Case study | Fipple

Concept Case study: Cutting Food Waste for Restaurants Across India

Fipple is a platform that aims to combat food waste by connecting Consumers and Non-Profit Organisations with restaurants. The idea is to rescue perfectly edible food that would otherwise be thrown away and contribute to the global issue of food waste. We align with the SDG Goal 17: Responsible Consumption

Roles:

Product Designer
Research, Ideation, Wireframe, Prototyping & User Testing

Team:

7 Designers
Concept Case Study - IITD

Team:

5 Months | 2023-2024
Figma

Overview

How Fipple Transforms Food Waster into Opportunity!

Context

Restaurants and consumers generate significant food waste due to excess food production, overestimated portion sizes, and unconsumed surplus food, leading to economic and environmental challenges.

Challenge

Fipple connects consumers and non-profit organizations with restaurants to combat food waste by rescuing perfectly edible food that would otherwise be discarded, aligning with SDG Goal 17: Responsible Consumption.

Design Decisions - Restarurants

Solution and Key Design Decisions

Stock Management Toggle for Restaurants

Quick Toggle: A quick-access button lets the restaurant staff toggle each menu item on or off with a single tap, indicating whether it’s currently available to customers.
Auto Turn-Off: Items automatically toggle off when: Quantity Limit is reached (e.g., 20 servings). Time Limit expires (options like 2 hours, 5 hours, or custom times).
Manual Turn-Off: Staff can manually toggle items anytime for instant control.

This system minimises waste and ensures smooth, efficient stock management.

Product Addition Feature for Restaurant Menus

Restaurants can easily add and organize menu items with details like:

Basic Info: Set Category/Subcategory, MRP, Discounted Price, and Description.
Tags: Mark items as Veg, Non-Veg, Egg, or Seafood.
Stock & Variants: Track Stock Availability and offer Plate Sizes (quarter, half, full).
Serving Details: Provide recommended portions, portion size, and information on Allergens and spice levels.

This feature ensures organised, transparent options that support better choices and reduce waste.

Food Donation Flow for Restaurants

When a restaurant user selects "Contribute Food," they see food requests from nonprofit organisations. They can choose to accept or decline a request. Upon accepting:

Quantity Selection: A slider lets them confirm the amount they wish to donate.
Preparation Time: The user sets the time required to prepare the food.
Donation Summary: Shows the estimated quantity of food being donated.

After confirming, they proceed to a final screen showing order details, estimated arrival time of the delivery partner, and an option to share the donation update.

Design Decisions - Customer

Solution and Key Design Decisions

Food Selection and Cart Experience for Consumers

When adding food to their cart:

Consumers can choose portion sizes, displayed as Quarter Plate , Half Plate, or Full Plate, with serve size information underneath.
Allergen information and spice level options are displayed.
Optional add-ons can be selected to enhance the dish.
At the bottom of the screen:
Item Count: Displays the total number of items added.
Add Item Button: Shows the updated price based on selected portion size and add-ons, updating dynamically as selections change.

Food Donation Flow for Cosnumers

When consumers select "Share," they view a list of food requests and tick the items they wish to donate.

Select Items: Accept or reject specific requests from the list.
Suggestions & Restaurants: Receive dish and restaurant suggestions based on selected items.
Add & Adjust: Choose items, set quantity via slider, and add to donation cart with price displayed.
Checkout: Review cart with recipient details, total cost, and an option to apply coupons before finalizing the donation.

Design Decisions - Not for Profit Organisation

Solution and Key Design Decisions

Non-Profit Food Request Flow

Non-profits can request food using a floating button or via bottom navigation.

Select Dishes/Restaurants: Choose from top dishes or restaurants.
Set Quantity: Use a slider to easily request bulk food quantities on the request screen.
Add Items: Option to add more items, with the total projected cost shown.
Confirm & Request: Move to the confirmation screen and finalize the request by clicking "Request Food."

Take Aways

What I learned working on Fipple

Adaptability in Design for Social Impact:

Balancing upselling with reducing waste highlighted how design can serve business goals while addressing social issues.simplifying the dashboard and improving usability.

Working with a Team

Each member brought unique perspectives and skills, which enriched the design process. This experience taught me the importance of open communication and leveraging team strengths to create a cohesive final product.

Designing for Diverse Stakeholders:

This project emphasised understanding the unique needs of consumers, restaurants, and non-profits. It taught me to create inclusive solutions that address each group's pain points while ensuring a seamless UX.

Contact

kashmiraburder.kb@gmail.com
+91-8978704999

Kashmira Burder

Usability Tests

Testing help improve our User experience

Before

After

1. Unified Order Management

Initial Design: Contribution orders were displayed separately from regular orders, causing restaurant users to lose track of their overall order management.
Iteration: Integrated contribution orders into the main order management dashboard. This allows restaurant users to view all orders—regular and contributions—together, helping them prioritize and manage orders more effectively. Each order type is visually distinct but part of a single list for streamlined processing.

2. Delivery Limitations and Pricing Transparency

Initial Design: Users were unaware of the delivery limitations regarding food quantities and could not see pricing for their contribution orders.
Iteration: Added clear indicators next to each order that specify the delivery limitations and provide a projected price for the contribution orders. This helps users make informed decisions about their contributions and understand the logistics of delivery better. Additionally, an alert will notify users when an order exceeds the bike delivery limit, prompting them to arrange for self-pickup by the non-profit organisation.

This feature ensures organised, transparent options that support better choices and reduce waste.

Before

After

User Research

Understanding the problem

We structured our research into two phases:

Secondary Research: We analyzed India’s food service landscape, examining economic and environmental impacts of food waste and evaluating existing online and offline solutions.
Primary Research: Through stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiries, and user surveys, we gained direct insights into needs and pain points related to food waste.

Our Stake holders: Restaurants/Cafes, Not for Profit Organisations & Consumers

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Consumer Behaviour

Understanding the Food Portion size

Satisfaction with Portion Size: A significant majority (66%) of customers are satisfied with the portion sizes they receive in restaurants or when ordering online. This indicates that the current portion size aligns with customer expectation and preferences

Incomplete Meal Consumption: Despite the satisfaction with Portion sizes, a substantial portion (36.8%) of customers repeated that they never finish their meals and close to half (40.8%) answered sometimes.

This suggests that while customers are content with the portion size offered, they tend to overestimate their appetite or recieve more food than they can consume.

Food Waste Due to Over-Ordering: An interesting finding is that 32.1% of food waste is attributed to over-ordering. This indicates a potential area for improvement in the customer experience. It suggests that some customers may benefit from guidance or options to help them order more accurately based on their appetite.