Project

Coffee Text
Service

Duration

November 2020 – Present

Role

Product Design
Ux Design
Website Design
Branding
Business Development
Marketing
Operations

Duration

Jan 2021 – Dec 2023 (Sold)

The Idea

How do we help coffee enthusiasts discover great coffee with confidence while helping roasters grow their businesses in Canada?

The Why

Coffee enthusiasts enjoy exploring new coffee but how do they know they’re getting something great?

Coffee Roasters want to share their coffee with more people but how do they gain more customers?

The Solution

Design an app aimed offering quality and vetted coffee to coffee enthusiasts across Canada while helping roasters showcase their coffee to Coffee Text’s subscribers. Coffee Text will facilitate transactions through SMS in an effort to minimize friction in decision making.

The Site

(Sold Dec 2023. Site is a sandbox for demonstration purposes only)

Discover

What problem are we solving?

Coffee Text is in a unique position to solve for the both
the coffee consumer and the coffee roaster.

Consumer Assumptions

  • Expect fresh coffee

  • Less decision making leads to positive experience

  • Expect a quality guarantee

  • Enjoy variety

Roaster Assumptions

  • Want new customers

  • Want sales growth

  • Want brand exposure

  • Want low risk partnership
  • How frequently do you consume coffee?

  • Are you interested in discovering coffee?

  • Do you see value to trying new coffee?

  • Would you like to receive personalized offers or discounts based on preferences?

  • How important is price point?

  • What’s your challenge in finding customers?

  • How do you ensure freshness and quality?

  • How do you meet demand?

  • What can we do to help you grow?

  • Do you sell coffee outside of your geographic area?

Solving for Consumers

Passionate coffee enthusiasts want to discover quality and freshly roasted beans yet they find themselves inundated with choices, running the risk of purchasing coffee that falls short of their expectations.

Solving for Roasters

Coffee roasters aspire to expand their business and reach new customers yet they face substantial marketing costs and limitations on their time.

Defining the Consumer

“As a coffee lover, I want to buy quality and fresh coffee at a great price so I can enjoy coffee with confidence.”

Consumer Pain Points

  • 1

    Lack of Research Time

  • 2
    Quality Unknown
  • 3
    Purchase Risk

Consumer Persona

Matt, 34
Married
Software Developer

Matt is a software developer who gets his juices flowing with great coffee in the morning. He loves to try new coffee but doesn’t know where to start in his research.

Defining the Roaster

“As a coffee roaster, I want to gain more customers so I can grow my company without detracting from my focus of producing great coffee.”

Roaster Pain Points

  • 1
    Cost of marketing
  • 2
    Lack of time
  • 3
    Difficult Gaining Customer Trust

Roaster Persona

Eddy, 37
Single
Roaster/Coffee Brand Owner

Eddy is a roaster who sells his own coffee online. He wants to grow his business but finds it expensive to market his brand and difficult to find new loyal customers. 

Design & Develop

What user flow ensures the most intuitive experience?

The Logo

I aimed to convey “coffee” and “text” visually by using a chat bubble’s universal shape. The logo’s typewriter font symbolizes customer interactions through SMS messages, offering versatility for different markets and products.

IterationsFinal Logo

The Brand

I chose a versatile color palette that appeals to all demographics and maintains brand neutrality. The blue accent conveys tranquility, while the yellow accent represents savings.

Deliver

The App

Customers can purchase coffee by simply sending a text message. All transactions are conducted through SMS messaging, while account management is carried out through the web app.

The Website

The website’s goal is to be clear, informative, and user-friendly, as business activities primarily involve text-based interactions. It offers essential information to assist visitors in their decision-making process and provides additional service details.

Outcomes

0+
Subscribers
0+
Bags Sold
0+
Partnerships
0+
Avg. orders per top customer

Impact

Our efforts have resulted in the expansion of roaster’s fan base and enabled our subscribers to discover quality coffee knowing that only the best and freshest is offered through the app.

Results

Before our official launch, I successfully garnered more than 1200 new subscribers, demonstrating a promising proof of concept. I cultivated a dedicated customer base with an average of 10 repeat orders per customer. Although this business model was relatively novel in the market, it clearly validated its success as Coffee Text managed to sell over 1700 bags of coffee in its inaugural year. Furthermore, we established partnerships with more than 17 roasters, enabling us to broaden our product range and offer a diverse selection of top-quality coffee to our valued customers.

What I learned

The valuable feedback provided by our customers has been crucial in implementing updates that align with their preferences.

Assumptions are not always correct

Since the primary goal of this app was to simplify coffee purchases and have it delivered to your doorstep, I initially presumed that nobody would be interested in physically picking up their coffee. However, after receiving numerous requests for a pickup option, it became clear that some customers preferred this method as a way to reduce shipping costs.

Real user goals can be different than expected

Survey results indicated that customers were dissatisfied with the limited options to customize their orders according to their preferred roast types. In response, I introduced the feature that allowed them to choose their preferred roasts to create their bundle, resulting in a subsequent boost in sales.