ELIMINATING FOOD WASTE IN

THE HOME .
THE GOAL THE RESULTS
Approximately 1/3 of the food produced in the world is wasted Since the launch of the mobile application,
– the equivalent of 1300 million tons – every year. Foodboost there have been 15k installs and users
tasked us with creating a home-focused solution to this have reported a 15% decrease in food
problem. Our mission was to help them communicate that waste from their homes. In addition, 50%
with Foodboost, not only do you not waste food, but you also of monthly active users on the Foodboost
help in the fight against climate change. app are on the Premium plan.

THE OUTCOME RESPONSIBILITIES

We designed the Foodboost visual identity from scratch • Brand Strategy
capturing their values in a new brand logo and style • Identity Design
guidelines. The main deliverable of this project was a fully • UX Research
functioning mobile app where users could see what they had • User Experience Design
in their pantry, see what products were expiring soon, and • User Interface Design
prepare lists for their next visit to the grocery store. • Copywriting + UX Writing
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1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS

3: OUTCOMES
The brief for this project was:

“What services and applications can we

design to get more citizen participation in
the fight against climate change?”

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1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS
For this project, I followed the design thinking
process (as proposed by the Stanford d.School).
It consists of 5 phases: Empathize, Define,
Ideate, Prototype, and Test.

3: OUTCOMES

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1: THE BRIEF
DESK RESEARCH:
2: THE PROCESS
• The global volume of food wastage is
2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes of primary
The Empathize Phase is all about gaining an product equivalents.
empathetic understanding of the problem that
you are trying to solve. I conducted desk
research, did a competitor analysis, and
• Food wastage's carbon footprint is estimated
interviewed several individuals. at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent of GHG
released into the atmosphere per year.
2.2: DEFINE PHASE

2.3: IDEATE PHASE

• The total volume of water used each year to
produce food that is lost or wasted (250km3)
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE is equivalent to the annual flow of Russia's
Volga River, or three times the volume of Lake
2.5: TEST PHASE Geneva.

• All the world’s nearly one billion hungry

3: OUTCOMES people could be fed on less than a quarter of
the food that is wasted in the US, UK and
Europe.

• An area larger than China is used to grow

food that is never eaten.

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1: THE BRIEF
BENCHMARK:
2: THE PROCESS
• Too Good To Go - an app that allows you to
2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE pick up food from nearby restaurants – that
It is important to understand the current they would be throwing out – but at a reduced
market landscape. I analyzed both direct and price
indirect competitors.

2.2: DEFINE PHASE • OLIO - like Too Good To Go, but emphasizes
sharing with your neighbors
2.3: IDEATE PHASE
• Asana - not directly food related, but does
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE
allow you to create to-do lists
2.5: TEST PHASE
• Instacart - delivers groceries to your
apartment/house same day (often times
3: OUTCOMES
within an hour)

• Food Rescue Hero - is a platform that

mobilizes volunteers to transport surplus
food to those who can use it

• Food for All - an app that lets you buy meals

from restaurants and cafes in Boston and NYC
for at least 50% off

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PART OF THE
1: THE BRIEF INTERVIEW SCRIPT:
2: THE PROCESS
• How often do you go to grocery store?
2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE • Twice a week
I decided to start with one-on-one interviews • Every two days or when he wants
because I really wanted to find out about
users' general attitudes towards
to cook
climate change and wasting food. • Once a week she goes grocery shopping
I chose to narrow my focus and interview
for herself (even though she lives with
individuals who are 20 - 40 years old. her parents)

2.2: DEFINE PHASE • What do you consider when purchasing food?

2.3: IDEATE PHASE
• Price, quality, pairs with something he
already cooked at home
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE • Quality is more important than price
• Purchases healthy food (avoid high in
2.5: TEST PHASE
calories from sugar or fat, with little
vitamins, protein, and fiber)

3: OUTCOMES
• What do you do with leftovers?
• Tries to eat everything that he cooks
• They aren’t using to freezing food in her
family, so she estimates they throw out
about 20% of the meals that they cook

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AFFINITY DIAGRAM:
1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS

2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE

2.2: DEFINE PHASE

The Define Phase is about gathering all of the
information from the Empathize stage. In this
phase, I decided the problem that I wanted to
solve was, “How might we avoid wasting food
at home?”

I created an affinity diagram based on my

research, created personas based on said
research, and user journeys for each one.

