Zeek Bar

Generative qualitative and quantitative research to inform product roadmap

Role: UX Researcher (team of 2 researchers)

Discovery

As part of foundational research, I conducted a SWOT analysis to find out how Zeek Bar compares with immediate competition, broadly comparing reviews and packaging designs, to uncover opportunities in the kids snack market for Zeek Bar’s product growth.

Timeline: 2 months 

Project overview

Zeek Bar is a kids snack company producing snack bars made with natural ingredients that are high in protein and low in sugar. As a start up company, Zeek Bar has gained a large following selling on Amazon.com. However, this method of selling does not allow the company to fully connect and understand their customer base. Zeek bar would like to improve the user experience for their customers. Therefore, I collaborated with a teammate to conduct research to identify the current customer profile, their needs and preferences, and to compare Zeek Bar with its competitors.

Primary objectives of this research study are:

• Identify the current consumer profile

• Understand the attitudes of consumers toward packaging design, including language and characters on packaging

• Compare Zeek Bar with its competitors to identify opportunities for improvement

Methodology

A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to achieve the objectives of the project

1. Content Analysis of Amazon Reviews (251 total): we analyzed existing Amazon reviews and additional Zeek Bar survey data to identify customer profiles, including age range, specific interests, and preferences for Zeek Bar products. This data was used to help identify customer preferences, product strengths, and areas for improvement.

2. Qualitative User Interviews: One-hour moderated interviews were conducted with 8 participants (2 current customers, 6 non-customers) to help provide insights into customer profiles, their needs, pain points, and preferences for children’s snacks. The interviews explored purchasing decision-making processes, current packaging design experiences, and the participants’ impressions with current packaging design.

3. Quantitative survey: I created a survey to further understand the user experience by recruiting participants who expressed interest in healthy snacks for children (79 total respondents).

Key Insights

• Zeek Bar customers tend to be athletic children-target athletic children for strategic product growth

• Parents of Zeek Bar kids especially care about children’s nutrition-enhance opportunities for parents to learn about Zeek Bar

• Caregivers focus on protein and low sugar messaging on packaging as key value proposition

Who are the customers?

By triangulating the results from Amazon reviews, survey, and moderated interviews, we found that the characteristics of Zeek Bar customers tend to 

• Have children in athletic or other extracurricular activities

• Read food labels

• Follow special diet

• Have above average household income

From the research results, we were able to generate personas for 2 current customers:

From moderated interviews with participants who were not Zeek Bar users, we also identified some characteristics of potential customers, which has implications for product growth.

Actionable Recommendations

• Increase customer outreach and engagement

• Maintain focus on high protein and low sugar

• Emphasis on product photos and whole food ingredients

• Conduct further research with children who fit the demographic of Zeek Bar customers to explore their preferences for taste, texture, and packaging

Impact

• The research results informed the product roadmap to expand into two previously untapped markets: athletic sports camps and nut-free spaces such as schools

• The research findings also led to the introduction of a new product, a nut-free new flavor

• The actionable recommendations contributed to a successful fundraising round of $107K