Grocery Fairy
A mobile app designed to help immigrants, international students get food ingredients to their doorstep.
Problem Statement
How might we make shopping for indigenous and international groceries easier?
Problem background
Struggling to purchase the ingredients of your local meal from back home? You finally found a store after driving far from your home, only to be told they do not have one or more items on your list? You definitely are not alone in this struggle.
According to Ethan Sakler, in the article they wrote for the IOWA international programs publication, ‘Food in a new country: Tips for adjusting’ food is life, food is culture, food is home. It’s not until we’re away from home that we realize how important food is to our well-being. But not just any food. The food we know”
There is a very high influx of Immigrants and international students to Canada. Canada statistics recorded that Canada welcomed 405,000 newcomers in 2022. It is projected that 465,000, 485,000 and 500,000 newcomers will be welcomed in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.
With this data, the demand for local ingredients and meals will continue to increase yearly as new immigrants arrive in Canada.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
Using Linkedin and Whatsapp groups, a few different categories of prospective users were identified and over 13 user questionnaires were issued and responded to.
The focus was on the ease of finding items in one store.
66.7% of respondents agreed that they are usually not able to get all that they need in one store. It was also found that sometimes you get something different from what you ordered in both quality and appearance.
The main take away point according to this research is that immigrants and international students spend quality time and effort on sourcing for their preferred grocery items which can eventually lead to the loss of appetite for local meals and a lot of distractions due to homesickness.
It is therefore important to address this problem to enhance productivity and preservation of culture.
Landing on the Solution
Grocery Fairy is designed in a way that, with the use of the search box, users can find, order, and get their items delivered.
Due to the short timeline, I focused on the MVP and prioritized 4 key features that will be valuable to the early adopters.
- Unique food profile: A food avatar is created for users based on their unique taste in food. This information is gotten during sign up.
- The search button: This is the key feature of the app. Here, items are searched for, and a drop-down of stores that carry these items auto-populate.
- Featured stores: These are local stores in the users vicinity that carry these choice items. We, through partnership with local stores, procure these items and ship directly to customers.
- Recommendation feature: There will be a pop up to recommend various items based on users last purchase.
User Flows/Mockups
Future Steps
I intend to bring this App to life with a team of designers and engineers. If given the appropriate resources needed to actualize and execute this plan, it would be a dream come through.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Adeteju Ademola
- Product managers have the dual responsibilities of being customer and team focused
- Define the problem and the users of the solution clearly.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.