Kraft Craftily Builds Menu App for iPad

At least one consumer products giant thinks the iPad is the next big thing.

Kraft Foods, the global purveyor of such brands as Cracker Barrel, Jello, Kool-Aid, Miracle Whip, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Ritz, was one of the first consumer products companies to recognize the capabilities of apps, launching the iFood Assistant in December 2008. The smartphone app for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and RIM's BlackBerry is now in its second iteration, providing consumers with access to over 7,000 recipes, as well as a "smart" shopping list with store locator.

Now Kraft is bringing the same kind of menu magic to the iPad with a new application called Big Fork Little Fork, so-named because it's meant for kids of all ages.

Research conducted by Google suggested that some 37 million web searches were conducted for family and kids food. Kraft saw an opportunity to provide an application for young families that would offer information on healthy eating.

Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation, consumer experiences at Kraft Foods, tells Ad Age, "There were no specific resources for where parents can go for this knowledge. So we create the content and wrap it around this interactive experience. Like we did with iFood Assistant, we're trying to provide utility, and the Kraft branding comes secondary."

Big Fork Little Fork, which costs $1.99 to download (watch a demo below), uses the larger iPad touchscreen to create an interactive experience. Consumers can call up a virtual library of of 300 recipes, along with games, how-to videos, and other interactive elements. Kraft partnered with Meredith Integrated Marketing to enrich the content, which will refresh on a periodic basis.

Hyperfactory, the mobile agency behind the iFood Assistant, developed the application. Derek Handley, CEO of Hyperfactory, tells Ad Age, "iPad lends itself to brand content if content makes sense for that brand... It's the intersection of new-content development, product development and designing the user interface and how the consumer interacts."

Big Fork Little Fork targets parents who are in their 20s and 30s, and their children, ages 6 through 12. The application has content intended for both adults and children.

While there is no demographic data yet available for the iPad, Ed Kaczmarek of Kraft Foods recognizes that being first requires a certain amount of risk. "We have to take a leap of faith," he says. "If we waited around to have hard demographics and numbers, we wouldn't be innovating."