impact consumer choices inside the grocery store itself.

Inflation Cookbook launched as an intuitive mobile interface, allowing Canadians to personalize their experience based on location, household size, and budget. The key innovation lies in its algorithm, which monitored real-time price changes across 400+ ingredients in 80+ stores, providing the smartest cart, which users could order directly (and receive delivery in 25 minutes) using SkipExpressLane. The items were then turned into instant recipe recommendations leveraging the power of AI and the expertise of a chef and nutritionist.

Inflation Cookbook is self-sustaining and launched in 2023 through a partnership with Canada’s largest newspaper, giving it unprecedented scale and embedding it into the space where inflation was the most covered topic. It was also supported with a digital, social, SEO, and PR effort.

It covers every region in Canada, the world’s 2nd largest country, and has an adaptable and scalable foundation with the potential for expansion into other markets.

Inflation Cookbook‘s impact on Canadians’ grocery bills is undeniable, allowing a family of four to save, on average, 20.3% on their weekly cart. This substantial reduction in grocery expenses demonstrates Inflation Cookbook's effectiveness in empowering consumers to make informed, budget-conscious, healthy decisions. By December 2023, the platform is projected to have generated over $21.8M in total savings for Canadian families.

Inflation Cookbook quickly captured a sizeable following (28,600 weekly users), a testament to its widespread resonance. The platform gained significant attention as soon as it was launched, with over 400 million media impressions and 355+ articles published within the first week alone. In that same week, it had sent over 3000 new customers to shop on SkipExpressLane.

These results exemplify the power of data-driven creativity and its ability to transform industry and improve lives, creating lasting, positive change for Canadians.

Canada's grocery landscape is dominated by only four major players, which has resulted in a highly concentrated market with limited competition. These big retailers hold significant sway over pricing, making it challenging for consumers to find substantial savings.

In this context, Inflation Cookbook offers a refreshing alternative that empowers Canadians to make informed decisions about their grocery purchases. By providing real-time price information and personalized healthy meal options, it democratizes access to pricing information and promotes cost awareness. Inflation Cookbook encourages a more competitive landscape than the Canadian grocery market has seen in years. This, in turn, has the potential to drive positive change, as major retailers may need to adapt their strategies and pricing models to retain consumer loyalty in the face of an increasingly informed and price-savvy customer base