spice blend station

Your Dekalb Farmers Market

OVERVIEW

Your Dekalb Farmers Market (YDFM) is a 140,000 sq ft. international market place in Decatur, Georgia. Georgia is becoming more diverse, and more smaller international markets are popping up all over the city - with many of the same offerings as YDFM. In order to preserve the market as a landmark in the city, what can the market do to entice its customer base?

Offering a service that YDFM already has the framework and capacity to operate, like a spice blend station, would offer customers another service they could not find elsewhere.

ROLE

consumer research & consumer experience

PROJECT TYPE

case study - self-initiated 

PROCESS

• Generative research

background

Your Dekalb Farmers Market (YDFM) is a 140,000 sq ft. international market place in Decatur, Georgia. Customers value the quality of items offered at YDFM. In the past, a lot of people considered YDFM to be the only place they could go to get certain items, and people often had no issue traveling because speciality was what they were seeking. 

challenge

The market hasn't seen many large-scale updates in over 40 years. As stores move towards customization, smaller stores with more specialty offerings are becoming more popular among consumers. These markets offer many of the same items and have several locations. To further cement their value in an increasingly diverse market, YDFM could benefit from optimization that reflects the quality of the products and services they offer.

I wanted to know:

• Why do people currently shop at YDFM?

• Where else do they currently go for specialty items and why?

• What are YDFM’s assets that they can play up?

process 

customer survey | YDFM shopping preferences

I surveyed customers that shop at Your Dekalb Farmers Market.  The survey asked consumers about their typical shopping behaviors at The Market and their perceptions of The Market's best features.

site visit

I visited Your Dekalb Farmers Market on one weekday evening to conduct an observation of the general shopping experience. I shop at the market regularly, but I was looking for and taking note of experiences I typically wouldn’t have noticed or remembered.

insights from survey

People of all ages from the Metro Atlanta area responded to the survey.

Despite YDFM being farther away than desired for most consumers, they will still make the trip 1 -2 times a month, and a majority of customers purchase spices and grains at YDFM.

specialty

... availability of hard to find ingredients​…

Only place to get certain items.

quality

...the freshness. I love that most food is organic and distributed from local farms.

price

[Items] that [are] not as readily or cheaply available at my normal grocery store.

location

Customers said the market was further away than they would like. Location as a pain point for existing customers shopping at YDFM indicates that despite the distance most consumers feel the trip is worth it.​

insights from YDFM site visit

diversity​ 

• Employees offer customers knowledge and expertise about cooking  specific items.

• Flags hang from the ceiling from 184 countries.

• Employees are diverse and come from a host of various countries. 

• Employees wear a nametag that provides their country of origin and the language(s) they speak.​​

customization

• YDFM employees assist customers with selection, packaging, and handling of market items.

• Dry items like spices and grains are repackaged in store before they are sold in simple plastic containers that allow for ease in product sharing and mixing. ​​

In addition, the ​market also has the following stations:

• nut butter grinding station

• pineapple coring station

• coffee blend station

personas

After analysis of individual YDFM consumer responses, I created  four personas to represent the customer base.

feature prioritization

After spending a few hours thinking through a few custom market features and offerings, they were prioritized based on consumer relevance and impact level and effort.

Quality and convenience were not among the top reasons consumers listed, so I chose to prioritize improvements in two categories: cultural landmarking & diversity/uniqueness. I also considered what new features would allow for customization and specialty. Utilizing market employees was key, as employees are already used to interfacing with consumers at various stations within the market.​

The market features that would play into its international nature and unique offerings for the lowest level of effort for the market were:

• spice blend counter

• tea blend counter 

solution

spice blend station

A station at YDFM that would allow customers to obtain a made-to-order blend of freshly ground spices prepared by YDFM staff members.

design

inspiration

As inspiration for the custom blends market, I looked to several make-to-order examples, including Teavana & Sweetgreen.

specialty, but limits. 

Offering blends that are menu-based allow customers to still have options, but it alleviates the stress associated with of creating their own. Plus, the market can only offer blends from a menu of existing ingredients. ​

staples.

Every salad company has a version of a Caesar salad. Blends that are common should also be offered as well like Italian and curry.

​

more research | customer survey

To validate this idea and better understand how people use their spices, I administered another survey asking people about when they shop for new spices and their tendency to use spice blends. 

insights

Most consumers will:

• return to the store when they run out of a certain spice or when a new recipe calls for one.​

• Most consumers choose the spices they purchase by considering freshness and brand familiarity.

When asked if they make their own spice blends, respondents said:

I don't know how!

I find pre-made blends interesting enough.

feedback

I created a customer flow for the spice blend station, and shared it with a few potential users. They worried that they would have to want to wait in line behind someone with a complicated spice order, and they suggested an ordering card. Customers could hand the card to the store employee to place their order after selecting what spice and customizations they wanted.

final ordering process flow

I considered this but was worried about sanitary concerns with handing a card to an employee over the counter. I decided to design ordering cards that would be placed on the counter to accompany the overhead menu board. Users can have something to look at and touch when they are ordering, but won’t have to hand anything over the counter.

1. Decision

   The customer approaches the spice blend counter, and reads the menu board and/or countertop ordering cards.

2. Order Selection

   The customer decides on a spice blend, and chooses their customizations. If the customizations are incorrect or unclear, they can use the ordering card to clarify.

3. Order Preparation

   The store employee prepares the spice blend, and the customer receives the item.

reflection

Trust your gut, but continue to collect insights to validate your thinking.

Don't underestimate the value of a survey. A well-designed, open-ended survey will garner useful user feedback that is of interview-quality.

If I had more time, I would have looked more into other markets that are popping up all over the city that offer many of the same items as Your Dekalb Farmers Market.