From Contagious Newsletter, 20/01/2009 00:00:00

Kraft, the world's third-largest food and beverage company, has entered the iPhone branded application fray with the iFood Assistant. The app has got off to an impressive early start - it is currently sitting at #2 in the Lifestyle category of the iPhone app store - impressive considering there is a one-off 99-cent charge for downloading it. What's more, it also features advertising which users seem to sit through in exchange for the service which it provides...

So what does iFood Assistant actually do? Developed in-house by Kraft New Service, Inc., the app provides consumers with tips, recipes and consequent shopping lists (obviously including Kraft products). It aims to make cooking quicker for those with less time on their hands, be it busy mums or professionals with hectic lifestyles. The 7000 recipes are broken down into various categories including meal time, ingredients and preparation time complete with step-by-step instructional videos covering techniques from chopping to seasoning.

To access the recipes users must log in, meaning that at any given time Kraft can see how many people are going after what content - a useful tool for gathering targeted information.

Kraft are proving, in true branded utility style, that if you make something useful enough, consumers will be happy to not only be marketed to, but even pay for the privilege AND exchange personal information along the way. The app is comprehensive in its coverage of every detail from shopping lists to store locators, even specifying which isle to buy ingredients from, meaning not buying Kraft products becomes an exercise in willful avoidance. This is moving beyond branded utility into branded necessity territory...

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