Mesquite
- Boon Siang Leok
- Apr 19
- 9 min read
Updated: May 2
In today's world, where more people are shifting toward plant-based diets, many struggle with the challenges of veganism. The increasing number of food options often leads to confusion, while the need to use multiple applications for meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe discovery adds unnecessary complexity. A conversation with a friend about their frustrations sparked an idea: to create a centralised app that tackles these challenges head-on and simplifies the vegan lifestyle.
The Problem with Veganism Today
Despite the well-known ethical and health benefits of veganism, many potential vegans face significant hurdles that can deter them from fully embracing this lifestyle. A survey conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group found that over 60% of respondents cite a limited selection of vegan products as a major obstacle.
Additionally, juggling multiple apps—each serving different facets of vegan living—leaves users overwhelmed. For instance, one app for meal ideas, another for grocery lists, and yet another for tracking nutrition creates a fragmented experience. Many users have reported frustration with these complicated systems, revealing that 55% find existing interfaces confusing or unhelpful.
Project Overview
Time Taken: 3 Months
Team Size: 1 Person
Tools Used: MarvelApp, Figma
Role: Product Designer
Research Timeline and Methodology
User interviews
After reviewing the issues that my friend had brought up, I decided to conduct more in-depth user interviews with vegan/vegetarian users, and I hada total of 5 interviewees, which helped me better understand them. Each interview would last approximately 60 minutes each ecorded for insights taking later on.
Prompt bank
What is your average day like?
What made you want to become a Vegan/ Vegetarian
What are some challenges that you faced as a Vegan/ Vegetarian
How has your health improved since becoming vegan?
What are some challenges you've faced as a vegan?
How do you respond to criticisms about veganism?
What are some of your favourite vegan meals?
How do you ensure you're getting enough protein and other essential nutrients on a vegan diet?
What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about veganism?
What advice do you have for someone who wants to transition to a vegan lifestyle?
How do you navigate social situations where there may not be vegan options available?
Do you have any favourite vegan restaurants or cafes?
What do you think is the biggest environmental benefit of being vegan?
What do you think is the biggest ethical benefit of being vegan?
How do you think the vegan movement has evolved over the years?
How do you respond to people who claim that a vegan diet is too expensive?
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the vegan movement today?
How do you think the meat and dairy industries will change in the coming years?
Do you think it's important for vegans to support ethical and sustainable fashion?
How do you think veganism intersects with other social justice movements?
What is your favourite vegan substitute for animal products?
How do you think veganism has impacted your personal life and relationships?
How do you handle situations where you may be required to use non-vegan products (e.g. medications, cosmetics)?
How do you respond to people who claim that a vegan diet is not sustainable in the long term?
What do you think is the biggest health benefit of being vegan?
How do you stay up to date with the latest research and information about veganism?
What are some common mistakes that people make when transitioning to a vegan diet?
What is your favourite vegan dessert?
What do you think is the future of veganism?
Do you think there are any situations where it's acceptable to consume animal products?
Have you experienced any negative side effects of being vegan?
Do you think it's important for vegans to educate others about their lifestyle choices?
Personas
From the user interviews identified 3 Core motivations for becoming Vegan/Vegetarian namely for animal rights, health and religious reasons. With that I decided to craft out 3 different personas to target the different user journeys that they would face.
Primary Persona:
Secondary Persona
Tertiary Persona
Negative Persona
Competitor Analysis
The Vision: A Comprehensive Solution
To address these challenges, the vision for a centralized app emerged: a singular hub where all aspects of veganism can be managed easily. This application would serve as a one-stop-shop for meal planning, grocery lists, nutrition tracking, and recipe sharing, all designed with the cultural context of Singapore in mind.
Design Considerations
Some of the considerations have gone to determining what kind of App would be tackling the various issues that a Vegan today would face, there were many issues during the beginning of the ideation phase such as what are the different ways that the user could get food, what are the common issues that a vegan today would face today such as the ever-increasing prices of organic food and the social stigma caused because eating is not just about survival, it is very social experience as well.
I would then choose the functionality based on these factors. Some of the key considerations that I had was deciding if certain features such as vegan dating and vegan cheat days. Vegan dating would be a nice function to have in the app, it is not a must have as there is already a social aspect to the Vegan app already and by adding an additional dating function would overemphasize the social aspect of the app, as that is not what the app is catering for.
Vegan Cheat days was a nice idea initially until I realised that Vegans do not have cheat days, they might falter, but they would largely want to keep it a secret as it would be a source of shame for the user. A negative emotion that I do not want the user to have, thus I changed the idea into a Vegan tracker instead and gave the user motivational quotes and a tracking progress bar, which denotes a more positive emotion for the user.
The reason to call the App Honey Mesquite is because of what Mesquite is, it is a spice that enhances the value of various salads just like how I would want the app to enhance the life of the users.
Functionalities
Personalization: The app will prioritise a clean, intuitive design to facilitate easy navigation, reducing frustration and enhancing engagement.
Recipes: Users will gain access to a wide variety of meal ideas featuring local ingredients like tempeh and chickpeas. This will enable them to create a tailored weekly plan that suits their preferences, catering to Singapore’s unique food culture.
Vegan Scanner: A simplified nutritional tracker will enable users to monitor their intake efficiently. This feature will not only benefit vegans but also those who are health-conscious, ensuring adherence to dietary requirements.
