Cook Well — the recipe box service from Waitrose.
Cook Well was launched to make quality scratch cooking easy. Customers select meals, and all of the ingredients in just the right quantities would get sent directly to their door. The main competitors in this space being Hello Fresh, Mindful Chef and Gousto.
My role.
Working closely with the UX/UI designer, I was responsible for creating a sound online customer experience with engaging content design.
I also freshened up the UX voice, making it even more casual and conversational compared to the traditional Waitrose tone of voice. I worked collaboratively with the product owner and peers to come up with this before implementing it thoughtfully into the Cook Well user journey.
Mobile-first homepage redesign.
On joining the project, the homepage was basic and the information hierarchy wasn’t cutting it. The page needed to actively show the benefits in a way that was easy to read when hungry eyes are scanning. I looked at the strap-line, messaging hierarchy, and saw that the page needed to be more dynamic, so a new carousel featuring a rotating menu became part of the order of the day.
Content design & LoFi wireframes.
We had a think about the messaging hierarchy from a user perspective, and then created low fidelity wireframes. After sketching a few quick iterations, we finalised the wireframes before moving into the HiFi version.
Cook Well’s messaging hierarchy — before and after.
Cook Well’s low fidelity wireframes using USP design and mobile-first copy.
HiFi Homepage Redesign.
Content focusing on user needs.
After extrapolating that the three user-focussed benefits of Cook Well were its ease, quality and being nutritious, I created a series of content on these themes across all touchpoints. From mission-based journeys, PPC ads targeting new customers as well as weekly service and retention emails, and even the physical recipe box itself. During parts of the process we also experimented with many new service features, and A/B tested different iterations of design and copy.
Long form content to get across USPs.
I felt that the key USP of the quality of the produce, being Waitrose wasn’t being communicated. It became clear that there was an opportunity to tell the little-known stories of the produce, sustainability efforts and farmers/suppliers. To create original, engaging content for this page I had to do lots of research and talk to many stakeholders as well as get quotes and images that would support the page, before actually writing it.
After the supplier’s page went live, 10% of total site traffic visited it within the first month. Page dwell time was higher than the average, as customers were reading it.
Reflections.
The creation of Cook Well had a positive impact for the business in terms of learning more about the recipe box space; however, it lasted only as a trial. It became clear that product/market fit could’ve been defined more by the customers way before, and along the way.