Context:

As someone who is interested in pursuing product management, I’m constantly observing and analyzing my surroundings to find problems that require solving. Creating products that can help others is something I am very passionate about, and that is precisely how my most recent personal project SafeBites began.

 

Many of my close friends and family face dietary restrictions. While some are personal preference based, others are life-threatening and need to be strictly followed. Examples for both of these include vegetarianism, halal, veganism, kosher, and peanut allergies. While eating at home is not an issue, since they know the exact ingredients of the meals being cooked, going out to restaurants often poses some challenges. Many are forced to call ahead to learn about policies and dish options, since the information provided online is often limited. Not only is this a general inconvenience, but also sometimes unsuccessful, as many restaurants don’t answer their phone or staff do not know the required information. I began to search for safe platforms that could aid this process, with the intent of referencing it to my friends and family. Upon searching, however, I realized how limited the options were, and how there was nothing of particular value that could help. I began conducting extensive research on this target market, and was shocked to learn of how many people shared similar stories. This sparked me to put on my innovation hat and see what I could create myself!

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Problem Outline and Statement:

Currently, there are very few resources that allow users to search for restaurants in their area based on their dietary restrictions. Instead, individuals are forced to check business websites, call ahead of time, or use external platforms that offer limited information. For individuals with restrictions, this makes the process of eating out time consuming and frustrating, adding to an already stressful situation, particularly for those with life threatening allergies that need to be strictly followed. 

 

Problem Validation:

To validate the problem above, two user interviews were conducted. The first interview was with an individual who follows Halal food practices, which is that which adheres to Islamic law. The second interview was conducted with an individual who has a severe peanut allergy. From these interviews, I obtained more details on user pain points, challenges, and problems spaces.

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Users:

After conducting user interviews, I determined more precisely who I sought to help with this product. I divided users into two groups:

 

• Those who face non-life threatening restrictions

  • This includes lifestyle choices, intolerances, mild allergies, and religious restrictions 

 

• Those who face life-threatening restrictions

  • This includes individuals who have severe, life-threatening allergies

 

It was also determined at this time that the MVP will only be created for residents in the city of Waterloo. 

 

User Interview Takeaways:

Some key takeaways from user interviews include:

 

• There are a variety of different ways to obtain dietary information from restaurants, and many people choose what works best for them. Some rely on word-of-mouth from others in the community, often referencing forums such as Reddit or blogs, and others prefer to call restaurants directly. Regardless, searching for the information often requires cross-referencing, checking multiple sources, and a large time commitment (sometimes upwards of an hour). 

 

• This issue does deter people from eating out at restaurants. Particularly for those with severe allergies, risking cross contamination is a huge concern. Often, the time commitment and effort required to find a new restaurant becomes too significant. 

 

• Users are extremely receptive to searching with multiple restrictions at a given time. Individuals sometimes have multiple allergies, or when dining with others multiple people may have different restrictions.  

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From these interviews, three user personas were created to be used during the solutioning and design phase of this project. 

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