We created a user flow that brought recipes to Fran, our primary persona, based on what she wanted and needed, instead of expecting her to know what recipes to look for before using the Imperfect Foods app.
Imperfect Foods
Designing a new feature for an existing mobile app.
My Role (Team of 3)
- UX Researcher
- Project Manager
- UI Designer
Deliverables
- 2 Persona
- New Workflow
- New feature for the App
- Iterations on Design
Key Methods
- User Interviews
- Problem Statement
- Workflows Development
- Low-Fi Wireframes
- Usability Testing
- Hi-Fi Prototype
Problem
Every week, Imperfect Foods delivers groceries that would otherwise go to waste because they are excess or flawed items from farms and businesses. However, this goal of saving food from being wasted does not extend to the customer’s kitchen where 54 billion pounds of food are thrown away every year.
Solution
To help customers make the most of their imperfect foods and prevent food waste at home, we designed a new feature for the Imperfect Foods mobile app that suggests recipes based on the ingredients they choose and helps them plan their meals as they shop for groceries.
Overview
Imperfect Foods is a weekly grocery delivery service with a vision to “create a more compassionate, less wasteful world.” They save fruits and vegetables that are deemed too large, small, or misshapen for conventional grocery store shelves…as well as excess products that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Their work helps to reduce the 20 billion pounds of produce that are wasted on farms every year.
Key Metrics
- An American household of four discards over $1800 worth of food every year.
- 43% of all food waste happens in homes.
Research
We started by listening to the users directly. We recruited 9 people for our user interviews , who either used the Imperfect Foods App before or depended on a comparable grocery delivery service.
By using the affinity mapping technique, we discovered these patterns in how users shop for groceries.
Key Takeaway
Users frequently end up buying more or less produce than they need for a week’s worth of meals.
Synthesis
Our assumption that people did not plan their meals before shopping for groceries, and thus often wasted or disposed of the excess food by the week’s end, was confirmed by our research.
Before we could formulate problem statements, we created two proto-personas.
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Problem Statement
Design
Solution
Iteration
High-Fidelity Prototype
We fixed the bugs mentioned above and used the existing brand identity. We wanted to make sure the new feature(s) fit well into the current Information Architecture and UI of the Imperfect Foods app.
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Users liked the new Suggested Recipe feature, and especially valued the Saved Recipe page as a tool for planning their meals for the week.
Interestingly enough, Imperfect Foods launched a “Shop by Recipe” feature on their app a week after we finished this project!
Next Steps
However, we acknowledge that our prototype and testing had some limitations and there is still room for improvement. Some of the next steps we would like to take are:
- Explore other ways to personalize the recipe suggestions based on user preferences, dietary restrictions, cooking skills, and feedback ratings.
- Test the feasibility and desirability of adding other features, such as sharing recipes with friends, creating shopping lists, and tracking food waste.
- Compare and contrast our Suggested Recipe feature with the Shop by Recipe feature launched by Imperfect Foods, and identify any gaps or opportunities for enhancement.