Holistic product view
One of the core features of FF is the ability to analyse, compare and select products based on a large set of possible characteristics of products.This only possible thanks to a large collection of taxonomies, which encode possible product characteristics. The size of these taxonomies is ever more growing and more difficult to maintain. This page describes some approaches to the clever usage of taxonomies, which uses the idea of combining facets, so that the user still can find and compare products. This approach might allow to reduce the number of entries in some taxonomies.
The taxonomies
Ingredients
The ingredient taxonomy encodes the ingredients found on the product. This should be a one-on-one mapping between the ingredients list and the taxonomy. With this it is possible to filter out products containing a specific ingredient.
By exploiting the hierarchies defined in the ingredients taxonomy, it is possible to filter on a group of ingredients.
Labels
Labels are claims, logos, and other statements found on products. Sometimes these labels are statements which can be checked against the ingredients. For instance the label no added sugar, should imply that the ingredient sugar is not on the ingredient list. The labels can refer to processes in the value chain, like fair-trade or organic. These labels can be encoded on the ingredients list as well, but is a bit more obscure.
The label can also encode other claimed characteristics, which refer to processes, for example filtered, artisanal, etc.
It is also possible to add storage instructions as labels (lacking better solutions), such as frozen or refrigerated.
The hierarchy is not (yet) much developed, but it is possible to get any organic or any fair-trade label,
Categories
The categories taxonomy is more complicated as there is not a clear relationship with what is found on the product. Assigning the correct is a combination of interpreting marketing names, ingredient lists and labels found on the packaging. Often also knowledge of the current taxonomy and its hierarchy is required. And their is also a relationship with legislation, as naming a product is not always free.
There are some basic principles behind the hierarchy found in the taxonomy;
- understandable - no abstract categories that a user does not understand or encounters in the supermarket aisles;
- ingredients driven - the ingredients determine to a large extent the category. This is most obvious for unprocessed single ingredient products;
- no doubling - there should be no doubling, i.e. the same concept appearing in multiple taxonomies. For instance why adding frozen pizzas as a new category, when frozen is already available as a label and pizzas as a category.
Convenience categories
There are some categories that can be called convenience categories, as they limit the work a user needs to do in order to classify products.These categories combine two characteristics into one, for example the category potatoes and the label frozen are converged into one category: frozen potatoes.
Oppositional categories
This a a pair of categories, where one is the opposite of the other. For instance the category sweetened beverages is opposite to the the unsweetened beverages. Both can not be true at the same time.
Examples
Some examples of how this works in practice. Many more examples are needed.
The examples are a bit limited as only two facets can be specified at the same time.
Apple juices/nectars
Ingredients combination
By combining the category facet with an ingredients facet, it is possible to find:
- Nectars with sugar - levering a single ingredient;
- Nectars with any sweetener - levering multiple ingredients;
Labels combination
Organic apple juices
Unfiltered apple juices
Apple juices with additives