Ollie Eats

The canine nutritionist — in your pocket.

Timeline

June - October 2023 (17 weeks)

Problem

The Solution

Many dog owners are inadvertently compromising their pets' health through poor dietary choices.

As a dedicated dog owner, I've observed how easily even the most well-meaning pet owners can slip into poor feeding habits. Despite our best intentions, we often neglect to provide the personalized nutrition that our furry friends truly need. This oversight can lead to numerous health problems, from obesity to chronic illnesses. What is it that stops us from making informed choices about our dogs' diets?

Users needs personalization for their dogs

Personalized Meal Plans

Custom Nutrition: The app takes into account the dog's age, weight, and existing health conditions to create a meal plan that’s not just delicious but also nutritious.
User-Friendly Interface: Easy navigation and clear instructions make meal planning a hassle-free experience for pet owners.


Flexible Updates: You can easily modify meal plans based on any changes in your dog's dietary needs or lifestyle.

Market Research

Understanding the Growing Appetite for Pet Wellness

Starting with market research, I began to draw from research articles on the topic of people’s love for their dogs and their well-being. In today's world, dogs are not just pets; they're family. The growing emotional investment in our four-legged companions is clear, leading more individuals to prioritize not just love and attention but also optimal well-being for their dogs. In a society where health consciousness is not just a trend but a lifestyle, extending that focus onto our pets becomes not just desirable but essential.

“57% loved their pets more than their brother or sister, and exactly half claimed to love their pets more than their own mother” (Consumer Affairs)

Competitive Analysis

The competition had NO PERSONALIZATION aspect.

Through a detailed analysis of leading platforms like PetDesk, Chewy, and Safe Pet Treats, a glaring gap in the market becomes evident—none of these services offer personalized meal planning for pets. While they excel in their specialized areas such as appointment management, e-commerce, or food safety, they miss out on an essential aspect of pet care: personalized nutrition.

User Interviews

The Dog Owner - Persona

Solo Master’s Thesis Project

My interviewees were significantly more concerned about their pet's nutrition and personalized information at their fingertips.

I conducted in-depth interviews with 10 dog owners who expressed concerns about their dogs' nutrition. My aim was to uncover the pain points and needs related to this issue. I analyzed the responses using affinity mapping to identify recurring themes and sentiments.

Research Questions:

  • Could you tell me about your dog's current diet?

  • What challenges or concerns do you have around feeding your dog and ensuring it gets proper nutrition?

  • What are some limitations or challenges you have encountered when using existing dog-related apps?

  • How do you currently manage your dogs health?

  • How do you seek advice about your dog's diet?

The Main Insight

The Missing Link of Personalization and Comprehensive Guidance

None of the pet care apps my interviewees used provided the personalized, comprehensive guidance they needed. Based on the patterns identified in my affinity map, it's clear that users crave more than just reminders or generic tips; they want tailored nutrition plans and actionable advice specific to their dog's needs.

Theme 1: Knowledge on dog nutrition

The dog owners need to understand the essentials of dog nutrition. This includes recognizing which ingredients are beneficial and which ones can potentially cause sensitivities or allergies.

Theme 2: Individualized advice

Each dog can have different dietary requirements depending on their breed, age, size, and health condition. The users want a way to get customized advice for their specific dog's needs.

Theme 3: Meal Planning

Owners need help planning meals for their dogs. This includes understanding portion sizes, frequency of meals, and balancing the nutritional content.

Design

Setbacks + a new direction for pet nutrition

Initially, I was interested in integrating technology like Augmented Reality into the pet care experience. The idea was to allow users to scan barcodes on pet food products and instantly see the ingredients and nutritional values superimposed on their screens.


However, after engaging with mentors and diving deeper into the customer journey, I realized something crucial: the pet food buying process is already overwhelming for most owners. Adding another layer of complexity with AR could exacerbate this issue rather than alleviate it.


I took a step back to consider what users truly needed: simplicity, personalization, and actionable insights. So, I shifted my focus from a tech-heavy approach to a user-centric one. This led me to concentrate on developing a smartphone app that delivers exactly what pet owners are looking for—without the bells and whistles that might complicate the user experience.

3 major improvements in my design

Based on various feedback from usability tests + mentor feedback, I continually iterated my design over the span of 4 weeks - with 3 major improvements:

1: Understanding User’s goals

2: Getting rid of too many steps and choices

Conclusion + Lessons Learned

My Role

“The hard part for me is that if I am adding some new foods in, I want to make sure I am giving her the right amount to give her the nutrition she needs.”

“Every dog is different, just because one dog can eat this, doesn’t mean another dog can eat the same.”

“It’s a bunch of trial and error all the time, is definitely frustrating”

I received really incredible feedback from a mentor who wanted me to look at the bigger picture. What were people’s overall goals? I went straight into getting information about their dog, without understanding why they were on the app in the first place. This helped me decide how I could personalize their experience even more.

Through usability studies, it was clear that user were always going to choose the options where is was cheapest, and they never had to cook anything. I wanted to instead take these choices out, and gives them multiple options to choose from, to help with choice bias.

"Ask Ollie!" In-App Advisors

Real-Time Answers: Get immediate advice on whether certain foods or food combinations are safe for your dog to consume.


Intelligent Suggestions: The feature learns from previous interactions to offer increasingly accurate and tailored advice.

Step-by-step directions

Ingredient List: A clear and concise ingredient list is shown, so you know exactly what goes into your dog's meal.


Step-by-Step Instructions: Follow along with detailed cooking steps, ensuring you can easily replicate the meal.

3: Why add more questions?

The Final Screens

The Final Product

  1. Data-Driven Decisions: Throughout this project, I often found myself wrestling with a plethora of choices, from feature sets to design elements. It was tempting to rely on gut instinct, but leaning on market research and user interviews made my decisions more precise and user-centric.

  2. Prioritizing Simplicity: My original concept involved intricate tech solutions like Augmented Reality for ingredient scanning. However, mentorship and a closer look at the user journey led me to opt for a less overwhelming, more straightforward approach.
    Unpacking

  3. User Needs: I originally focused a lot on competition analysis and market trends. While important, nothing was as enlightening as the user interviews. They provided me with firsthand insights into gaps in the market, particularly in personalized pet care, which significantly influenced my final design.

  4. Embracing Iteration: With numerous back-and-forths on feature sets, UI choices, and more, I've come to appreciate the value of iteration. It's not about getting it perfect the first time but continuously refining the product.

  5. Critical Feedback as an Asset: Each time I faced an obstacle or was unsure about a design choice, I sought external opinions. Whether it was casual questions to clarify smaller issues or more formal feedback from my mentor, this external input was instrumental in steering the project towards success.

Users did not need a question before filling something out, so instead I gave them the option to skip, if they felt like they didn’t need to answer the given question.