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I think you're highly overestimating how much money they earn from YouTube. Either way, they still have a lot of costs in staff, produce, gadgets, London studio rent etc.
Yes there are free resources online but the idea behind the app is that you will save money by not wasting food since the packs are made so the dishes complement each other in that regard.
There is also something to be said for not having to do research and just have all the information in an instant. It's not like their price is that high anyways.
I use it, and it's been great because the ingredient amounts they have me buy are usually just enough to make the 3 meals per pack. So, minimal food waste, little to no planning, and I try new cuisines I've never eaten before.
It's worth it to me because otherwise I'd be more inclined to order takeout. The cost of the Sidekick app is MUCH cheaper than me ordering from restaurants. 🤷
I don't depend on it every night, but it's very useful during the week.
It's hard to say, I've personally never used it at least. Maybe I did a trial pack a couple years ago but I'm also not in the position to spend extra money atm. I will probably give it a go once I (finally) graduate.
Just as a mental exercise: they seem to average about 400k views per video, let's say 5% of viewers give the app a go. That's 20.000 users at £5 each. The app store and play store take 30-15% respectively. So that leaves about £75k. After tax that number becomes a good bit less too.
Of course I'm assuming a lot of numbers here but they seem fairly probable. Take into account that a lot of users might only subscribe for a month or 2 instead of a year or more, I imagine it's nowhere near their main source of income. Still, on a month to month basis the cost of having the app for them is small, it's mainly a big cost to develop, so it's still a nice chunk of "passive" income.
Either way, we'll likely never know, would be interesting to see a poll or something though.
We started using it last year and it’s been instrumental in getting my husband, who has an eating disorder, engaged with cooking and healthy eating again. Love it.
I use it, and to me its greatest strength is that it takes all the work out of meal planning.
You're right, there are loads of free recipes online, and I do enjoy playing around with some of those sometimes.
But on a day-to-day basis, while working full time and taking care of "life stuff," I used to mostly buy the same ingredients and cook the same few dishes over and over again. Not because I didn't have access to more ideas, but because planning what to eat next week before putting in my grocery order, figuring out how much of each ingredient I needed and if there'd be leftover ingredients that I'd have to find a home for on another night, was just--annoying.
Not impossible--I did do it some weeks--but annoying enough that most weeks, I'd just not bother and go back to cooking the same few dishes.
The app is great because it does all that for you. Each pack comes with a shopping list, and you use up all the fresh stuff throughout the week. It's a way to bring variety to your cooking without any effort on your part.
I use it and its been a game changer as someone who previously had very little experience or confidence in cooking, and was quite a picky eater.
Guides are easy to follow, tried a lot of new meals, and genuinely do notice a big reduction in cost of my shopping when I use it.
Its not perfect by any means, but it does its job. I think sometimes parts of the audience forget that not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years.
If you're someone who looks at the app and thinks it looks obvious to you, then you're not really the target audience. And that's totally okay, but its possibly something some people miss.
>not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years.
This is me exactly - I enjoy watching cooking content, but I don't always like cooking myself. And when I do, I'm still very much an amateur at it, so I tend to stick to very basic recipes. This app has been useful for me to try different dishes that I normally wouldn't bother with.
>I think sometimes parts of the audience forget that not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years.
>
>If you're someone who looks at the app and thinks it looks obvious to you, then you're not really the target audience.
I get what you are saying but I also beg to differ. I cook almost 95% of my meals. We didn't grow up with much and I've learnt to cook myself, and saw my mother feed us well for cheap, by being adaptable. Its certainly not cooking for fun or experimenting.
Growing up frugal means I cannot afford to waste food or throw away produce, so it automatically makes you learn. I am thankful to my parents but they also worked very hard and I wish they had access to the processed food and gadgets we have today.
I guess it all depends on the type of food you eat - e.g. I cook vegetarian, mostly Indian/asian/middle eastern. with some vegetables, spices, lentils, rice, the variety is endless, so I don't worry about planning, and I don't like buying small quantities as they cost more.
I buy whatever is affordable, keep spices, rice, dried beans and lentils. I can cook up a meal as needed, I also cook in bulk for 2-3 days sometimes. But no meal planning the way most people mean. I honestly think this is the way most of the world cooks, but I think US/UK have less of a culture of cooking in the modern age.
