Are You Eating To Survive or Surviving To Eat?

Expanding The Target User Pool.

The genesis idea for Zesty was solely to help those with mental health struggles effortlessly eat healthy (and do so often).

However, I pivoted to other potential user groups who could benefit from the product. I did some brief white paper research on what makes healthy cooking difficult and I found 3 main paint points that they all share:

1. With physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion from today’s “hustle culture”, feeding yourself becomes a last priority for many.

2. The present world has gotten accustomed to quick gratification, and with food, this usually translates to “fast food” options.

3. Not everyone has creativity or knowledge when it comes to deciding what to cook and how.

In order to tackle these common threads, Zesty later expanded as something that can be used amongst many user groups: young professionals, busy parents, amateur cooks, students, etc.

Did We Really Need Another Recipe App?

Problem Statement.

The main pain point of users revolves around finding cooking intimidating or overwhelming amongst their busy lives. Furthermore, the challenge to eat exclusively healthy adds to that pressure. Zesty is the solution to not making the user think about anything besides gathering a minimal list of ingredients and following simple instructions, which can be learned through 3 different methods (video, step-by-step mode, or reading). Zesty does all the thinking for you!

Constraints.

Zesty is designed to be a Minimal Viable Product (MVP), thus the few chosen features included address the basics tools users need to alleviate the main pain point: A calendar in which users can pin recipes to for meal planning, a self-maintaining inventory system, and simple methods to cook recipes without having to use multiple apps.

What Is The Number Of Ingredients To Consider?

Once I narrowed down which survey insights to focus on, I zeroed in on one more related question the survey asked: What is the average number of ingredients users cook with on a daily basis?

The 15 participants’ answers averaged at 4.86 ≈ 5 ingredients and will serve as the maximum for the recipes’ number of ingredients!

Why An App?

So, why an app over other mediums? Based on an article that discusses the habits of mobile users, “80% of the world's population use smartphones” and “91% of time spent on smartphones is spent on apps”.

In addition, based on my primary research (surveys and interviews), users use a combination of methods to store recipes: computer files, screenshots, bookmarks on the internet, etc. Based on these findings, building Zesty on an app allows users to bring it with them everywhere.

In other words, Zesty aims to be a cookbook and planner in one in your pocket.

Users Chose The Competing Apps.

In the above survey, users were also asked what cooking apps and services they currently use. This information was translated into a competitive analysis of the most popular cooking apps and services on the market. The analysis is separated based on Direct Competitors (apps that aim to share recipes and nutrition information through a digital avenue) and Indirect Competitors (services that deliver recipes and nutrition information in a tangible manner).

Examining the features of each app gave me insights as to why my survey participants use them, and they helped me deduce which features of my MVP needed to be prioritized to set Zesty apart from its competitors.

Competitors Lack Options For Varying Consumer Lifestyles.

…5 key insights helped narrow down which features are valuable to users:

1. Tasty is the only app that allows user to find recipes through the number of ingredients.

2. The indirect competitors are the only services that focus exclusively on healthy recipes.

3. Yummly is the only direct competitor that allows users to schedule meals.

4. Tasty is the only competitor that allows users to track what ingredients they already own.

5. All direct competitors have a feature that allows users to effortlessly add ingredients to a shopping list.

User Interviews Highlighted 6 More Pain Points.

5 individual interviews, with male and female users between the ages of 18-35 (This target age group was chosen because Millennials and Gen Z are 1. The generations that utilize smartphones the most and 2. The current coming-of-age generations still learning life skills like cooking and time management and 3. They are more likely to be struggling from debilitating mental health struggles as compared to previous generations.) with varying lifestyles and cooking frequency, were conducted to further elaborate on consumer cooking/eating behaviors.

The main frustrations participants expressed with finding a recipe to cook are whether or not they are cooking it correctly, not being able to find ingredients, too long of a cooking time, not being able to store meals for a few days, cooking for multiple people, and recipes not meeting dietary restrictions/preferences.

In addition, 3 key insights from the user survey were echoed:

Overall Research Insights.

As this was a research-heavy product, here is the breakdown of the key insights gathered from each research method:

1. Secondary Research - 91% of time spent on mobile devices is on apps (making it the optimal platform to build Zesty on) and most smartphone users are Millenials and Gen Z.

2. User Surveys - The top deciding factor that determines whether or not users go through with cooking a recipe is number of ingredients.

3. Competitive Analysis - Zesty’s competition lacks options for meal scheduling, ingredient management, filtering recipes based on number of ingredients, and filtering based on nutritional preferences.

4. User Interviews - Shared 6 new pain points (that would be addressed based on competitive analysis insights) and confirmed already-known pain points.

With Zesty, Everyone’s a Pro! Meet Eli.

An Overwhelmed Millennial.

The Product In Practice.

Based on the empathy map and task flows I created to empathize with Eli’s needs, frustrations, and motivations, I merged them into storyboard to understand what Eli’s user journey would look like when using Zesty to address these pain points. I translated this storyboard into a realistic scenario and made a user flow to map out the app’s ultimate potential.

The Final Hierarchy.

I finalized the features for the MVP after revisiting the pain points in user interviews and created an App Map to organize the app’s hierarchy. The prioritized features include an inventory system for ingredients, a calendar to plan meals, the ability to add ingredients to a shopping list in the click of a button, and the ability to search for meals based on preferences.

Wireframes With Key Features.

The ‘keywords’ activity and the app’s architecture were analyzed in tandem to create wireframes, which ultimately was referenced to create a final prototype. The annotations highlight the actions each feature has to offer, including how the calendar works and the customization of a user’s profile.

The Logo.

The idea behind the Zesty Logo came about when scrolling through Pinterest and noticing a “Z” shape form naturally on a lemon peel. I then reversed it and visualized it as a logo and its evolution began. Ultimately, 4 final iterations were narrowed down and the final logo was chosen by users through a survey and a brief discussion afterwards.

The main deciding factor for the final logo is that when it is in one solid color, the logo is still recognizable as a lemon twist (rather than a random spiral)!

Accessibility Check #1 - Visual.

How might we…respect the playful and gourmet juxtaposition of the brand’s identity while also prioritizing accessibility requirements?

In order to ensure that the app is created with the visually impaired in mind, I did multiple rounds of accessibility checks to ensure the shades of yellow, green, white, charcoal, and black pass WCAG requirements’ contrast ratio, not only aesthetically, but also inclusively!

Accessibility Check #2 - Tactile.

Whether it’s physical or mental, anyone including me and you, can become disabled at any point temporarily. Focusing on the physical, I tested the app with a user with relatively large hands.

Why? In theory, If the app works for big fingers, it can work universally. When cooking, you may not know which finger you will need, as some can be dirty with food. Users may not be fortunate enough to have all their fingers, and of course users vary in hand sizes.

The Nav Bar alone was designed in a way that the thumb zone would be reachable for both left and right handed people, but further testing of how different hand sizes and conditions can affect Zesty’s user experience would benefit everyone involved, not just those with permanent disabilities.