Homessence

An initiative designed to help international students in the USA procure groceries from their native countries while promoting cultural diversity while promoting cultural diversity in American markets

UX RESEARCH + UX DESIGN

Role : UX Researcher, UI/UX Designer, Visual Designer

Date : Winter 2023

Team : Team of 5

Tools : Sketch, Figma, Canva, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premier Pro, Qualtrics, Miro

Approach:

Discover

Analyze

Ideate

Prototype

Test

Iterate

Pitch

International students in the USA often struggle to find groceries that cater to their native dietary preferences.

Problem

The lack of access to familiar ingredients impacts their ability to maintain cultural dietary practices and enhances feelings of homesickness. Transportation barriers further exacerbate the issue, making it difficult for students to travel to stores that stock international foods, leading to inconvenience and a sense of disconnection from their cultural roots.

Creating a seamless grocery delivery solution that addresses the logistical difficulties of transportation.

Challenge

The task was to design a platform to make the process of acquiring international groceries as effortless and engaging as possible, while also appealing to the American market and promoting cultural unity in the shopping experience.

A unique shopping experience by bringing international groceries directly to students’ doorsteps, effectively eliminating food insecurity and homesickness.

Solution

With a focus on user experience and creative packaging, Homessence transforms grocery shopping into an exciting and culturally enriching experience, providing students with a comforting taste of home and fostering cultural diversity in the American market.

Pitch Video

Secondary Research

Our secondary research spans across various research topics such as the increasing student population, volume of ethnic food trade goods imported to the United States, existing stores/setups, availability of international groceries at supermarkets, consumer shopping behavioural patterns and causes of food insecurity.

Moreover, in a recent ethnographic research, eating habits were shown to be extremely important both emotionally and physically it was also the component of student life that was least changeable. It suggests that cultural food insecurity can have a negative impact on the well-being and identities of international students and students who identify as ethnic minorities.

ERAF Mapping

To better understand the entire grocery purchasing system, we drew an ERAF Map. The connections and flows from the map helped us understand the relationships between the multiple stakeholders involved in the system.

Cultural Probe

To determine what international students need in their daily diet, we conducted a cultural probe on college campuses. The findings validated the demand and need for a service which catered to procuring their ethnic groceries.

Survey Findings

Interview Quotes

Research Insights

We gathered insights from all of our primary research methods - cultural probe, surveys and interviews and affinitized more than 360 data points into relevant clusters and themes. This eventually gave us our problem areas to ideate and work on.

Personas

Ideation

Our team engaged in a dynamic brainstorming and ideation session, where each member freely sketched and wrote down unfiltered ideas. This collaborative approach allowed us to explore creative solutions for every problem area, ensuring that all perspectives were considered in developing a user-centered experience. We then categorized these ideas into 5 categories and applied the 5 Thinking Hats method for simplifying the ideas.