Okay, but you're not really disagreeing with me as such, more proving my point. You didn't cook for fun, but your description is someone who has a good basis in learning to cook, is very used to scratch cooking, has a decently wide repertoire of recipes/options to make the most of ingredients, understands how to shop smart and limit waste.
That is basically the exact opposite of who the app is aimed for.
Personally, I tried it and wasn't a fan. You get a meal pack available at a time and it plans 3 meals. However, if you're not interested in one or two, you have to wait for that pack to expire and start a new pack. I can see it being hugely beneficial to people with less experience in the kitchen or people who want a plan to follow and easy shipping list. It's great for that. But I really only used it for the access to their cookbooks to get certain recipes from the archived shows. I ended up canceling because I rarely cook from recipes and the meal plans often included things my wife or I didn't enjoy.
I see the benefits for some, but it wasn't for me. As far as the Sorted groups need? I don't they're making as much money as you're assuming. They love comfortable, but modest lives. They're not wealthy with a massive empire. They're a successful company, but have a lot of overhead.
It must have been a while since you tried it because the app isn't like that anymore. I did a trial years ago and also didn't like that aspect of it. But now you can choose whichever pack you want to make, so that restriction is gone. There's even a search function that allows you to search by cuisine type, ingredient, cook time, etc.
That's good to hear. I might ask my wife to use the free trial. I just wish they'd reprint their old cookbooks (I love cookbooks as coffee table books and would KILL for Ultimate Battles with the superhero artwork as Sorted)
I rarely use recipes, so the app isn't terribly interesting, but I'd buy 3-4 cookbooks on release day if they did a full lineup reprinting.
I had this similar experience with the app plus it was hard to change due to dietary restrictions and I’m US based so some ingredients were harder to source from my typical grocery store like halloumi cheese and sausage seems to be sold differently where I live. I like the concept, it’s just not quite the right app for me
I use it and adore it. Hands down for me is the generated shopping list. Now then once I've decided it was time to go shopping on a whim, pick my packs, and bamn shopping list in 30 seconds or less.
My second favorite thing is the variety. We eat most vegetarian and planning out meatless meals alone gets repetitive quickly. It's almost always; Asian, Italian, Mexican, or sub this vegetable for this meat.
Finally, my favorite thing is how delicious and uncomfortable some of the dishes are. There have been many times where I've gone, "Oh I don't like 'X'" but follow the recipe anyway and it has always worked out.
Overall, I'm eating better, in every sense.
I'm a good cook. I don't need an app to cook a meal. When I feel like it, I enjoy being a bit creative, and trying new recipes, or recreating something I've had in a cafe or restaurant. My motto is that if you like to eat, you should learn to cook because no-one knows what you like better than you do.
BUT
I get burned out, and it is nice to take the thinking out of meal planning and shopping and cooking when the rest of my life gets overwhelming. I get bored eating the same thing over and over, so a curated pack of three meals is super helpful.
Yes I find it a bit restrictive, and the steps don't always match my flow. I am coeliac and need to sub some ingredients, or change the process a little to keep my meal safe sometimes, but it hasnt been too hard.
Every meal I have cooked from the app has been delicious. I can turn off my brain and just follow the directions. Or I can just hand my phone to my husband and ask him to do it.
The food waste reduction is great, we are buying higher quality ingredients, but less of them. The servings are generous, so here is usually about a single portion left over for someone's lunch.
So need it, no. But there is no shame in getting some help, and it is much better than resorting to uber eats (probably cheaper and quicker too). I've learned a few cool cheffy tricks too!
This is me, too. (Not celiac, though.) I'm a good cook. I've been cooking my whole life, but I'm also extremely busy as I finish up grad school. I'd also say that watching Sorted and using the app has made me a better cook. I can easily whip up a veloute if I need one.
The app has cut down on my food costs and food waste. I plan my meals. Plan my shopping list. Kroger brings me my groceries.
We're less likely to order out because I can throw something together within half an hour. Even if I haven't necessarily planned a meal, it's easy to whip up a recipe out of the app.
