Foodly was created to address the need to order budgeted, healthy, and personalized meals, creating a warm user experience through its design and concept.
My Role
My role throughout the process was to conduct market research, understand consumer behavior/purchasing patterns, and ideate and develop a design prototype.
Why now?
Industry Experience & Consumer Behavior
While working in the food industry, I realised that people perceived online food delivery platforms only as a “cheat” to an actual meal. Additionally, the application design often lacked a sense of warmth or the ability to build your meal or provide extreme personalisation.
Additionally, having multiple choices often created a problem of choice overload, making it difficult for users to select a meal or find options aligned with their dietary preferences and allergy requirements.
US Market Trends & Spending Patterns
Americans typically spend around $600 monthly on groceries (~$20 per day for three meals), whereas a single online food order costs between $20 and $40, making it at least twice as expensive. However, the convenience of online ordering significantly reduces meal preparation time by nearly 50%, emphasising the trade-off between cost and ease.
Additionally, the U.S. is home to one of the most diverse populations, bringing various cultural influences and food preferences. Capturing this diversity within a food application is essential to ensuring inclusivity and personalised user experiences.
The approach involved studying how food is consumed across different cultures. As a student, gaining insights into the eating habits and preferences of fellow students was straightforward. However, these observations needed to be validated through both qualitative and quantitative research.
User Research Strategy
Challenges and Constraints
Sampling bias
The representation of different cultural groups was uneven. While the trend was observed, the demographic distribution was not consistent.
Response Bias
Resulting from the absence of direct interaction with survey respondents.
Research Methodology
USAT Surveys
5-minute scenario-based survey with 21 questions
SME Interviews
Conducted interviews with Cornell professors, who served as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), to gain industry insights and understand their perspectives.
User Persona and Design Solution
Hi-fidelity Prototype
Splash and Profile Creation
Homepage and Funnel
