Project summary
A local small chocolate house - Kasama is looking to expand their business. Working together, fellow designer Sherry Lu and I took into consideration Kasama's business goals as well as challenges to find a solution that not only benefits the business but also brings joy to local consumers. We came up with a PopUp Booth service as a cost-savvy and great way to increase Kasama's presence and visibility in the local chocolate fanatics scene.
Who is Kasama Chocolate?
Kasama Chocolate is a Vancouver-based business specializing in making Bean-to-Bar handcrafted chocolate. They are passionate about all aspects of the process, from sourcing the cacao beans and experimenting with different roasting methods to refining and conching. They appreciate the diversity and complexity of flavours that can be achieved with varying varieties of beans, places of origin, and post-harvest practices. Kasama values collaboration and community building and seeks to use local ingredients whenever possible. We are thrilled to work with Kasama and Vincent-one of their three co-founders in this project to help them scale up.
Project Details
Goals
- Form and strengthen relationships with local consumers by making the Kasama name and story more well-known among the chocolate fanatics community
- Introduce the Bean to Bar handmade chocolate to potential local consumers
- Make Kasama products more accessible for consumers who have trouble getting to the physical storefront at Granville or buying online
Timeline
7 weeks
Intended Client
Kasama Chocolate
My role
Service designer
UX researcher
Process
Individual work
This was early on in the project when I hadn't yet partnered up in a group
1. Kickoff meeting with Kasama
Before the meeting, our group had done some market, competitive and customer research. During the kickoff meeting, I asked questions that helped me further understand the business's daily operation, passions, goals and struggles.
It was great to meet Leo, as he is the only person who makes Kasama chocolate bars, so we got an in-depth look into their making process and lots of good insights. Leo showed us the whole process of making a Kasama bar from sourcing the beans to tempering the chocolate, adding flavours, packaging and to the consumers.
What I want to look at particularly is how to scale up Kasama. At this moment, to scale up, Kasama is facing a few challenges:
-Budget and lack of machinery
-The whole making process is being done by 1 employee. What if they get sick or want to do something else?
-The current packaging process takes a long time to do manually ( and fold every single bar in foil)
2. Research
I performed research on customer behaviours and their current impressions of Kasama's products and the Kasama brand
What are local consumers saying about Kasama?
Field Research
During my trip to visit the Kasama store at Granville Island, I also visited other businesses on the island for some insights.
Findings
I know Kasama's biggest challenge now is the lack of budget and machinery, so I was seeking low-cost solutions to make the Kasama brand known locally. I think Kasama's price point is higher than average, but it could be an aspect to nudge consumers into purchasing since Kasama does have a great selling story. So it would be helpful to communicate that story to potential consumers.
3. Ideation
Identify challenges
Scaling up a small business comes with lots of constraints. So how might we scale up Kasama without the cost of opening new storefronts and spread awareness about the Bean to Bar process to a wider audience?
Design Objectives
-Compelling storytelling through taste, visuals and emotions
-Budget-friendly
-Promoting the brand through a fun and interactive experience
-Learning (about the Kasama and Bean to Bar process) and celebrating (the products and the brand
With everything together, I came up with a Kasama booth ( display size) that we could place in local coffee shops and other retailers that fit into Kasama's image. In this booth, we could include Kasama's best sellers, a zine that tells their story, and Kasama's business card.
4. User Test
Testing candidate
-Sherry Lu- classmate
Testing aspects
-Walk through impression
-Intuitiveness
-Attracting points in the design
In this testing session, I asked my classmate Sherry to play around with the booth prototype while thinking out loud. She gave me her first impressions of the booth and was attracted by the Kasama story zine. After discussing our ideas in class, Sherry and I found that we shared the same goals and vision so we decided to work as a group
Process
Group work
5. Iteration
The user testing session compelled us to think more carefully about what each concept will actually offer to the user: Is it a kiosk for storytelling or an ordering (product-based) kiosk? A participant suggested an interesting idea of turning the kiosk into a vending machine so it can be used by the general public. This also solves the problem of scaling up and shortage in staff.
So we designed a vending machine with an interactive element.
Our vending machine gamifies the storyline of Bean to Bar handcraft chocolate making, allowing the consumers to experience making a Kasama chocolate bar in real time (on the display screen), followed by a rewarding product if they choose to make a purchase. The vending machine increases consumer awareness of the Kasama brand and accessibility to Kasama chocolate, and it is a more cost-effective solution to scale up than opening new storefronts and does not require a significant increase in staff.
Vending machines in multiple places throughout the city will increase business presence and visibility in the community to help strengthen the relationship between Kasama and customers.
