Can a French app transform your shopping habits and promote healthier cooking?
The new school year brings change, especially in meal planning. As kids head back to school, parents often find themselves juggling work and dinner preparations. Planning meals, shopping for groceries, and cooking can turn into a daunting task. But there’s a fresh solution from France: the free app Jow.
Jow simplifies meal planning. It tailors recipes to fit your budget and connects with local grocers for easy delivery. No more cooking too much or wasting food. With Jow, healthy eating becomes straightforward.
Jacques-Edouard Sabatier, Co-founder and CEO of Jow, believes that understanding recipes is key to grocery shopping. “If you’re unsure of basic recipes, you won’t know what to buy. We guide people to make healthier choices,” he said. Jow’s user-friendly approach ensures that you get the exact ingredients needed, cutting down on waste and helping you choose better products for your family and the environment.
To start, users create accounts and input preferences such as dietary needs and household size. Jow then suggests meals tailored to those specifics. Once a user approves the meal plan, Jow collaborates with partnered grocery stores for easy fulfillment.
Jow caters to a wide audience, including young families, students, and seniors. Launched in France in 2018, the app gained popularity during the pandemic as online shopping surged. It partners with major French retailers like Carrefour and Leclerc. Interestingly, as of July 2025, US online grocery sales reached $10 billion, growing 26% from the previous year, according to Brick Meets Click. Jow expanded to the US in 2022 and collaborates with grocery giants like Kroger and H-E-B.
With a user base of eight million globally, Jow aims to ease the often chaotic experience of meal planning. Sabatier, who started Jow as a new dad, knows the struggle of shopping with a family. “Organizing meals for kids requires extra thought about health and budget,” he noted. Many parents feel overwhelmed by confusing ingredient labels and the pressure to make healthy choices.
“Shopping should be family-friendly,” he added. To tackle the difficulties of online grocery shopping, Jow streamlines the process. Users avoid the endless scrolling through categories and can focus on meal prep.
Creating accurate recipes that adapt well to different needs is tricky. For instance, a recipe for chicken changes based on whether it’s whole or diced. “While our product amounts are on target about 80% of the time, the remaining 20% can be difficult,” Sabatier explained.
Jow keeps its recipes simple, focusing on meals that don’t require elaborate ingredients. Expect easy weeknight dinners and kid-friendly options like pumpkin spice overnight oats or veggie-packed macaroni and cheese. Each week brings fresh recipes ready to add to your grocery list.
Launching in the US offered challenges as Jow started from scratch. Unlike France, the US has a complex grocery landscape. However, the favorable environment for food delivery and easy pick-up options plays to Jow’s advantage.
“Jow is more than just a meal planner; it’s a cooking coach,” Sabatier said. The favorite recipe in the US? Creamy pasta with zucchini. In France, it’s the classic quiche lorraine. Jow is here to make cooking not just manageable but enjoyable.