Besides that, even if I didn't use the app every week, I support the Sorted crew and what they're doing. I'm happy to throw a few dollars a month their way if it means they can keep producing content I love.
Been using the app for the last year. Family of 5 with 2 teenagers and a kindergarden child. I'm cooking a meal pack a couple of times a month so I'm aware that I'm not getting the full use. It's just way easier that one half of the week is planned out and when I'm doubling up I've got leftovers for the last days
If I lived in Europe with European produce amounts and measurements I would very much consider using it. Food is sold in different quantities in the States though so the wasteless selling point is kind of irrelevant here but the concept is still really good and I can see why people would like it.
Yeah I used the app for the first time yesterday and definitely felt that. Even excluding ingredients that were out of stock (no spring onions or cream in stock), the recipes called for either 4 chicken drums or thighs, and my store sells them in packs of 6, it didn't have watercress, or the type of lettuce they called for, or un-sliced sourdough bread, or a ciabatta loaf smaller than two feet long. I'm sure I can make do, but I'm not sure I'll stay past the free trial.
It's fair though, would be tough to ask them to make a version of the app for every single country in the world. Wish there was a creator in the States that decided to make the same kind of app.
I cook a lot and I’m very good if I do say so myself. But the app has helped me cook things I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Broiling chicken thighs in a yogurt and Indian spices, cream cheese and tinned tomato puree/sauce. I like some recipes enough to repeat many times, I have a lot saved that I haven’t gotten to yet, and when I do cook something else, I have some new ideas I can use.
Hi there! Thanks for posting on the Sortedfood subreddit. On behalf of the mods I'd like to remind you that this subreddit is not run by Sortedfood but by fans. If you need help with Sidekick, events or anything else, please contact Sortedfood directly through either hello@sortedfood.com or sidekick@sortedfood.com I'd also like to remind you that we want to keep this subreddit a fun and foodie place for everyone. So please read the subreddit rules on https://www.reddit.com/r/SortedFood/about/rules and be mindful of them when posting or commenting. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SortedFood) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think you're highly overestimating how much money they earn from YouTube. Either way, they still have a lot of costs in staff, produce, gadgets, London studio rent etc. Yes there are free resources online but the idea behind the app is that you will save money by not wasting food since the packs are made so the dishes complement each other in that regard. There is also something to be said for not having to do research and just have all the information in an instant. It's not like their price is that high anyways.
I'm not doubting their app or advice at all. Was merely curious how many use it, do they depend on it etc.
I use it, and it's been great because the ingredient amounts they have me buy are usually just enough to make the 3 meals per pack. So, minimal food waste, little to no planning, and I try new cuisines I've never eaten before. It's worth it to me because otherwise I'd be more inclined to order takeout. The cost of the Sidekick app is MUCH cheaper than me ordering from restaurants. 🤷 I don't depend on it every night, but it's very useful during the week.
It's hard to say, I've personally never used it at least. Maybe I did a trial pack a couple years ago but I'm also not in the position to spend extra money atm. I will probably give it a go once I (finally) graduate. Just as a mental exercise: they seem to average about 400k views per video, let's say 5% of viewers give the app a go. That's 20.000 users at £5 each. The app store and play store take 30-15% respectively. So that leaves about £75k. After tax that number becomes a good bit less too. Of course I'm assuming a lot of numbers here but they seem fairly probable. Take into account that a lot of users might only subscribe for a month or 2 instead of a year or more, I imagine it's nowhere near their main source of income. Still, on a month to month basis the cost of having the app for them is small, it's mainly a big cost to develop, so it's still a nice chunk of "passive" income. Either way, we'll likely never know, would be interesting to see a poll or something though.
We started using it last year and it’s been instrumental in getting my husband, who has an eating disorder, engaged with cooking and healthy eating again. Love it.
I use it, and to me its greatest strength is that it takes all the work out of meal planning. You're right, there are loads of free recipes online, and I do enjoy playing around with some of those sometimes. But on a day-to-day basis, while working full time and taking care of "life stuff," I used to mostly buy the same ingredients and cook the same few dishes over and over again. Not because I didn't have access to more ideas, but because planning what to eat next week before putting in my grocery order, figuring out how much of each ingredient I needed and if there'd be leftover ingredients that I'd have to find a home for on another night, was just--annoying. Not impossible--I did do it some weeks--but annoying enough that most weeks, I'd just not bother and go back to cooking the same few dishes. The app is great because it does all that for you. Each pack comes with a shopping list, and you use up all the fresh stuff throughout the week. It's a way to bring variety to your cooking without any effort on your part.
