barilla restaurant experience strategy
for barilla
Design research and customer experience strategy work for a restaurant chain.
Project: Barilla, the Italian food brand, asked us to think through the whole restaurant customer experience with an emphasis on digital loyalty. They have the mediterranean diet in their DNA, which they wanted customers to learn about and follow to inspire a healthier lifestyle. Barilla also wanted to distinguish themselves in the fast casual restaurant segment by creating a stronger bond with customers and let them discover the key brand messages such as simple food and their product quality.
My role and responsibilities: I co-led this project with an Associate Creative Director from Milan. I ran research efforts out of NY, then worked with the Milan team to run client workshops at the Barilla headquarters in Parma, created concepts and final design direction in collaboration with a visual designer and interaction designer. My hardest challenge was helping convince clients to shift from their original tracking/nutrition app idea to concepts which celebrated Barilla's heritage: their simple, Mediterranean food culture. We used research insights from real participants, clips, quotes and some secondary market research to make them understand this completely new market and user base.
Process: Product discovery via user research to conceptual design.
We started this 7 week program by conducting customer and restaurant staff interviews to gather a deep understanding of the existing Barilla customer behaviours and journey. Qualitative research and participatory design exercises provided us rapid insights which led us into ideation workshop with the client team and fast concept iterations.
Research planning & stimuli
Our research objective was to gain insights around 4 areas: loyalty, health & nutrition, discovery & enjoyment, value & convenience.
We made participants map their weekly food habits, trying to understand how people think about meals, what makes them choose one type of meal/restaurant one rthe other. Are people more habitual during the week then the weekend? How does being at work, around co-workers affect food choices? etc.
Card sorting exercises helped us understand priorities around the ideal restaurant environment/service and loyalty experiences.
We also wanted to test some early hypothesis from client and our own, and used 3 conceptual designs to discuss opportunity areas and gauge interest.
Insights to Archetypes
Based on our user insights, we mapped individuals on a 2x2 and created 4 archetypes of users to ideate for. We found that people can be categorized as: Food enthusiasts, Convenience seekers, Wellness advocates and Canteen fellow (users who are using Barilla’s corporate canteens).
Restaurant customer journeys
Based on 4 types of visits (Eat-in, pick up, order ahead with pick up and order ahead with eat-in) we created customer journey maps with key moments framed under 3 sections of the service: pre, during and after visit. We defined each key moment in detail of why it’s important to users and to Barilla, unique needs and opportunities, and touchpoint involved.
Customer journey exercise to co-create concepts with clients
After our research read out, we wanted to make sure to put the users in the heart of our ideation process. We held a two day workshop and co-created concepts with clients. Using the archetypes and customer journey maps, we ideated around key moments per archetype. More than 50 ideas expanding several touchpoints varying from mobile app, in store augmented furniture to social campaigns were captured.
Idea Book for concept documentation
Taking all concepts kick started during workshop, we built on and documented each in a comprehensive idea book
Prioritization and focus area
With the Barilla team, we decided to focus on the design of the mobile app and the loyalty program. We tried to create a design that reforms the Barilla customer experience around the discovery of the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Mobile app concepts
We created 4 different concepts including user journeys and initial tactics for making and launching each.
Final product concept
A way of eating founded around three main areas: Pleasure of food, Health and Social behaviors. Customer loyalty is driven by small but frequent challenges aimed at supporting good-healthy eating habits based on Barilla’s heritage Mediterranean diet culture.
Additional initial concept work for Barilla Canteen service design
We also worked on a few quick concepts expanding to Barilla's canteen offering for corporations. These designs were both customer facing and for staff apps to serve in the canteen with. Quickly sketched concept screens for using devices for staff and live & summary views for restaurant managers.
How we worked
As a lean team that had to move fast, we collaborated very closely. We sat together in a small room filled with our ongoing ideas, educational materials, inspiration…
Lots of hand sketching, daily pin-ups, white boarding sessions… We ate at least two meals together and discussed food experiences obsessively.