In this episode, Teri welcomes Bahubali Shete and Mario Rodriguez of Klove Chef. They talk about voice in the cooking world, marketing, and advertising.
Welcome Bahubali Shete and Mario Rodriguez!
Today we’re exploring uncharted territory and we’re doing it twofold: It’s our first ever episode with two guests and we’ll also be talking about something you wouldn’t associate with voice technology, at least not right away: cooking.
Bahubali Shete is the co-founder and CEO of Klove Chef and Mario Rodriguez is its Chief Culinary Officer.
Klove Chef is the love child of a seasoned food entrepreneur, Bahubali, and a masterful chef, Mario. It is a voice-guided cooking assistant that helps keep your hands free for cooking, while giving you relevant cooking tips.
What is your skill about?
Bahubali points out that there are two sides to their platform: the consumer side and the business side. On the consumer side, for example, a person can say: “I have tomatoes and some chicken. What can I cook?” and Alexa will then take it from there. She’ll suggest dishes based on the person’s preferences. If the user has all the ingredients, they can start right away. If not, Alexa will help the person pick them up. The skill gives the user complete control over navigation and pace, guiding them step by step, while providing useful culinary tips. The tips are plucked from Mario’s culinary school days, and they are peppered throughout the whole cooking process. They range from showing you an easier way to slice basil, to how to prevent eggplant from oxidizing.
At the end of the week, Bahubali says, the skill asks for feedback to learn what the user likes and what they don’t like.
Can you talk about your cooking analytics?
The cooking analytics mainly involve their partners, Bahubali says. Klove Chef’s partners, who have beefed up Klove Chef by providing close to 400 recipes, don’t know what happens to their products after they leave the supermarket’s shelves, Bahubali reminds us. This is where Klove Chef steps in: they give their partners a treasure trove of data, like what time of the day or what day of the week their products were used.
Can you comment about voice marketing and voice commerce?
“Voice shopping is much more convenient than any other form of shopping”
Bahubali says that, according to some reports, there are as many as 22% of smart speaker owners who have already done their first voice purchase. Even if the actual number is much lower, Bahubali says, voice shopping is much more convenient that any other form of shopping. There is a trend that people already have started experiencing voice purchasing and it won’t be long before it catches up.
How do you feel about voice technology in the cooking world?
Mario says that he sees voice jumping into the commercial world. He thinks it’s going to jump from a person’s home to manufacturing. Bahubali says voice in cooking is more convenient than any other way of interaction, because your hands, which is what you need the most when you are cooking, are free. There’s no need to swipe or interact with any screens.
List of resources mentioned in this episode:
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