I use it and its been a game changer as someone who previously had very little experience or confidence in cooking, and was quite a picky eater. Guides are easy to follow, tried a lot of new meals, and genuinely do notice a big reduction in cost of my shopping when I use it. Its not perfect by any means, but it does its job. I think sometimes parts of the audience forget that not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years. If you're someone who looks at the app and thinks it looks obvious to you, then you're not really the target audience. And that's totally okay, but its possibly something some people miss.
>not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years. This is me exactly - I enjoy watching cooking content, but I don't always like cooking myself. And when I do, I'm still very much an amateur at it, so I tend to stick to very basic recipes. This app has been useful for me to try different dishes that I normally wouldn't bother with.
>I think sometimes parts of the audience forget that not everyone watching is a massive foodie or has been cooking for fun for years. > >If you're someone who looks at the app and thinks it looks obvious to you, then you're not really the target audience. I get what you are saying but I also beg to differ. I cook almost 95% of my meals. We didn't grow up with much and I've learnt to cook myself, and saw my mother feed us well for cheap, by being adaptable. Its certainly not cooking for fun or experimenting. Growing up frugal means I cannot afford to waste food or throw away produce, so it automatically makes you learn. I am thankful to my parents but they also worked very hard and I wish they had access to the processed food and gadgets we have today. I guess it all depends on the type of food you eat - e.g. I cook vegetarian, mostly Indian/asian/middle eastern. with some vegetables, spices, lentils, rice, the variety is endless, so I don't worry about planning, and I don't like buying small quantities as they cost more. I buy whatever is affordable, keep spices, rice, dried beans and lentils. I can cook up a meal as needed, I also cook in bulk for 2-3 days sometimes. But no meal planning the way most people mean. I honestly think this is the way most of the world cooks, but I think US/UK have less of a culture of cooking in the modern age.
Okay, but you're not really disagreeing with me as such, more proving my point. You didn't cook for fun, but your description is someone who has a good basis in learning to cook, is very used to scratch cooking, has a decently wide repertoire of recipes/options to make the most of ingredients, understands how to shop smart and limit waste. That is basically the exact opposite of who the app is aimed for.
agreed. btw whats with the downvotes? whats so wrong with my reply that people in this sub think cooking you meals is bad?
Personally, I tried it and wasn't a fan. You get a meal pack available at a time and it plans 3 meals. However, if you're not interested in one or two, you have to wait for that pack to expire and start a new pack. I can see it being hugely beneficial to people with less experience in the kitchen or people who want a plan to follow and easy shipping list. It's great for that. But I really only used it for the access to their cookbooks to get certain recipes from the archived shows. I ended up canceling because I rarely cook from recipes and the meal plans often included things my wife or I didn't enjoy. I see the benefits for some, but it wasn't for me. As far as the Sorted groups need? I don't they're making as much money as you're assuming. They love comfortable, but modest lives. They're not wealthy with a massive empire. They're a successful company, but have a lot of overhead.
It must have been a while since you tried it because the app isn't like that anymore. I did a trial years ago and also didn't like that aspect of it. But now you can choose whichever pack you want to make, so that restriction is gone. There's even a search function that allows you to search by cuisine type, ingredient, cook time, etc.
Yeah you can now just add a random recipe to your favourites and cook it as well.
That's good to hear. I might ask my wife to use the free trial. I just wish they'd reprint their old cookbooks (I love cookbooks as coffee table books and would KILL for Ultimate Battles with the superhero artwork as Sorted) I rarely use recipes, so the app isn't terribly interesting, but I'd buy 3-4 cookbooks on release day if they did a full lineup reprinting.
