What's Cooking is a cooking platform built around real creators, short-form content and personalized discovery. Made for a generation that already finds recipes on social, so cooking feels more like inspiration, less like searching.
Kraft Heinz wanted to know its consumers better. The challenge was honest: people don't share their cooking habits with a giant CPG brand just because they're asked to.
Meanwhile, recipes were already living on social, just without trust, curation or personalization.
So the bar was simple. Make something good enough that people want to come back, and happily invest a bit of themselves in it.
Make it valuable enough that people want to come back, and happily invest in it.
I joined mid-flight and led the moments that move long-term engagement the most.
Redesigned onboarding into a warmer, more personal entry. Added ratings and reviews so people could trust the recipes. Built curated collections to make discovery feel intentional.
And led the design of the launch experience that carried the app into the world.
The website carried the rollout. Same voice and look across marketing, support and the app stores. One brand, one experience, from discovery to download.
Every screen written for the people who'd open the app tomorrow, not for a press release.
Outcomes ✦ The Numbers
What launch unlocked for users, for teams, and for the brand, in the months after rollout.
Reached the first-year goals within months, across the App Store and Play Store combined.
Strong reception around personalization and the quality of creator-led content.
Users returned regularly instead of downloading and leaving. The app became part of the routine.
Helping Kraft Heinz create meaningful first-party relationships (preferences, diet, taste) with consent.
The Team
Gratitude to the cross-functional crew that made this one real, and to the testers who kept us honest.