Project
Workflow
UX Research
Synthesis
UI/UX Design
Usability Testing
My Role
UX Researcher
UI/UX Designer
Copywriter
Team
Ragoth Bala, Cofounder
Harish Visweswaran, Cofounder
Saif al Falah, Engineer
Ryan Sievert, Lead Designer
Brentos Fernandez, Creative Lead
Timeline
6 months
Launched in Aug 2023
Context
The Cumin Club is a Chicago-based direct-to-consumer food subscription service delivering authentic, affordable Indian meal kits that can be prepared in just five minutes. Operating across the US and India, the company experienced steady growth through word-of-mouth over three years and secured seed funding in 2021. To scale effectively, they undertook a comprehensive rebrand and sought a redesigned website to reflect their evolved identity and ambitious growth targets.
Business Goals
Establish consistent branding and messaging across all customer touchpoints to delight, comfort, and educate users about the cuisine
Expand the customer base, attracting those less familiar with Indian food culture
Improve website conversion rates by at least 1%
How might we create a cohesive, accessible brand experience that resonates with both new and existing customers and simplifies subscription flows?
Solution Overview
A visually engaging, functional website
Transformed a basic website into a dynamic platform optimized for diverse customer conversion paths
Developed a comprehensive branded design system to ensure visual consistency and usability
Conducted iterative MVP launches based on user feedback and data analytics
In-Depth Research
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed six leading D2C food subscription websites, applying heuristic evaluation principles to identify best practices and usability gaps. Additional insights were gathered from customer reviews across forums, highlighting the critical need for:
Easy subscription management, particularly the ability to effortlessly skip deliveries or cancel subscriptions
Clear, responsive follow-up processes
User Interviews & Surveys
Seven target users were interviewed to explore attitudes towards food subscriptions and related frustrations. Synthesizing qualitative data with survey results through empathy mapping revealed core pain points informing design priorities.
Personas & Design Requirements
Key takeaways included:
Users prioritize health-conscious food choices, with varying definitions of “healthy”.
Subscription flexibility—skipping, pausing, canceling—must be effortlessly available
While customization is appealing, too many choices can overwhelm some customers.
Additional user-desired features like meal plan modification and subscription customization emerged, but were deferred for future product development due to time constraints.
Design Process
Focused Conversion-Focused User Flows
Working closely within the updated branding guidelines, I crafted high-fidelity prototypes emphasizing clear value propositions and visual cues. The design supports users entering the subscription flow from multiple marketing channels and ensures they understand the brand and product offerings intuitively at every step.
Collaborative Visual Design
While the creative team led branding and aesthetics, I spearheaded functional design aspects, particularly the subscription purchase path. This collaboration yielded a strong, cohesive user experience, balancing brand storytelling with streamlined usability.
User Testing & Iteration
Initial high-fidelity prototypes were tested with current and prospective customers. Feedback was positive overall, though users felt the homepage lacked a compelling “wow factor” to draw them into the subscription experience.
In response, I secured founder buy-in on introducing ambient video backgrounds to elevate visual engagement. Building on this success, I proposed and executed a redesign of the homepage that better integrated user feedback and development feasibility considerations.
This improved homepage design was adopted for the MVP release and praised by both users and internal stakeholders.
MVP Launch
We soft-launched the MVP in August 2021, monitoring key metrics and user behavior via Mouseflow, Hotjar, and Google Analytics. Post-launch, I continued supporting the platform by:
Enhancing user experience with new features such as a blog and additional product lines (e.g., The Cumin Pantry)
Improving the cart and subscription add-on experiences based on evolving customer needs
Metrics & Impact
Initial Conversion Rate Dip & Post-Issue Growth
At launch, the website faced significant technical issues, causing user experience disruptions and an initial conversion rate drop of approximately 0.8%. Dev teams worked intensively to resolve bugs on a war footing, enabling steady recovery over subsequent weeks.
Following bug fixes and iterative UI/UX improvements, conversion rates climbed and stabilized around 1.8%. This represented a strong upward trajectory after the MVP launch period.
User Engagement Improvements
Analytics from Mouseflow and Hotjar showed increased engagement metrics post-fixes, including a 10% longer session duration and 16% higher click-through rates on key subscription flows—indicating enhanced usability and customer confidence.
Bounce Rate & Session Analytics
Bounce rates dropped by 8% once technical issues were addressed and homepage visual improvements were deployed, reflecting stronger user retention early in sessions.
Learnings
MVP Mindset Accelerates Product Development
Balancing aspirational designs with MVP realities enables rapid releases that can be continuously refined through data-driven iterations.
Champion Qualitative Research & Continuous Testing
Proactively advocating qualitative insights with stakeholders and conducting iterative testing strengthens design decisions and aligns products with real user needs.
Prioritize Design Documentation and Developer Collaboration
Early, detailed handoffs and ongoing communication with developers are crucial to smooth implementation and reducing costly revisions post-launch.
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