Product + UX Research

@ Spark Research Collective

Qualitative

Project Summary

Project Overview

I conducted a multi-phase research project to identify target segments, develop user personas, and uncover user pain points to inform a start-up’s product roadmap and communication strategy as they expanded their healthy cooking app into the U.S. market.

Research Objective

My goal was to provide research-based recommendations to company executives that enabled them to craft a customer-focused app experience, align messaging with user needs, and position the product competitively in the U.S. healthy living tech space.

Impact of this Research

This research aligned the company’s product and marketing strategies with customer expectations and revealed critical opportunities for differentiation. Key insights informed app design to address user needs, such as combining features like meal planning, calorie counting, and mindfulness tools. The findings also guided messaging strategies to emphasize affordability and convenience, resonating with users’ health-focused yet budget-conscious priorities.

“Kelsie did a great job conducting our user research in the US. She is a privileged interviewer, always generating an authentic bond with the interviewees. We will definitely work together again with Kelsie and team. I recommend Kelsie’s services for any company looking to deeply understand customers’ needs and motivations, particularly in the new digital era.”

— Carlos Melara, CEO of Ekilu

Learning Objectives

  1. Uncover opportunities and understand target segment motives for pursuing health goals related to cooking and meal planning.

  2. Establish a baseline to craft personas to frame new app experience within the needs, pain-points, and mindsets of our prioritized customer segments.

  3. Understand what audiences need and expect from a healthy cooking app and the problems they face, particular to these Texas-based segments.

  4. Uncover ways the client can differentiate themselves, stay competitive and better integrate into the US healthy living tech space.

Research questions determined in initial consultation with client

Project Timeline

Methodology Overview

We interviewed 27 individuals across Texas cities within the client's desired segments using the User Interviews recruitment platform to screen and select audiences within target segments.

  • We interviewed individuals across a variety of genders, generations and geographic location to identify any segment-based behavioral patterns and trends.

  • Once the first 10 interviews were completed, segments began to emerge as narratives began to overlap and relate to each other: young singles, families, couples, and older singles. We continued to then conduct interviews across segments as audience pain-points and desires became more clear.

  • We then tested to determine if ethnicity patterned with behavioral distinctions per the client’s request, which did not yield significant differences.

  • Finally, we conducted follow-up interviews and usability studies with six participants, who explored and provided feedback on their experiences using the company's application and gathered more in-depth answers to their health behaviors and routines.

Personas

We identified and developed target personas based on patterns and themes in interviews, cognitive walkthroughs, questionnaire responses and follow-up interviews.

These patterns emerged across generations and family structure, and they became the baseline for developing value propositions for each persona.

Key Insights

While the client hypothesized that following a healthy lifestyle, including buying and preparing meals with healthy ingredients, our research showed that their target users see cooking at home as the budget-friendly way to stay healthy. Eating out and meal-prep kits are the more expensive options, making them less appealing.

Our research uncovered that their target market is more likely to use an app that combines all of the components of their idea of health: healthy meal options, calorie counting, water tracker, meditation, weight loss features - if executed well. There’s a delicate balance between one app that “does it all” and multiple apps that they would see as doing each function well and showing them results.

Our Impact: Product Roadmap Changes

Based on insights from user interviews and survey responses, my research revealed that users define health as a holistic practice encompassing the mind, body, and emotions. These findings directly influenced the product roadmap, expanding the app’s focus from solely physical health to a more balanced and holistic approach.

Key product innovations informed by our research:

    •    Holistic Health Tab: Introduced a dedicated app section that connects food, nutrition, mindfulness, and health, aligning with users’ desire for a balanced approach to well-being.

    •    Ingredient Inspiration Feature: Developed a feature offering recipe suggestions based on ingredients users have on hand, addressing pain points related to meal planning and reducing food waste.

    •    Core Health Philosophy: Defined a grounding philosophy for the app that positions health as a holistic practice incorporating “nutrition, movement, and mindfulness,” resonating with target audiences’ values.

    •    Step and Breath Tracking: Added new features for tracking steps and guided breathing exercises, fulfilling user expectations for a comprehensive health app.

    •    Enhanced Nutritional Visuals: Designed detailed progress visuals that break down macronutrient and micronutrient information, empowering users to track their health journey more effectively.

These updates not only met user needs but also positioned the app competitively in the U.S. market by emphasizing affordability, convenience, and a comprehensive health experience.

This work ultimately supported Ekilu’s successful growth as a company.

(Left): The Learn tab was added after our research to separate health and wellness articles from recipes, which were previously combined under one app tab.

(Right): These ingredient inspiration links to various recipes were added to address pain points related to meal planning and reducing food waste that we uncovered through the research.

(Left): This page was added after our engagement, highlighting Ekilu’s core health philosophy.

(Right): The daily and weekly progress visuals were added after our research engagement, empowering users to now track their journeys within the app.