2.3: IDEATE PHASE

2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE

2.5: TEST PHASE

3: OUTCOMES

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FOODBOOST
PERSONAS:
1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS

2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE

2.2: DEFINE PHASE

The Define Phase is about gathering all of the
information from the Empathize stage. In this
phase, I decided the problem that I wanted to
solve was, “How might we avoid wasting food
at home?”
MARÍA | 22 yrs . old JUAN | 40 yrs . old JULIA | 29 yrs . old
I created an affinity diagram based on my “RICH ONE” “PROFESSIONAL” “ACTIVIST”
research, created personas based on said
research, and user journeys for each one.
"I have food at home, but I will not "I'm always so busy, that the last "Throwing food is a crime,
stop having a social life so I do not thing I want to do is think about especially when there are so many
throw it away." buying.” people in the world going hungry.”
2.3: IDEATE PHASE
Objective: Objective: Objective:
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE Follow the trends of the day. Know what food he has at home to Help the planet and other living
plan the dinner of the day and not beings by making conscious
decisions to protect them.
2.5: TEST PHASE Goal: have to buy more when he visits
She wants to take care of her the local store.
Goal:
health and have more time for That her presence generates the
social things. Goal:
least possible impact on the
Always have the ingredients he environment.
needs when cooking.
3: OUTCOMES

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USER JOURNEY* (MARÍA):
1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS

2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE

2.2: DEFINE PHASE

The Define Phase is about gathering all of the
information from the Empathize stage. In this
phase, I decided the problem that I wanted to
solve was, “How might we avoid wasting food
at home?”

I created an affinity diagram based on my

research, created personas based on said
research, and user journeys for each one.

2.3: IDEATE PHASE

2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE

2.5: TEST PHASE

3: OUTCOMES

* Part of the journey (full journey doesn’t fit on slide)

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FEATURE IDEAS: IDEAS PRIORITIZED:
1: THE BRIEF
• Weekly meal planning
2: THE PROCESS • Price comparison tool
• Shared lists
2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE
• Social media integration
2.2: DEFINE PHASE • Locate your nearest grocery store
2.3: IDEATE PHASE • Loyalty program integration
The Ideation phase is all about “thinking • Notifications/Reminders
outside of the box” and looking for solutions to • Achievements
the problem statement that you have created.
The main ideation techniques that I used were
brainstorming and mind mapping.

Once I had my ideas, I prioritized them using

an impact-effort matrix.

MINDMAP:
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE

2.5: TEST PHASE

3: OUTCOMES

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FOODBOOST

1: THE BRIEF

2: THE PROCESS

2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE

2.2: DEFINE PHASE

2.3: IDEATE PHASE

2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE

The Prototype Phase is about creating an
artefact that allows to test the ideas with
users. I created sketches, wireframes,
mockups, and an interactive prototype. In
addition to the hi-fidelity prototype created
with Adobe XD, the front-end programmer and
designer on the team also built a landing page
for desktop and mobile to promote Foodboost.

2.5: TEST PHASE

3: OUTCOMES

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TASKS FOR USER TEST:
1: THE BRIEF
• Add an item to your shopping list.
2: THE PROCESS
• What food do you have that will go bad in 2
2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE
days? In 15?
2.2: DEFINE PHASE
• Find a recipe that you could use with your
2.3: IDEATE PHASE rotting tomatoes.
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE
• What was the last achievement that you
2.5: TEST PHASE received? Share it with a friend.

The Test Phase is about testing the ideas with

TASK SUCCESS RATE:

with real users. I decided to run an in-person,
moderated task based test. In terms of
metrics, I decided to calculate the task
success rate for each task.
• Add an item to your shopping list. (88%)

• What food do you have that will go bad in 2

days? In 15? (76%)
3: OUTCOMES

• Find a recipe that you could use with your

rotting tomatoes. (64%)

• What was the last achievement that you

received? Share it with a friend. (92%)

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1: THE BRIEF
RESULTS:
2: THE PROCESS • 15K app installs to date (June 2020)

2.1: EMPATHIZE PHASE • Foodboost users have seen a 15% decrease in

food waste in their homes
2.2: DEFINE PHASE

2.3: IDEATE PHASE • 50% of monthly active users on the Foodboost

app are on the Premium plan.
2.4: PROTOTYPE PHASE

2.5: TEST PHASE

NEXT STEPS:
3: OUTCOMES
• More user testing/user research
The biggest takeaway for me from this project
was that one never designs for oneself, even if
they may be consider a part of the target • Establish key partnerships
market. Our team wants to continue on with • Supermarkets
this project and have outlined next steps
(listed on this page). • Nutritionists + chefs
• Scientists
“You have done a great job, very balanced in
research, design, business model, user
experience. You have worked on a product • Secure funding (apply for an accelerator)
that did not exist until now, that solves a real
problem that everyone has, and you have
achieved a result that can work very well.” —
Feedback from client

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