Recommending food items based on personal information and nutritional content

• US 9,558,515 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2014
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Babu, Narendra, Kozhissery, Ramesh, Jain, Rijul
• Primary Examiner(s): Savusdiphol, Paultep
• Application Number:
  US14/548,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20160140644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/383
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets

Abstract

The present invention extends to systems, methods, and computer program products for recommending food items based on personal information and nutritional content. A registered customer has members in a customer group. The registered customer provides nutritional information for members of the group (e.g., family members) to a merchant computer system. The merchant computer system uses the nutritional information to recommend food items to the customer. As a customer shops, the merchant computer system compares the nutritional content of the shopping cart items with nutritional needs of the customer. Recommendations are furnished to the customer based on the shopping cart content and the nutritional needs of the customer.

Claims

1. At a computer system, a method for recommending a food item to a registered customer comprising a group of one or more members, the method comprising:

accessing an indication of two or more food items in a shopping cart for the registered customer;

accessing a customer nutritional profile for the registered customer, the customer nutritional profile derived from characteristics associated with the registered customer, the characteristics comprising;

customer characteristics applicable to the group of one or more members; and

for each member of the group of one or more members, member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members;

calculating a cumulative nutritional content of the two or more food items from item nutritional profiles for each of the two or more food items;

comparing the customer nutritional profile to the cumulative nutritional content to determine that purchase of the two or more food items fails to satisfy at least one nutritional requirement of the registered customer;

identifying an additional food item that satisfies the at least one nutritional requirement based at least in part on the customer nutritional profile and a nutritional content of the additional food item; and

recommending the additional food item to the registered customer for purchase in addition to the purchase of the two or more food items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the member characteristics comprise birthdate and gender.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members comprise a member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members based at least in part on medical information for each member of the group of one or more members.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on the member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the medical information for each member of the group of one or more members comprises one or more diseases of each member of the group of one or more members.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is further based at least in part on a price of each of the two or more food items.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising updating the price of each of the two or more food items.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the member characteristics comprise birthdate and gender;

the member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members comprise a member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members based at least in part on medical information for each member of the group of one or more members;

the medical information for each member of the group of one or more members comprises one or more diseases of each member of the group of one or more members;

the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on the member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members;

the identifying is further based at least in part on a price of each of the two or more food items; and

the method further comprising;

updating the price of each of the two or more food items.

9. At a portable electronic device, a method for receiving a food item recommendation from a merchant, the method comprising:

receiving user input from a registered customer of the merchant, the user input selecting two or more food items for placement in a shopping cart of the merchant, the registered customer comprising one or more members and having a customer nutritional profile available to the merchant, the customer nutritional profile derived from characteristics associated with the registered customer, the characteristics comprising;

customer characteristics applicable to the one or more members; and

for each of the one or more members, member characteristics applicable to each member of the one or more members;

forwarding the selection of the two or more food items to a computer server of the merchant; and

receiving a recommendation for an additional food item from the computer server in addition to the two or more food items, the additional food item recommended having been determined to satisfy at least one nutritional requirement not satisfied by the selection of the two or more food items, the additional food item recommended identified by comparing a cumulative nutritional content of the two or more food items to the customer nutritional profile, the cumulative nutritional content of the two or more food items calculated from an item nutritional profile for each of the two or more food items.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the member characteristics comprise age and gender.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the member characteristics comprise medical information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the medical information comprises one or more diseases.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on member nutritional profiles of the one or more members.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the portable electronic device detects an identifier for each food item of the two or more food items in the shopping cart and sends the identifier to the merchant.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the member characteristics comprise age and gender;

the member characteristics comprise medical information;

the medical information comprises one or more diseases;

the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on member nutritional profiles of the one or more members;

the portable electronic device detects an identifier for each food item in the shopping cart and sends the identifier to the merchant; and

the portable electronic device detects an identifier for each food item of the two or more food items in the shopping cart and sends the identifier to the merchant.

16. At a merchant computer system, the merchant computer system comprising:

one or more processors;

non-transitory system memory; and

one or more computer storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions representing a food item recommendation module, the food item recommendation module configured to;

access an indication of two or more food items in a shopping cart for a registered customer of a merchant, the registered customer comprising a group of one or more members;

access a customer nutritional profile for the registered customer, the customer nutritional profile derived from characteristics associated with the registered customer, the characteristics comprising;

customer characteristics applicable to the group of one or more members; and

for each member of the group of one or more members, member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members;

calculate a cumulative nutritional content of the two or more food items from item nutritional profiles for each of the two or more food items;

compare the customer nutritional profile to the cumulative nutritional content to determine that purchase of the two or more food items fails to satisfy at least one nutritional requirement of the registered customer;

identify an additional food item that satisfies the at least one nutritional requirement based at least in part on the customer nutritional profile and a nutritional content of the additional food item; and

recommend the additional food item to the registered customer for purchase in addition to the purchase of the two or more food items.

17. The merchant computer system of claim 16, wherein the member characteristics comprise birthdate and gender.

18. The merchant computer system of claim 16, wherein the member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members comprise a member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members based at least in part on medical information for each member of the group of one or more members.

19. The merchant computer system of claim 18, wherein the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on the member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members.

20. The merchant computer system of claim 18, wherein:

the medical information for each member of the group of one or more members comprises one or more diseases of each member of the group of one or more members.

21. The merchant computer system of claim 16, wherein the identifying is further based at least in part on a price of each of the two or more food items.

22. The merchant computer system of claim 16, wherein:

the member characteristics comprise birthdate and gender;

the member characteristics applicable to each member of the group of one or more members comprise a member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members based at least in part on medical information for each member of the group of one or more members;

the customer nutritional profile is based at least in part on the member nutritional profile for each member of the group of one or more members;

the medical information of the member comprises one or more diseases of each member of the group of one or more members; and

the identifying is further based at least in part on a price of each of the two or more food items.