User research and product testing for Ollie, fresh dog food
OVERVIEW
Objectives
Our primary objectives were three-fold:
Understand the user journey for Ollie onboarding, from first delivery to scheduling the second delivery (this includes the entire transition period to the Ollie diet)
Identify friction points that contribute to subscription cancellation prior to delivery of the second box
Identify areas of opportunity for innovation of Ollie products that would increase retention in the introductory period
Research Methods
Takeaways
Ollie is a fresh dog food delivery service that provides customized pre-portioned freshly-cooked dog food. In 2021, they hired our research team at Vidlet to better understand the onboarding journey for their new users. As Ollie was struggling with a high volume of subscription cancellation following delivery of the 1st box, we sought to understand the friction points during onboarding that led to cancellation prior to customers’ second delivery.
In a two-week daily diary study, newly onboarded customers documented their experiences with the starter box from the moment it arrived to when their second box was shipped. On each day of the journey, respondents used the Vidlet mobile app to both tell us about their experiences as well as show us through answering a specific set of video question prompts. This included every point in the journey, from box arrival to food preparation, first feedings, and...yes, even the digestive process (and output).
In total, we collected 840 minutes of mobile video responses. Through these videos, we had the unique advantage of being invited into real customers’ homes, to spend the day with their canine companions, from mealtimes to potty breaks. Through our research, we were able to uncover delights and pain points as well as opportunities for increased subscription retention and innovation.
Through analysis of our participants’ daily video diaries, we identified the following key insights:
The transition to fresh food itself is unintuitive.
While users were excited about the possibility of feeder their pets higher quality fresh food, making that transition from dry kibble or canned food was unintuitive and inherently challenging. Even though users were provided with instructions for easing their dog onto the Ollie diet, they still struggled with this concept of a transition phase, some forgoing it entirely and immediately introducing Ollie fresh food in its full portion from the first feeding (often leading to digestive issues for their pet).
There was a disconnect for users between printed instructions.
Upon unboxing their first delivery, participants were presented with two sheets of printed instructions. One was a summary of the box’s contents with an overview of the Ollie diet and how to transition your dog. The second was a detailed breakdown of their dog’s customized feeding plan, based on size, age, and goals (e.g., weight loss, maintenance, etc.). As we observed user unboxing and reviewing these instructions, we noticed a disconnect; users struggled to absorb all of the information presented there, often disregarding the instructions or only following certain portions. It became clear through observation that onboarding instructions needed to be delivered more effectively, which we shared with the Ollie team.
Users struggled to correctly portion food.
Following this disconnect with the instructions, the dog owners struggled to accurately portion the fresh food. Because a single packet of Ollie dog food contains more than a single serving, it is incumbent upon the user to measure out the correct portion. As the dog transitions to a full Ollie diet, they are only eating a portion of what would eventually be their entire serving, further adding to measurement confusion.
Many experienced difficult digestive transitions and other negative physical effects.
Though some determined that the Ollie diet just wasn’t right for their pet, most observed negative effects resulted from a poor transition. Often, users would disregard or misinterpret first-week feeding instructions and introduce the new food too quickly, resulting in digestive stress for their dog. This naturally led to a decreased trust in Ollie, prompting users to cancel their subscription after an unsuccessful first box experience.
The cost of retention was too high for many following the discount for the first box.
When customers signed up for Ollie, they received an introductory offer of a discounted first box. What we found was that once they became aware of the impending price increase for their second box, they were much more likely to cancel, especially if any part of the first-week feeding did not go smoothly. Ensuring a successful “first box” is mandatory for making users feel that the price of subscription is warranted, but closing the gap between first and second box prices would also prevent users from feeling that they had been duped into signing up for a premium service with a deeply discounted introductory offer.
Users sought an in-between solution that bridged kibble and fresh food – to suit preferences and budget.
Following the onboarding journey, many of our participants expressed that, either due to the desire to suit their dog’s preferences or to help make Ollie more cost effective, to feed half Ollie fresh food, half kibble, or to simply use Ollie fresh food as a meal topper to entice their dog to eat, meet nutritional goals, etc. Some users did so naturally. We relayed these findings to Ollie: some owners’ preference for dry food is insurmountable, and for some, the cost of Ollie is too prohibitive. We advised exploring product solutions that would bridge both gaps.
Insights in action – Ollie’s onboarding redesign and new product offerings
As part of a packaging redesign, based on our insights, Ollie updated both onboarding instructions and tools for portioning. Instructions for feeding have been simplified, from multiple printed pages to a single personalized one-pager that clearly outlines the process for getting your dog started on the Ollie diet.
The storage container and serving scoop have also undergone a redesign, allowing for easier portioning and safekeeping of unused portions if one’s pet is prescribed less than a full packet based on size, weight or feeding plan.
With regard to new product offerings, based on our recommendations, Ollie has introduced both a new “baked” kibble, for those owners who choose not to transition to a fully fresh diet, either due to comfort or preference for dry food or price sensitivity, as well as flexible plan offerings – users can still subscribe to a full fresh plan, but they now also have the option of a half fresh plan or a mixed plan that combines fresh and dry "baked” kibble.
Furthermore, price sensitive users are now able to see a “price per meal” for each plan, clearly outlining savings by subscription type in the case that cost is prohibitive.
