Background
Giant Eagle, a prominent grocery and retail chain in the midwest, sought to innovate within the meal solutions market. Despite existing offerings like meal kits and prepared foods, the company aimed to differentiate itself by leveraging its resources to compete with industry leaders, such as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh.
THE TEAM
Design Team
Dongtao Bi, Joanne Yang, Shixian X, Lily Du
Client
Giant Eagle, Inc.
Duration
5 months (2024.01 - 2024.05)
The Challenge
User-centered Problem
72% of Giant Eagle customers experience dinner-decision fatigue at least three times per week—leading to excessive food waste, and increasing reliance on last-minute restaurant takeout.
Business-centered Problem
As a retailer providing ingredients for home cooks, Giant Eagle is losing business to local restaurants and online meal delivery services; the company needs a solution tailored to its unique customer base.
The Solution
EagleKitchen simplifies meal preparation by seamlessly integrating recipe discovery with grocery fulfillment, bridging the gap between meal planning and execution.
My Responsibility
Concept Development
Planned and facilitated collaborative design sprints to ideate, define, and iterate service concepts.
Design Prototyping
Led design development along with moderated usability testing sessions to gather feedback and synthesize findings.
The Results
7/10
User Adoption Rate
Most recent testing results score indicating the proportion of customers adopting EagleKitchen.
92%
Task Completion Rate
Successful task completion rate for key functionalities during usability testing with users.
8min
Avg. Completion Time
The average time users took to plan weekly meals and add the necessary ingredients to their cart.
Giant Eagle Homepage
EagleKitchen Welcome Page
Serving Portion Setting
Recipe Preferences
Allergic Ingredients
Eagle Kichen
Preference Settings
Recipe Details
Shopping Cart
Swap Ingredients
Meal Preparation Reminder
Planned Meal Recipes
Design Process
Problem Statement
“
How might we leverage Giant Eagle’s resources to design a meal solution service that resonates with customers' needs for daily meals?
”
Exploratory Research
Competitor Benchmarking
Compared to other meal solution providers, Giant Eagle stands out for its access to fresh, high-quality ingredients at affordable prices.
In a market shaped by affordability (Target), premium curations (Whole Foods), and subscription-based convenience (Blue Apron), Giant Eagle needs to carve out a unique position to differentiate itself from competitors.
Target offers customers with affordable, grab-and-go meal kits catering to time-strapped customers.
On the other hand, Wholefoods is known for its premium, customizable ready-to-serve meals with high-quality ingredients.
As an online service, Blue Apron provides a subscription-based meal delivery services with convenience.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
Amidst this landscape, Giant Eagle occupies a strategic position that leverages its advantages in personalization and affordability.
This positioning not only differentiates it from competitors but also highlights an opportunity to cater to a broader spectrum of customer needs—from those seeking convenience without sacrificing quality to those who prioritize cost-savings.
planning criterias
To further empathize our users, we started exploring which factors do customers weigh in when deciding what to eat.
Through in-store observations and speaking to customers, three key factors were identified as the most important criteria when customers plan for their daily meals:
uncovered challenges
While the majority of customers prefer to cook at home for their daily meals. However, the current experience presents several setbacks for their experiences.
User Journey | Preparing for a Weekday Meal
user interview
In order to confirm the root cause of the disturbed meal preparation experience, we proceeded to interview customers selectively.
Iterated Problem Statement
The majority of the challenges stem from disorganized grocery shopping, resulting in inconsistent use of purchased ingredients and mundane meal experiences. This finding led us to reframe the initial design problem.
“
How might Giant Eagle help students and young professionals streamline workday meal preparations through an online meal planning service?
”
design principles
User persona
"I want to eat better without spending hours figuring out what to make and what to buy, especially during the hectic college days."
Demographics
Name: Maya Chan
Age: 27
Occupation: College Student
Household: Lives with a roommate
Frustrations
Wastes time figuring out what to cook after long workdays.
Buys ingredients that go unused or don’t match her meal plans.
Finds online recipe platforms overwhelming and disconnected from grocery shopping.
Imminent Needs
Quick, reliable meal planning that fits a busy weekday schedule.
Easy-to-prepare recipes that minimize waste and use ingredients on hand.
Easy integration between shopping list and cooking steps.
Concept Development
DESIGNING AN MVP
The initial service concept introduced curated features designed to address key pain points, with the goal of gathering user feedback for further iteration.
Shopping list generated from selected recipes
(1) Generates a shopping cart from recipes selected by customers.
(2) Organizes items based on in-store departments for a smooth shopping experience.
Personalized meal recipe recommendations
(1) Recommendations based on customer's purchase history during the past twelve weeks.
(2) Suggestions for new meals recipes tailored to dietary preferences of the customer.
Daily meal preparation reminders
(1) Showcase 'upcoming meal plans' in Giant Eagle mobile app.
(2) Send reminder notifications during optimal meal preparation times for scheduled meals.
Prototype testing
My team adopted paper prototyping method along with storyboarding, in which we provided scenarios for participants to understand the context and provide feedback.
During the session, we asked participants to think aloud and share their thoughts, followed by structured interviews to gain detailed feedback from participants.
concept iteration
During paper prototyping and user testing, we identified major setbacks, which led to a change in service concept:
Solution
Replace fixed weekly calendars with a flexible 'Recipe Collection' - enable users to save recipes to a collection without assigning specific days.
Solution
Enable users to easily replace ingredients they dislike or avoid, making recipes more flexible and personalized to their needs.
Prototype Iterations
Medium Fidelity Prototype
Prototype created based on features outlined in initial MVP.
Design Update 1
Switching from a structured daily meal planner to a more flexible recipe collection, the entry point design was updated to reflect this shift in user flow and visual design.
Design Update 2
The weekly meal planner interface was replaced with a collection of recently purchased recipes, allowing users to easily browse and archive meals they've already prepared.
Design Update 3
The shopping cart was augmented with an ingredient substitution feature, while also introducing a compiled view of purchased recipes for easier tracking and preparation.
Updated User Flows
User Flow 1
Onboarding with dietary personalization for recipe recommendations.
User Flow 2
Finding recipes based on search preferences or selected ingredients in pantry.
User Flow 3
Adding ingredients to cart from selected recipes and substitute ingredients as needed.
Final Solution
Information Architecture
Integrating service into existing Giant Eagle mobile application.
Combined User Flow
Streamlined experiences from recipes to dinner table.
Service Blueprint
Key product feature to maintain viability for the service.
Strategy 01
Data‐driven Personalization
EagleKitchen tailors recipes through data‐driven personalization by analyzing purchase history and store inventory, ensuring every shopper receives targeted recommendations.
Strategy 02
Streamlined Grocery Shopping
The platform seamlessly connects recipes with real‐time product availability so customers can easily add ingredients to their cart and have them delivered without hassle.
Strategy 03
Meal Preparation Reminder
Eagle Kitchen provides timely alerts and meal prep reminders to foster proactive engagement, helping users stay organized and reducing last‐minute dinner stress.
Designed by Dongtao Bi © 2025
This project is an academic design coursework and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any company.