FABLE (From Farm to Table)

Product Experience

Problem Space 

Problem Statement  

The problem that this product will address is the rising food prices. How can we make healthier food options for new immigrants in Canada more affordable?

Problem Background  

According to a 2023 Canada Food Price report by Dalhousie University, there has been a marked increase in the cost of foods, with food inflation hitting almost 12% in 2023. The study goes on to state that vegetables increased the most at 6 - 8% and dairy increased by 5 to 7 percent while processed food prices remain fairly stable. As the most nutritious foods show higher increases, they are becoming more inaccessible to lower income and stable income families particularly new immigrants who, based on the survey of labour and income dynamics, are more likely to be considered low income.

Through customer research in the form of surveys and user interviews, I have learnt that persons are finding it difficult to purchase food for their families. 76.9% of survey respondents complained that they are having to consume less fresh produce to accommodate for the rising food prices and when interviewees were asked what they think about their shopping experiences, the main complaints were higher prices and lower quality foods.

This is a problem worth addressing as consumer research has found that many shoppers are less than satisfied with their shopping experiences (75%) and would utilize any program that would allow them access to more affordable fresh produce (69.2%).

Research Insights

User Pain Points

We surveyed 26 persons and conducted 2 user interviews to be able to determine the user pain points when shopping for groceries. We were able to pull out the main issues after conducting the user research:

1. High food prices
2. Low quality foods

During the user interviews conducted we were able to explore the ways families attempt to reduce their grocery bills and the lack of success in doing so.

Supporting Data

76.9% of those surveyed were not satisfied with their current visits to grocery stores, of that amount 75% was due to the high food prices. Only 11.5% of respondents have been able to stay within their food budget for the current year and 30.7% have had to alter their grocery list to buy only items deemed as necessities.

Feedback

Our research has helped us support the statistics that are available and let us understand what the pain points are for families shopping for groceries. The pain points are mainly the high cost of foods and the low quality foods available in the grocery stores.

Landing on the Solution

Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features:

We wanted the mobile app to have a user interface that is easy to navigate so as to make the process simple. We wanted the mobile app to access local farmers nearest to the users using the location enabled or just by entering their home address. The app would connect community members and local farmers together.

Explanation of Solution

FABLE is a mobile app that will connect families with local farmers and give families access to in-season produce at affordable prices and local farmers a market to sell their produce.

The FABLE MVP will have the following features:

1. Location enabled to find users to farmers nearest to them. Users will have the option to manually put in their address as well.
2. Farmers will be able to create their profiles, including their produce and their prices as well as any additional information.
3. Users will be able to view farmers’ profiles and their produce and be able to send them a message through the app to arrange pickup or schedule a delivery.

Mockups 

Future Steps

Additional features I hope to include are:

1. The ability for users to food-share with other families for larger produce which will eliminate food waste and further lower prices. There will be an icon indicating the interest in food sharing and farmers will divide the produce accordingly.
2. In-app payment options for delivery will be added at a later iteration. For persons who prefer a cashless transaction, they will have the option to pay on the app and have their produce delivered.

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