Restaurants: A smart restaurant list feature will generate personalised lists based on selected meals. It will also provide users with recommendations for local stores, helping them locate items quickly.
Rewards: A basic loyalty program for the users to earn points and rewards while using functions within the app.
Scenario 1
For example, you are a recently converted Vegan but you are unsure about your diet. Having access to online articles do not help you much as it merely tells you the generalities. However, with Mesquite, all you need to do is to take the vegan test or use the Vegan Scanner to let you know if you could eat it or not.
Scenario 2
Imagine if you are hungry, but, no matter where you look, you are not able to find any place that sells food that is suitable for your diet. You could either search for forums to search for recommended places, which could take a while, or decide to cook, but searching for a good recipe to cook from might take hours. With Mesquite, you just need to use the restaurant locator or the customizable cookboo,k which can save you plenty of time. You could also try something new with Vegan Dare as well or just use the vegan catering service.
Customer User Journey
By integrating these features, the app aspires to transform the vegan experience, making it accessible and enjoyable for users throughout Singapore.
Iteration 1: Post-Its
The first iteration was done via post-its, this is to identify missing pages and possible buttons that would be needed for each page.
Usability testing
Looking for Usability testers
For the first prototype, it was made rather quickly, thus I approached my friends who I was meeting that day. The Play test was done using post it pads to just showcase the flow of the app and to see if the idea is interesting.
Conducting the Usability test
The post its are numbered on the top right and placed randomly on the board and the testers has to figure out how the task flows worked. I would ask the user to place the post it pad side by side and then I would take note of the order based on the numbers of the post it pad.
Post Usability feedback Qns and rationale
Results
Changes made for the next Iteration
Made the prototype much more detailed, such as fleshing out the buttons and what the app might look like
Added other functionalities for the app.
Used Paper and the actual size of the phone\
Fleshed out the content
Iteration 2: Low Fidelity Sketches
Goals of Iteration 2:
Get a general feel for how the UI and the buttons would look.
Get the user’s feedback on these elements.
Improvement to the UI design.
Test out extra functions that have been
Test out the Mock Type of Vegan Test.
Looking for Testers
For the Second iteration, I would first try to approach the person to check if they are vegan or vegetarian (this is rather important as they represent the demographic for the app), assuring them that the survey is done solely for academic purposes and not commercial purposes helps to get the testers to open up more as well.
Conducting the Usability test
I also have to ensure that I do not stay at a location for too long, as well because I noticed that people are less likely to help if they notice that you are talking to everybody and would leave before you approach them. Thus, I got a maximum of 2 from each location. Looking for an educated office worker or student help out a lot too as well because although it is easier to find vegetarians in a vegetarian store in a hawker centre, there seems to be a language barrier.
Rationale for Questions
Results
Observations
● Some of the testers did not know how to access the vegan quiz and only managed to do so after some time
● Once the users reached the 2nd task onwards, their progress became a lot faster
Iteration 3
Finding the Playtesters
Much like the second playtest, I went to looked around vegetarian restaurants and asked the customers if they are willing to spare me a minute for a survey and I would approach the people whom are office workers or students as they seem more likely to reply and has less difficulty understanding.
Conducting the Playtest
For the playtest, it had been made easier as compared to the previous 2 playtests as I had made a somewhat workable app on marvelapp and thus I would show the testers the app on my phone. Unlike the first 2 prototypes where i was able to record the playtester’s results, i would take note of the pages where the testers had trouble getting issues with and would make changes to the app on the next phase.
After the task flow is done
I would then ask the user a short survey verbally and record it down on my notepad.
Post Usability testing Survey
Observations
Most of the users were able to use most of the app effectively
The issue they had was confusion caused by the pages that lacked certain buttons and progress bars.
The average timing for each of the tasks is around 30 seconds to a minute.
Iteration 4
Finding the Playtesters
Much like the second and third playtests, I spent some time asking if people would be
able to take some time to help with my app.
Conducting the Playtest
For the playtest, it is very much like the 3rd playtes,t where I would pass my phone
with the Marvelapp website and allow the user to test out the app. I would then also
keep track of the pages that the users can go through and take notes along
the way as well.
After the task flow is done
I would then ask the user a short survey verbally and record down on my notepad.
The rationale for each of the questions is listed below.
Rationale for Questions
Results
Observations Made
Most of the tasks are quite normal tasks that a person has done before (such as scanning a QR code or signing up, which seems rather easy)
The task flows were quickly done within the time limit of 5 minutes
The user felt that the repetition of the login process of the task flow was redundant and asked if he could continue from the Homepage thus the next few playtesters were allowed the users to start tasks 2 to 4 from the logged-in home page.
One of the users commented that the app feels “floaty“
Final changes to make for the Final Prototype
Add a background for each of the pages to make the buttons feel less floaty
Made the stars orange to contrast with the background
Add actual pictures
Add hearts to enable users to like the recipes
Reduce the size of the icons
Added white spaces to separate the elements to have breathing space and not feel so crammed
Final Prototype
Style guide
Final product
The Future of Veganism
This journey to create a centralised hub for veganism has illuminated a path toward empowering users. By addressing common challenges, this app stands ready to significantly impact the community.
As more individuals consider plant-based diets, the app will not only deliver convenience but also foster a sense of belonging among users. By enhancing the overall experience, it aims to transform how individuals engage with veganism, making it a delightful and sustainable way of life for many.
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