Dubai is a city that thrives on innovation, and the individuals behind its most impactful ventures are shaping the future of our community. The Tastemaker Series celebrates those who are contributing to the city’s growth and adding value in meaningful ways. These change-makers are not just building businesses; they’re creating solutions that resonate with people and make life better.
In this edition, we are thrilled to feature Arij, the founder of Yufeed—a revolutionary recipe and menu generating app that’s making meal planning a breeze for families. Arij’s passion for food and her entrepreneurial spirit led her to create a platform that simplifies the daily challenge of deciding what to cook, providing families with nutritious, personalized meal ideas.
Below, Arij shares her journey, the inspiration behind Yufeed, and her mission to make home cooking enjoyable and accessible for everyone.
Let’s start by getting to know you! Can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your background? What led you to the world of food and entrepreneurship?
My name is Arij and I am the founder of yufeed – the recipe and menu generating app which I started just over a year ago. I have lived in Dubai for almost 25 years and I have always had my hand in different entrepreneurships, which eventually led me here! Food and cooking has been the constant passion and when I was hired to edit and curate a book called Empowering Women through Cooking for the UAE, it led me seamlessly into starting yufeed!
Yufeed is making waves for simplifying meal planning for families. What inspired you to create this app, and how did the idea take shape? Was there a personal experience that motivated you?
I cook almost every day, and sometimes thinking of what to cook is tiring! So, when several friends started calling me asking me what I am cooking or asking me for my menu for the week, I realised that this is a huge pain point for so many people – deciding what to feed their families on a daily basis and struggling with variety and keeping it interesting. I started asking around and it was a pain for many!
Who is Yufeed developed for? Can you describe your target customers and how the app caters to their specific needs?
The app caters to anyone who struggles with what to cook or eat, or anyone who wants to focus more on home cooking and needs ideas. My main target was the homemaker with a family who needs to make sure that their family is getting good nutritious food and who doesn’t want the constant back up of deliveries!
Meal planning is often a source of stress for busy families. How does Yufeed streamline this process and make it more enjoyable for households juggling different needs?
Meal planning can be time-consuming and yufeed takes that into account, so the core of the app is actually the menu generating ability – based on your filters which you enter when you register, a menu is simply generated for you for the week, so you don’t even have to spend any time searching through recipes!
How do you develop and shortlist the recipes that are featured on Yufeed? What is the process behind selecting them, and how do you ensure they meet the needs of different families?
The recipes are tried and tested from many friends and family! We started out with my family recipes, and then I turned to different foodie friends who were happy to share their family recipes and it just grew from there. It is a way to keep recipes alive! You will notice that there is sometimes a name in front of the recipe name – that is the homage to that person!
What type of recipes can users expect to find on Yufeed? Do they cater to specific dietary preferences, cultural dishes, or time-saving meals?
There is a huge variety of recipes and your menu would be based on your filters which include cuisine – so Arabic, Indian, Persian, Turkish, Italian, Global etc., as well as dietary preferences and regimens like keto, vegan, pescatarian and so on, as well as disliked ingredients, allergies, and dietary needs like iron rich, immunity boosting, cholesterol-controlled among others.
What kind of feedback have you received from families using Yufeed? Any standout success stories or memorable moments you’d like to share?
There has been amazing feedback – so many women with decision fatigue can relax and ease their mind about what to cook! One friend told me most of her arguments with her husband was about what to cook as she always found it overwhelming to decide and it made her feel stuck – so now its good times at meal times!
Balancing a business and personal life can be challenging. What has been the most rewarding part of your journey as an entrepreneur so far?
Other than learning so much about a whole new world of investing and tech, I am constantly amazed at how people want to and like to help! I have asked for help from so many people and it is amazing how much I have received! As for the balance, I tend to do most of my work during the day when my kids are in school, and then if I need to catch up on anything I do that in the evening.
Every founder has a deeper purpose behind their work. What’s your ‘why,’ and what kind of impact do you hope Yufeed will have on the families that use it?
I have to deep purposes behind yufeed – I want people to enjoy cooking and eating at home with friends and family – I want kids to appreciate a variety of food and its unique ability to bring people together. Food bridges differences, cultures and traditions. It also is a way to root people. The other purpose is food waste – if you know what you are cooking for the week, you buy what you need and no food goes to waste.
And finally, let’s talk food! Can you share one of your favourite recipes and tell us why it’s special to you?
The stuffed Kousa recipes are the ultimate in comfort food – the deep tomato sauce with the dried mint and garlic with the safflower scented rice stuffing – it’s home in a bowl.
