Our client, a leading food delivery platform, noticed a friction point in their conversion funnel: users were dropping off on menu pages. We hypothesized that for their diverse user base, menu descriptions lacked the cultural context needed to make a confident choice.
I was brought on to lead a research initiative to validate this hypothesis. By conducting co-creation workshops with users from various cultural backgrounds, we synthesized a set of actionable design principles for creating menu descriptions that build trust and clarity, directly addressing the client's conversion challenge.
My Role
Tools
Skills
Duration
2 weeks
With all three participants present in the second session, we expanded the method into a structured two-step co-creative process:
Participants used sticky notes to map out the steps they typically follow when ordering food through a delivery app - from browsing to placing an order.
We facilitated follow-up questions and group dialogue to deepen insights.
Wire-framing Activity
Finally, we asked participants to sketch out their ideal food delivery app, with a focus on making it more accessible to people from different cultural backgrounds.
Each participant:
Sketched a custom app interface based on their needs and preferences, and
Presented their designs to the group.
Participants from different cultural backgrounds are more likely to try a dish when they can visually assess what it might look like.
Tags ‘Halal’, ‘Spicy’, ‘Vegan’ act as shortcuts that reduce cognitive load, especially for users trying to avoid allergens, non-permissible ingredients, or culturally inappropriate items.
Ingredient Details
Many users reported hesitancy to order meals due to unfamiliar ingredients or vague descriptions. Ingredient clarity directly impacts ordering confidence.
As a synthesis activity, our team translated participant insights into a set of consolidated wireframes. These low-fidelity prototypes reflect the key themes that emerged during the participatory sessions.
These sketches are not intended as final UI proposals but to serve as both a validation of user-generated concepts and a means to push the ideas toward actionable design solutions.
As an analytical reflection of our co-creation sessions, our team developed a memo to synthesize recurring themes, user behaviors, and unmet needs.
Understanding isn’t just about language - it’s about meaning
”I ordered something called ‘Tonkotsu’ thinking it was chicken. I didn’t know it meant pork bone, and I can’t eat pork.”
Delayed decisions often signal low confidence;
” I was going to pick this combo... but then I wasn’t sure what was actually
in it.”
During a role-play scenario, one participant changed his meal choice after reading through descriptions multiple times.In-person > App for exploration;
Participants preferred to try unfamiliar meals in physical restaurants where they could ask questions or clarify ingredients.Trust Signals shape choices
Reviews, friend recommendations, and visible tags (e.g., Halal, No Pork) were strong influences on user behavior.
As an analytical reflection of our co-creation sessions, our team developed a memo to synthesize recurring themes, user behaviors, and unmet needs.
”Only a single participant attended the first co-creation session, but we were still able to gather valuable insights and adapt our activities for a one-on-one interaction.”
Rafael Rodrigues
Ethnographer
”Only a single participant attended the first co-creation session, but we were still able to gather valuable insights and adapt our activities for a one-on-one interaction.”
Sean Makinson
Ethnographer
“If I were to repeat this activity, I would spend more time preparing prompts that encourage exploration beyond existing app features.”
Ikechukwu Nduchebe
Ethnographer
"What I enjoyed most was being able to observe facial expressions and body language in real time - these subtle cues provided additional layers of meaning that supported more accurate data collection."
Irede Adekunle
Lead Ethnographer
This research revealed a fundamental principle: for a global platform, menu design is not a UX challenge, but a market penetration challenge: purchase decisions are not driven by simple comprehension, but by a user's calculus of trust, familiarity, and perceived risk.
The strategic imperative, therefore, is to engineer trust directly onto the menu page. By layering contextual signals like authentic imagery, clear cultural identifiers, and risk-reducing promotions, we can dramatically reduce decision-making friction.
Ultimately, investing in cultural context isn't an inclusivity initiative, it's a direct investment in conversion velocity and customer lifetime value.