6. User Test (Round 2)
Testing candidate
-Shriya Maru- classmate
Testing aspects
-Look and feel of the vending machine design
-Intuitiveness
-User flow of the interactive game
Key Insight
-Would rather use a vending machine in a setting where they feel at ease and not awkward
-Although the cacao bean shape is aesthetically pleasing, it's not enough to compel them to use it
-Thinks the storyline is overly lengthy and is considering skipping or exiting the game
-The hesitation to use the machine in public spaces
-The expectation to have a fast purchase with the vending machine
-Although the cacao bean shape is aesthetically pleasing, it's not enough to compel them to use it
-Thinks the storyline is overly lengthy and is considering skipping or exiting the game
-The hesitation to use the machine in public spaces
-The expectation to have a fast purchase with the vending machine
7. Continue Iteration and User Test (Round 3)
Testing candidate
-Neha Adinamozhi, Abigail Ocampo, Ryan Betts- classmate
Testing aspects
-Look and feel of the PopUp booth design
-Intuitiveness
-Customer behaviours and insights
Key Insights -When designing the booth, it's important to consider its appearance from all angles, since visitors will approach it from various directions.
-To increase engagement with the interactive game, incorporate more hand gesture movements than clicking.
-The booth could be portable and move to different locations.
-Consider having the interactive game accessible outside of the booth, allowing for more activities and interaction for passing by customers.
-Including artifacts and machines that relate to Kasama's story.
-Consider the physical size and cost of the booth
-To increase engagement with the interactive game, incorporate more hand gesture movements than clicking.
-The booth could be portable and move to different locations.
-Consider having the interactive game accessible outside of the booth, allowing for more activities and interaction for passing by customers.
-Including artifacts and machines that relate to Kasama's story.
-Consider the physical size and cost of the booth
Service touchpoints
1. The Kasama PopUp Booth
In the booth, we have 3 main touchpoints
-Our Interactive game lets customers experience the Bean to Bar chocolate-making process to let customers have an insight into Kasam product's quality
- Our product station with our products and staff to allow customers to sample our products and ask questions. This aims to build personal relations with potential customers
- Our Gallery about the Kasama's and their founder's stories to spread brand awareness
2. IG post
A social media post is a cost-free and easy way to announce the new Kasama PopUp booth to current and potential customers
3. Kasama Website
We added an extra page on the existing Kasama's website for information on the Popup booth schedule
Protype Presentation and Feedback
External Partner
Vince Garcia -Co-founder of Kasama Chocolate
Meeting Highlights
-Linh introduced design opportunities, project’s goals and secondary touch points: social media post and website
-Sherry went through the pop-up booth touchpoints
-Linh and Sherry explained past sketches and exploration
-Vincent asked questions and provided feedback
Kasama PopUp booth Prototype to present to Kasama co-founder
We're having fun too!
During the presentation, we walked Vincent as well as the rest of the class through our ideation process, the vision behind the PopUp booth, and its benefits, and asked for feedback on future development.
Feedback From Kasama Chocolate
-The interactive game could be a good design opportunity for trade shows, especially big-size international trade shows. Vincent hasn’t seen an interactive setup from other businesses
-He would love to see more presentations of the brand's colour
-Vincent was intrigued by the vending machine idea
Vincent's questions
-How much is the cost to set up the interactive screen?
-How are you planning to incorporate more branding into the display booth?
-The interactive game could be a good design opportunity for trade shows, especially big-size international trade shows. Vincent hasn’t seen an interactive setup from other businesses
-He would love to see more presentations of the brand's colour
-Vincent was intrigued by the vending machine idea
Vincent's questions
-How much is the cost to set up the interactive screen?
-How are you planning to incorporate more branding into the display booth?
Our next step
-Look into cost and budgeting
-Work on presenting the brand image through colours, space design, and other methods
-Look into cost and budgeting
-Work on presenting the brand image through colours, space design, and other methods
After the feedback session, I worked on designing the booth's accessibility aspect as well as cost estimations
Service Blue Print
Final Prototype
Accessibility
Accessibility is an essential aspect of my design. To make the booth as accessible as possible, I suggested having it open from all sides allowing multiple entrances, including wheelchair and stroller access. Having the interaction screen outside will also make it easier for people to engage without cramping in a small space inside the booth.
Budget research
Being a small business, budget is one of Kasama's top concerns. After receiving feedback from Vincent, I looked into different costs of running a Pop Up booth.
Learning Outcome
1. Working together
When I first kicked off this project, I was all set to go it alone. But guess what? Turns out, there's a fellow classmate who's on the same wavelength, sharing our goals and vision. Teaming up with them turned out to be a game-changer. It not only expanded our project as we had time to go into more details but also opened up many possibilities and paths to explore together. Each of us got to use our skills in areas that we were passionate about and together created a complete project.
2. Keep an open mind.
Throughout the project, we went through many iterations of our designs. Some we spent a lot of time developing but didn't get good feedback from our user tests. By keeping an open mind and not getting too attached to a design, we were able to keep improving quickly.
3. Working with a small business and be mindful of budgeting.
When working on school projects, we often don't have to think about budgeting issues. However, this project reminded me to take budgeting into account, especially for small businesses as it's often the number one concern. It may be helpful to look into some cost proposals and include them in my design proposal for my future clients.
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