CASE STUDY
TECHNICAL
ARI Delivery
Health and Nutrition • Food Technology
Country
USA
Romanian Flag
Platforms
Mobile app icon
Mobile
Web platform icon
Web
2023 - present
ARI Delivery
investment
$160k
Rapid market entry
Validation-driven &cost-effective development
User-centric product approach
01
Project Overview
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Personalized healthy eating
ARI Delivery is a transformative meal subscription service, offering personalized, healthy meal options from local restaurants, tailored to each user's nutritional needs and taste preferences.
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Industry challenges
Addressing the need for convenient, healthy eating options in a market saturated with fast food and generic meal plans.
An image with 2 sections from the app - one showcasing the nutritive intake and a meal recommendation
02
Results and Achievements
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Outcomes
ARI Delivery was launched successfully within an ambitious 6-month timeline. Since its initial launch, there have been 3 versions of the product launched through iterative market experiments.
Experiments
1
12 out of 43 users placing orders, with 4 of them ordering twice.
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2
46 out of 251 users were willing to spend above the average meal price, leading to a pricing strategy refinement.
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3
We improved customer retention through the addition of the one-tap ordering system, with a total of 712 organically generated nutritional profiles and 300 healthy options from local restaurants.
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BEFORE
ARI Delivery had received an innovation grant to develop an innovative solution in the healthy eating space but had concerns about the chances of success for its launch in the market, having just one shot at getting it right.
They were able to validate their unique value proposition (UVP), together with initial loyal customers who are working together with the startup on refining the key features of the product in order to effectively deliver its UVP.
The startup has already generated more than $1k in revenue in 5 weeks of active experimentation, with a growing rate of repeat customers.
Based on the market research and results gathered in this short timespan, the startup has been able to apply for a grant to continue its product development and growth in the market.
innovation
grant
AFTER
Within 6 months of finalizing a deep market analysis, the company was able to launch 3 different versions of the product to its customer segments, staggering its release through experimentation cohorts that were able to give the startup the flexibility to fail and learn faster.
Along the way, the startup also validated its business model sustainability and operational efficiency through pre-scheduled deliveries of healthy food.
The startup has received positive feedback in the local innovation ecosystem, as well as at a national level, participating in multiple accelerator and incubator programs where it has been rewarded for its innovative approach in solving the problem.
Innovation grant
BEFORE
ARI Delivery had received a $160k innovation grant to develop an innovative solution in the healthy eating space but had concerns about the chances of success for its launch in the market, having just one shot at getting it right.
AFTER
Within 6 months of finalizing a deep market analysis, the company was able to launch 3 different versions of the product to its customer segments, staggering its release through experimentation cohorts that were able to give the startup the flexibility to fail and learn faster.
They were able to validate their unique value proposition (UVP), together with initial loyal customers who are working together with the startup on refining the key features of the product in order to effectively deliver its UVP.
Along the way, the startup also validated its business model sustainability and operational efficiency through pre-scheduled deliveries of healthy food.
The startup has already generated more than $1k in revenue in 5 weeks of active experimentation, with a growing rate of repeat customers.
The startup has received positive feedback in the local innovation ecosystem, as well as at a national level, participating in multiple accelerator and incubator programs where it has been rewarded for its innovative approach in solving the problem.
Based on the market research and results gathered in this short timespan, the startup has been able to apply for a $1.5m growth grant to continue its product development and growth in the market.
A tablet with an article from ABC incubator about ARI Delivery.
03
Linnify's Involvement
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Role in the project
Linnify facilitated ARI Delivery's entire journey from idea to market launch, leading the product validation efforts from Exploration to the Experiment phase by following the “Validation Playbook”.
This included conducting an initial problem refinement workshop, orchestrating lean market research which generated 126 survey results, and carrying out 26 consumer interviews along with 10 interviews with local restaurants.
Deep competitor analysis was conducted by using the Positioning Map, Competitor Radius and Blue Ocean Analysis, resulting in a clearly differentiated unique value proposition and key product features. The conception part of the process was conducted together with an expert PhD nutritionist, together with the multidisciplinary team of product experts from Linnify.
Once the essential features of the prototype were established, the team helped with rapid prototyping, usability testing, Progressive Web Application development, and React Native development in order to quickly adapt to market feedback and iterate the key features, together with its corresponding business model.
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Application of expertise
We leveraged deep data analysis to segment the market and identify the most promising customer segment, validating the unique value proposition and rapidly iterating on the right features that can deliver it to the market.
The team used UX design principles to create a landing page prototype that attracted a total of 712 complete nutritional profiles through organic outreach during the 3 experiments and gradually increased user retention rates through experimentation.
Most recently, we facilitated the shift to React Native for more efficient cross-platform development, focusing on scalability and user experience.
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Services
• Product Validation
• Market Research
• UX/UI Design
• Product Strategy
• Software Development
• Quality Assurance
• Go-to-market Strategy
• AI modeling and proof of concept
Photo with the tech lead that provided the testimonial
'Our decision to use a cloud-based approach and NextJS in our ARI Delivery project was a game-changer for quick validation. It accelerated web and mobile app development, ensuring a seamless user experience and swift implementation of our recommendation algorithm, significantly speeding up our delivery timeline.'
Razvan Todea, Tech Lead
04
Geographical Focus
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Primary market
Metropolitan areas with a diverse demographic of health-conscious professionals. Their main fitness goal is to lose weight and they have tried healthy meal-subscription solutions in the past.
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Cultural considerations
Tailoring to varied dietary preferences and nutritional standards in urban settings.
05
Problem
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Client's challenge
ARI Delivery faced the challenge of developing a user-centric, scalable solution within a tight budget and a strict timeline of less than 9 months.
The startup needed to quickly validate market demand, identify user preferences, and establish a viable business model.
Without a swift and cost-effective development process, the startup risked missing market opportunities and depleting resources before achieving problem/solution fit.
06
Solution
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Proposed solution
Adopting a validation-driven approach to launching their PoC in the market through experimentation.
The initial idea was that of a mobile app leveraging an intelligent matchmaking algorithm to recommend personalized meal plans from local restaurants.
By focusing on validating the riskiest assumptions when it comes to the product’s success in the market, we were able to iteratively build a solution that could easily adapt to changing needs.
Mobile phone with main screen of the app showcasing nutrients intake for the day and meal recommendations.
07
Conclusion and Future Outlook
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Summary of success
ARI Delivery’s launch demonstrates the ability to reach problem/solution fit on the market rapidly and within a tight budget and timeline.
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Learning and Growth
The project highlighted the need to be adaptable and pivot quickly based on new information, a key aspect of the validation-driven mindset.
We had the opportunity to learn how to iterate rapidly based on experiment feedback, significantly refining the product with each cycle. Our team’s creative capabilities were strongly enhanced by the need to find cost-effective solutions in urgent timelines.
The validation process was updated by adding additional experiment setups and creating a dedicated business model section that helps early-stage innovators brainstorm sustainable models.
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Photo with the nutritionist that gave the testimonial.
'Partnering with Linnify gave us a complete team of product validation and development experts from the get-go. We were able to get down to work from the minute the project began, which helped us learn super fast, despite our budget and time limitations.'
Timea Ghitea, Chief Nutritionist Officer
You can read the full review here