Improving the Food Ordering Experience

The Challenge

The main challenge was to make the ordering experience more intuitive while helping users access critical information more easily. The research specifically focused on product availability, allergen visibility, nutrition details, food preferences, categorization, cart actions, and the overall flow from browsing to ordering.

• Important product information was not always easy to find

• Some navigation patterns created hesitation during browsing

• Users with dietary restrictions needed faster access to allergens and nutrition details

• The add-to-cart action lacked clarity

• The experience had room for better personalization and upsell logic

The Process

I started by defining a set of hypotheses around product information, navigation, accessibility, and purchase behavior. These hypotheses were then tested with 5 representative users on an interactive mobile prototype. Sessions were recorded and followed by post-test questionnaires to capture both observed friction and direct feedback.

1. Hypothesis framing
I structured the research around four areas: product information, navigation and interface, accessibility, and purchase engagement. This helped prioritize what needed to be tested and made the findings easier to translate into design actions.

2. Usability testing
Participants were asked to complete realistic tasks such as finding a hot meal for lunch, checking stock status, and consulting nutrition and allergen information. The goal was to observe where friction appeared in the natural decision-making flow.

3. Insight synthesis
The research confirmed strong needs around nutrition details, allergen visibility, and dietary preference filters. It also revealed confusion around hot/cold categorization and weak visibility of the add-to-cart action.

4. UX recommendations
Based on the findings, I translated the insights into actionable interface recommendations, including clearer meal labels, richer nutrition content, stronger filters, a redesigned cart icon, and better placement of complementary product suggestions.

Key Insights

The research showed that users valued clear food information and wanted more control over how they browse. Detailed nutrition information and dietary filters were seen as especially important, while categorization and cart visibility needed refinement. Complementary product suggestions also showed positive potential when presented at the right moment.

• Allergen information needed better visibility

• Detailed nutrition data was strongly expected

• Dietary preference filters were highly valuable

• Hot/cold categorization was not clear enough

• Add-to-cart visibility created friction

• Complementary suggestions encouraged extra purchases