THE LOCAL FEED CASE STUDY
THE CLIENT
The Local Feed is a farmers’ market that partners with vendors who sell a variety of locally grown produce. This case study focuses on the rebranding and marketing campaign for zucchini, produce that many vendors sell. The goal of this rebrand was to encourage people to buy locally grown, in-season produce to reduce food waste.
THE PROBLEM
Many of the vendors at The Local Feed Farmers’ Market grow and sell similar produce. There are also certain types of produce that tend to grow well locally but don’t sell well due to customers’ lack of interest in the product.
I partnered with the vendors at The Local Feed Farmers’ market to find a way to make zucchini more appealing to customers and to limit the amount of food waste.
In general, people know vegetables and fruits are good for them, but there is a disconnect between knowing and acting on that knowledge. We also live in a society where time is limited, and people do not have ample time to search for and scroll through recipes.
Zucchini is one of the lesser-known vegetables so when customers look at a zucchini, they don’t immediately see a meal. Cooking with zucchini requires time, effort, and creativity when you haven’t cooked with it before.
MY ROLE
My role was to change the way customers view zucchini and to make it easy for them to incorporate it into their own meals. I decided to create an app for the Local Feed Farmers’ Market where customers would have everything they need right at their fingertips. The App needed to be designed, developed, and be functional before the 2021 farmers’ market season, and be user-friendly with relevant content based on the seasonality of produce grown by the vendors.
SOLUTION
The Farm to Table Feature is a function of The Local Feed App that advertises in-season produce in an appetizing way. With the Farm to Table Feature, customers are informed about in-season produce and its nutritional value. They can also access recipes that feature the selected produce along with a shopping list and market map that shows them where all the ingredients can be purchased right at the market. By having all this information in one place, the guesswork has been eliminated from shopping.
Customers know they are going to get fresh and flavorful produce at peak season as samples of the featured recipe are available for tasting.
Easy access to the simple recipes and a map of where all the ingredients are sold limits the time spent meal planning and shopping. This app also allows them to get to know more about the vendors, where their food is coming from, and how it is grown.
DESIGN PROCESS
We live in a “what is beautiful is good” society, but one that also likes to root for the underdog. Since zucchinis are considered summer squash, the rebranding message was to “Squash your Misconceptions”. The advertisement combines the underdog mentality with glow-up before and after photos to show that while at first glance zucchini might not look the most appetizing, the final product is often mouth-watering.
Clearly labeled links from the advertisement allow for customer’s ease of use. From this ad they have access to nutritional information about zucchini, the recipe for the zucchini bread featured, and a shopping list for the zucchini bread that shows where each ingredient can be purchased at the market. This list also links to a market map that shows where each vendor is located and allows them to get to know the vendors and their farming methods.
The minimalistic design helps to ensure that the customers don’t get overwhelmed with information or get distracted.
The app features orange hues to spark an appetite, green hues to represent natural produce, and blue hues to establish credibility on nutrition and recipe pages.
RESULTS
The Farm to Table Feature takes the guesswork out of shopping and cooking and encourages customers to try something new. On-site samples of the featured recipe ensure that customers will enjoy the recipe before they purchase all the ingredients. The easy-to-use app ensures that customers can access all the information they need right from the home page.
