Product Design

4. Plated Pass



I contributed to the strategy of a new payment structure that would provide more flexibility and convenience. I also conducted user testing and research for this new strategy. 


User Research, Content Strategy, Business Strategy, Prototyping, User Testing, Business Models


Product Manager: Nelson Madubuonwu
Product Designer: 👋️
Business & Finance Analyst: Steven Cruz



Problem


Users are tired of the weekly cadence of the subscription meal kit model. People think about meals and meal planning at different times.

Goal


To introduce new functionality that makes plans feel less committal, thereby motivating users to have a longer-lasting relationship with us.

Hypothesis


If we allow users to purchase credits and use them any time, it will reduce meal planning fatigue and help reinforce the flexible nature of our product.




Planning




The charts above show the cost per plate and how much a user would spend monthly based on their serving plan. It also shows what percent of users are ordering 2-,3-, and 4-serving plans. The left side includes data that we already have. The right side shows the pricing model for bulk orders with our new proposed credit system.

We chose to explore the area highlighted in yellow because this range provided value for both the customer and the business. The area outlined in green denotes the options I provided for our users. Below is a visualization of how I reached that decision.



Knowing that the smallest multiple of plates is 4 per order, I considered how many orders could be made when users were purchasing between 10 and 18 credits. The 12- credit plan was attractive because it had 0 rollover for our most popular customer (69.50% of users order 2 servings by 2 nights). The 14-credit plan had the best price-per-plate value, which was attractive to our users. However, there was a lot of rollover in this plan. This would be a benefit to the business because we could maintain a relationship with these users. The 16-credit plan was similar to the 12-credit plan in benefits; but with more plates being purchased, my hypothesis was that this option would make sense for families.



Testing




“PLATES” vs “CREDITS”
Although the credits had the same value as our subscription model ($9.95-$11.95/plate) the initial cost of entry doubled. To test for concern over “sticker shock,” I set up two prototypes. They differed in language (Plates vs Credits) and quantification (1 Plate vs 10 Credits). Would a larger number provide justification for the price? What value did language have in the user’s decision-making process?
GAMIFICATION
As I finally got to the prototyping stage, I wanted to create a sense of hierarchy with the options. I created tiers that were intended to increase emotionally in tandem with quanity. A user could start from “Novice Chef” and work their way up to “Master Chef.” With our brand positioned as the “premium” meal kit, I wanted to give users an option to buy into our most impressive plan.

ULTRA-VALUABLE CUSTOMER
Knowing from the initial strategy that I wanted at least 3 options (the 12, 14, and 16 credit plans), I thought, “What if we had an ultra-valuable customer?” I introduced a 4th tier, “Master Chef”, that was an exponentially larger package deal. I wanted to gauge if there was any interest in this option, as even one order would automatically create a customer with a higher lifetime value.



Research




The above includes some excerpts and syntheses from user interviews I conducted. I performed the research with 8 different users, presenting both prototypes. Key takeaways and next steps are also outlined above. Leaning into the “Jobs-to-be-done” research framework, I wanted to know if this new payment structure would solve any specific “jobs” for our customer.

The population criteria included users who have already tried meal kits, and, more specifically, users who have already tried, or were still using, Plated. They also shared characteristics with our target persona. Our target persona was the “Experience Enhancer.” This user was generally female, had a higher household income, had recently started a family, and valued premium experiences. I decided on this cohort so that we could gain knowledge from users who were already familiar with our subscription model and product.



Learnings


We were unable to move forward with this initiative due to the dissolution of our team during a company reorganization. Unfortunately, this project wasn’t prioritized onto the roadmaps of any of the new teams created. Overall, this project had a vision for a greater experience at Plated. We wanted to implement this credit system into things such as a Plated marketplace, gift cards, and the delivery of pantry essentials. While aspects of the vision were carried out by other teams, the credit system was never shipped.
Mark
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