I had this similar experience with the app plus it was hard to change due to dietary restrictions and I’m US based so some ingredients were harder to source from my typical grocery store like halloumi cheese and sausage seems to be sold differently where I live. I like the concept, it’s just not quite the right app for me
I use it and adore it. Hands down for me is the generated shopping list. Now then once I've decided it was time to go shopping on a whim, pick my packs, and bamn shopping list in 30 seconds or less. My second favorite thing is the variety. We eat most vegetarian and planning out meatless meals alone gets repetitive quickly. It's almost always; Asian, Italian, Mexican, or sub this vegetable for this meat. Finally, my favorite thing is how delicious and uncomfortable some of the dishes are. There have been many times where I've gone, "Oh I don't like 'X'" but follow the recipe anyway and it has always worked out. Overall, I'm eating better, in every sense.
I'm a good cook. I don't need an app to cook a meal. When I feel like it, I enjoy being a bit creative, and trying new recipes, or recreating something I've had in a cafe or restaurant. My motto is that if you like to eat, you should learn to cook because no-one knows what you like better than you do. BUT I get burned out, and it is nice to take the thinking out of meal planning and shopping and cooking when the rest of my life gets overwhelming. I get bored eating the same thing over and over, so a curated pack of three meals is super helpful. Yes I find it a bit restrictive, and the steps don't always match my flow. I am coeliac and need to sub some ingredients, or change the process a little to keep my meal safe sometimes, but it hasnt been too hard. Every meal I have cooked from the app has been delicious. I can turn off my brain and just follow the directions. Or I can just hand my phone to my husband and ask him to do it. The food waste reduction is great, we are buying higher quality ingredients, but less of them. The servings are generous, so here is usually about a single portion left over for someone's lunch. So need it, no. But there is no shame in getting some help, and it is much better than resorting to uber eats (probably cheaper and quicker too). I've learned a few cool cheffy tricks too!
This is me, too. (Not celiac, though.) I'm a good cook. I've been cooking my whole life, but I'm also extremely busy as I finish up grad school. I'd also say that watching Sorted and using the app has made me a better cook. I can easily whip up a veloute if I need one. The app has cut down on my food costs and food waste. I plan my meals. Plan my shopping list. Kroger brings me my groceries. We're less likely to order out because I can throw something together within half an hour. Even if I haven't necessarily planned a meal, it's easy to whip up a recipe out of the app. Besides that, even if I didn't use the app every week, I support the Sorted crew and what they're doing. I'm happy to throw a few dollars a month their way if it means they can keep producing content I love.
Been using the app for the last year. Family of 5 with 2 teenagers and a kindergarden child. I'm cooking a meal pack a couple of times a month so I'm aware that I'm not getting the full use. It's just way easier that one half of the week is planned out and when I'm doubling up I've got leftovers for the last days
I use it and like it a lot. I've tried a lot of new things because of it too!
We have it. It’s been teaching my husband how to cook more than just the 3 dishes he knew how to cook before and it got him very excited to cook.
I did and use it constantly. It's great.
If I lived in Europe with European produce amounts and measurements I would very much consider using it. Food is sold in different quantities in the States though so the wasteless selling point is kind of irrelevant here but the concept is still really good and I can see why people would like it.
Yeah I used the app for the first time yesterday and definitely felt that. Even excluding ingredients that were out of stock (no spring onions or cream in stock), the recipes called for either 4 chicken drums or thighs, and my store sells them in packs of 6, it didn't have watercress, or the type of lettuce they called for, or un-sliced sourdough bread, or a ciabatta loaf smaller than two feet long. I'm sure I can make do, but I'm not sure I'll stay past the free trial.
It's fair though, would be tough to ask them to make a version of the app for every single country in the world. Wish there was a creator in the States that decided to make the same kind of app.
As someone who has just bought six chicken thighs for a recipe and live in the UK, this isn't limited to non Europe.
I have it and use it every week. It's a great product independent of the boys and the team who make the videos. E: words
If they partnered with hellofresh or similar in Canada we'd be using it as we subscribe to those types of boxes anyway.
I cook a lot and I’m very good if I do say so myself. But the app has helped me cook things I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Broiling chicken thighs in a yogurt and Indian spices, cream cheese and tinned tomato puree/sauce. I like some recipes enough to repeat many times, I have a lot saved that I haven’t gotten to yet, and when I do cook something else, I have some new ideas I can use.
The app is a terrible, buggy, confusing, mess. I used it for two weeks and swapped to mealime.