Streamline Meal Access for Corporate & Campus Diners while Digitizing Food Service
Food & Facilities Services
Hospitality
Cafeteria Experience
Service Digitization
Consumer App
Modular Design System
Research
Empathic and data-driven methodology to understand the complex dining dynamics at Sodexo's U.S. cafeteria sites
Explore US consumers’ dinning behaviors and needs as human beings
01 Consumer Research Scope
Our initial research phase involved comprehensively capturing US consumer dining behaviors in corporate and educational environments.
Data Collection & Analysis:
Social Licensing: Analyzed 17 million data points to identify trends and patterns in consumer dining.
Focus Group Sessions: Conducted 12 sessions to engage directly with users, gaining qualitative insights into their dining preferences and decision-making processes.
Integrate consumers needs with investigation of business operational contexts
02 Business Research Scope
Recognizing that consumer needs is only part of the equation for business success, the second part of research focused on Sodexo’s operational complexity contexts. I designed the on-site research plans focused 3 key areas.
Data Collection & Analysis:
Ethnographic Studies: 6 site visits at various Sodexo locations provided a real-world glimpse into how consumer needs intersect with business operations, through interviews with site general managers and observations of daily workflows.
Corporate sites
University sites
On-site Visit
Strategy
Define the ideal digital food service experience through research insights
We synthesized research data and used a journey mapping to illustrate a typical day within real-world cafeteria settings, identifying pain points and unmet needs within current food service. By interpreting persona insights, we defined what an ideal food service solution should look like for both consumers and operational staff.
These personas are pivotal in guiding strategic design decisions. With CX consultants, we prioritized opportunities based on business impact and user value to map standardizable digital strategies across Sodexo’s U.S. sites.
Consumers desire a seamless, quick, customized meal decisions and planning experience that supports their lifestyle preferences during busy work or class schedules.
Needs
Personalized Meal Decision Making
Consumers need smart suggestions based on dietary preferences, wellness goals, and time constraints to support better meal choices during busy routines.
Accessible Dietary Support
Consumers expect clear nutrition info, allergen filters, and customization options to confidently find meals that meet specific dietary requirements.
Real-Time Informed and Control
Consumers want keep informed with real-time meals and order information to efficiently manager meals and reduce order and pickup uncertainty.
Streamlined Dining Experience
Consumers seek quick and flexible ordering, take out, and order ahead options to minimize wait times and adapt to last-minute schedule changes.
Operational staff seek a site-adaptable solution that enhances operational efficiency and customer experience catering to specific site needs.
Needs
Quick and Easy Service Digitization
Operational Staff need digital tools that seamlessly integrate into existing workflows without disruption. To ensure smooth adoption, systems should require minimal staff retraining and offer features adaptability based on each site’s operational capacity and layout.
Solution Design
To represent the needs of U.S. consumers, this app is more than just a meal ordering platform, but serves as an intelligent dining assistant, streamlining the entire meal access, planning, and ordering process.
An effortless work or school dining that personalize food choices, simplify meal planning, optimize ordering efficiency in Sodexo consumer app
Rewards
Personalize
Lifestyles
Scheduling
Pickup
Real-time
Nutrition
Diversity
Allergens
Health
Work
College
Seamless
01 User Flow & Lo-fi Wireframing
Functionalize the opportunities, outline navigation and feature placement.
Validate the solution against business goals and user satisfaction
02 Focus Group Testing
Test the lo-fi wireframing of consumer app with client, stakeholders and developers, evaluating:
Alignment with user needs and pain points
Business goal achievement
Development feasibility and time cost
Using the Kano Model, we prioritize features based on Sodexo’s operational plan relevance in U.S. and resource optimization, focusing on core functionalities with performance-driven enhancements for consumer App MVP to maximize adoption and user satisfaction.
Performance Features
Basic Function Features
Features On-hold
Features Discard
Structure the app to align with human cognitive patterns & social behaviors
03 Information Architecture Iteration
To ensure an intuitive and scalable information architecture (IA), we collaborated with researchers and social scientists to organize content and features in a way that aligns with human natural cognitive patterns and design feature hierarchies that support real-world user needs and communal dining habits.
Final Design
02
01
03
Client Visuals Adaptive
A white-label solution that ensures seamless brand integration.
U.S. Consumer-Centric
Modular System
Design digital food service to address user needs and enhance Sodexo’s service in U.S.
Flexible functionality to accommodate diverse client needs and screen types.
01
Address Consumer Needs & Pain Points
Lack of personalized recommendations
Unpredictable wait times
Unclear dietary support
Inflexible dining options
Personalized Recommendation Tabs
Food options based on user’s dietary preferences and schedules to avoid too many irrelevant meal choices for user.
Ease Access of Counter Service Availability
Each counter card shows available service methods. High-volume wait times are highlighted in red, helping users pick counter based on their schedule.
Clear and Transparent Dish Information
Clear allergen and nutritional labels, with red highlights for user-specific allergens to reduce uncertainty.
Effortless Customization for Special Dietary Needs
Users can modify meals by their preference. Once saved, the updated dish reflects the changes in nutrition/allergen information dynamically. If an allergen-containing ingredient is removed, the red allergen warning disappears.
After Customization
Customize what’s included
Extra ground beef
Sesames Bun
None BBQ Sauce
Customize what’s included
Flexible Dining Options & Scheduling
Users can seamlessly toggle between dining methods while seeing dynamic pickup time updates.
Real-time Order Tracking & QR Pickup
Track orders in real time via the 'Orders' page and retrieve a pickup QR code instantly when orders are ready.
02
White-Label Solution for Seamless Client Rebranding
03
Modular Functional System for Scalable Adaptation
Impact & Results
While the solution has not yet launched, the design was validated through collaborative stakeholder sessions and strategic alignment with Sodexo’s U.S. market goals. MVP design was presented to Sodexo’s U.S. leadership as part of the innovation rollout plan and approved for development handoff, with modular components ready for pilot testing and scalable rollout across client sites.
User Outcomes
Faster, Smarter Decisions
Personalized menu tabs, recommendation, and real-time updates help users make informed dining choices based on their dietary needs, preferences, and schedule.
Reduced Ordering Uncertainty
Live counter status, pickup timing, and order tracking create a more transparent and reliable dining experience.
Inclusive & Flexible Experience
Customizable dishes, clear nutritional info, and the ability to switch between dine-in and takeout ensure accessibility for all users.
Business Outcomes
Increased Operational Efficiency
Improved order flow and reduced service friction streamline kitchen workflows and speed up meal delivery.
Reduced Service Digitization Friction
A modular and white-label system enables features and visual to be customized based on each site’s needs, supporting faster onboarding and lowering cost and complexity across diverse environments.
Future-Scalable Platform
The flexible architecture ensures the system can evolve with Sodexo’s innovation roadmap and adapt to future client requirements.
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