UX Discovery Research – RIIPEN Internship at MealVue
MealVue
Discovery Research
A pre-launch UX research engagement validating the product concept, surfacing consumer and operator pain points, and delivering actionable design priorities for a food management app before full-scale development.
Platform
Mobile & Web
Role
UX Researcher
Segments
B2B & B2C
77%
Regularly forget food they already own
73%
Use no inventory tracking system
65%
Rated MealVue concept useful or very useful
81%
Would pay if the app saves time or money
01
Research Methods
Workstream A
Heuristic Evaluation
Structured review of the existing MealVue prototype against Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics, documenting issues with severity ratings on a 1–4 scale and actionable redesign recommendations.
Nielsen's 10 Heuristics
Severity Rating
Prototype Review
Workstream B
Competitive Analysis
Landscape review of 20+ competing apps across pantry tracking, meal planning, recipe discovery, food waste reduction, and grocery categories — identifying market gaps and positioning opportunities.
20+ Apps Reviewed
5 Categories
Positioning Analysis
Workstream C
Pre-Launch Surveys
Two purpose-built survey instruments — B2C targeting individuals and B2B targeting food-service operators — designed to validate user needs, feature priorities, and willingness to pay.
26 B2C Respondents
3 B2B Operators
Attention-Check Filtering
02
Key Findings
B2C · Behavioural Patterns
Memory-based food management is the default and it's failing
73% rely on memory alone with no formal tracking. 58% regularly buy duplicates of items they already own. 50% struggle with expiration dates proactively. 42% experience ongoing decision fatigue about what to cook.
B2C · Feature Priorities
Expiration reminders and scanning lead feature demand
Expiration & low-stock reminders ranked #1 (mean 3.42/5, 62% top-2 box). Food scanning and recipe suggestions from inventory tied at #2 (mean 3.12). All four P0 features cluster tightly, indicating a bundled core experience is essential.
B2B · Operational Reality
All three operators confirmed financial losses regardless of tracking method
Respondent A uses four tools simultaneously and still experiences inventory loss — indicating the problem is tool inadequacy, not absence. Staff training was the only challenge cited by all three operators, confirming human dependency as a systemic issue.
Cluster 01
Memory-Based Food Management is the Default, and It's Failing
Cluster 02
The Full-Suite Integration Advantage — no competitor delivers it all
Cluster 03
Accuracy is a Trust Gateway, Not a Feature
Cluster 04
Complexity and Setup Friction are the Primary Adoption Barriers
Cluster 05
Waste Reduction as the Unifying Value Proposition
Cluster 06
Freemium is a Prerequisite, Not an Option
03
UX Priorities
Severity
Issue & Recommendation
Heuristic
Critical · 4
Low colour contrast — inaccessible to colourblind users
Modernize to a high-contrast palette with distinct colours per action type (delete = red, add = green)
Aesthetic & Minimalist Design
Critical · 4
Scan screen shows a sad camera icon with no onboarding guidance
Replace with a Getting Started empty state and a clear call-to-action button
Visibility of System Status
High · 3–4
Meal filter screen is a wall of text — overwhelming and hard to scan
Add search bar, category icons, and headings; surface active filters as visible chips
Aesthetic & Minimalist / Recognition vs. Recall
High · 3
Unit dropdown only shows mg/g/kg — excludes familiar cooking measurements
Add cups, tablespoons, and count units alongside metric weights
Match System to Real World
High · 3
No last-updated timestamp on inventory sync status
Add "Updated X ago" text string to reassure users data is live
Visibility of System Status
Low · 2
Jargon terms "New Scanner" and "Top of the List" in UI copy
Rename to "Add Scanner" and "Most Popular" or "Recent" throughout
Match System to Real World
Low · 2
Touch targets too close together across multiple screens
Increase spacing; follow minimum 44pt touch target guidelines throughout
Error Prevention
04
Behavioural Archetypes
35%
Waste-Averse Parent
Lives with family; primary grocery buyer; high frustration with expiration management and food waste
Expiration alerts + scanning
25%
Busy Improviser
Cooks frequently; decides what to cook based on what's available; relies on memory for tracking
Recipe suggestions from inventory
20%
Budget-Conscious Student
Cost-sensitive; buys duplicates due to poor visibility; wants to reduce grocery spend
Freemium + duplicate detection
15%
Sceptical Non-Cook
Low cooking frequency; open to change but cautious about complexity and cost
Frictionless onboarding
05
Competitive Landscape
A competitive landscape analysis across 20+ applications spanning five categories surfaced MealVue's primary differentiation opportunity — no single competitor currently delivers the full integrated suite.
Pantry & Inventory Tracking
Meal Planning
Recipe Discovery
Food Sharing & Waste
Grocery & Deals
No single competitor currently delivers inventory tracking, scanning, recipe suggestions, and shopping list management in one seamless experience — this is MealVue's primary market opportunity.
06
Deliverables
01
Full synthesis document covering heuristic evaluation, competitive analysis, dual survey findings, insight clusters, and strategic recommendations
02
Presentation Deck
Executive-ready slide deck distilling key findings and statistics for MealVue stakeholders
03
B2C & B2B Survey Analysis Workbooks
Raw analysis files with frequency distributions, feature priority rankings, pricing sensitivity, and cross-tabulations for both segments
04
Persona & Journey Map Pairs
Full personas and end-to-end journey maps for both B2C consumer archetypes and B2B operator archetypes
05
ANOVA Analysis Plan
Forward-looking statistical analysis plan with hypothesis frameworks, variable recoding, assumption checks, and Bonferroni correction guidance for future researchers
06
Interview Protocol
Semi-structured interview guide with discussion frameworks for follow-on B2C and B2B research phases
07
B2B Outreach Contact List
Curated list of food-service operators for follow-on recruitment supporting the recommended n=15–20 B2B study
08
MealVue Research Workbook
Comprehensive working file containing heuristic analysis, competitor mapping, survey design iterations, recruitment planning, and full analysis documentation
09
UX Priority Roadmap
Five prioritized design issues with severity ratings, heuristic violations, and specific actionable recommendations ready for the design team