Cafeteria Ordering App for Corporate Employees.
A complete end-to-end digital corporate food court solution for employees. Express automates cafeteria services — browsing, ordering, paying, and pickup — without cash, and without the queue. I was accountable for user flows, explorations, interactions, visuals, and prototyping. Conducted user research alongside my PM — interviews and an online study covering behavior and attitudes.
+36% transactions
+17.4% new consumers
Play Store 3.7 → 4.0
Express: Company cafeteria app
Browse the company cafeteria menu, pay in-app, and get notified when the order is ready. No cash. No queueing at the counter.
Browse the cafeteria menu in the Express app.
Pay for the meal in-app. No cash.
Skip the queue. Get notified when pickup is ready.
A spike in users — and acquisition interest — led to a redesign
Launched in 2017, Express scaled from 5 companies in year one to 36 by the end of 2019. Users grew to 100,000, and Sodexo showed interest in acquiring the business. Zeta wanted a fresher, more enjoyable experience for a younger crowd — and more sales.
We wanted fewer steps to order, stronger visuals, and better performance. In parallel, we ran design experiments at points in the journey to learn what could later lift revenue.
Companies using Express across the rollout.
BUSINESS GOALS
Simplify the ordering process to save time
Increase sales for higher-margin items
Fresh visuals and an enjoyable experience
Understanding the current user journey
Before diving in, I mapped how the app was structured and how employees used it in an office cafeteria. That existing journey became the baseline.
Existing user flow
Interviewed 15 people across 3 companies
I went into the field with my product manager at three major clients — NetApp, Dell, and Zeta in Bangalore. Semi-structured interviews with employees using Express, including 8 people aged 24–52.
Employees picking up orders at the NetApp cafeteria
User reviews on Play Store and App Store
I also went through live store reviews to catch pain points we had not seen in interviews. Names were changed to protect privacy.
SYNTHESIZING ALL FINDINGS
01
Most people have favorite stores and an eating pattern — they order the same food for specific mealtimes.
02
People prefer to discover the menu in person. Pictures in the app are small and not clear enough.
03
People are unsure about order status and linger at pickup, crowding the cafeteria.
04
People sometimes order from multiple restaurants for the same meal.
Brainstormed 25 ideas — then downselected with stakeholders
I brainstormed features from the findings with my design manager, shared them with other designers and my PM, and brought developers in to estimate effort. That mix of impact and effort is what we used to prioritize.
Impact–effort matrix. Orange items moved to phase 2.
Business green-lit a few high-impact, lower-effort features. Some high-effort items were still important and stayed in the plan. The rest moved to phase 2.
Restructured the user flow to align stakeholders
We were adding multiple features. I redrew the user flow so everyone could see the same picture. The diagram does not cover every error or edge case.
Features marked as new additions. Once aligned, I revamped the design language before detailing features.
A fresh look that still had to last
I explored variations that felt classic and current — without sacrificing readability or function. Two decisions changed the look of the app.
TYPOGRAPHY
IBM Plex Mono on iOS and Android — readable, and numbers line up on the payment total.
COLOR PALETTE
Light gray as the base so content could scan. We moved off a mostly-purple palette and used flat pop colors only where they earned attention.
Homepage & personalization
The old home screen only listed stores. I wanted it dynamic and personal. We tried a few versions and illustrations before locking the final.
Previous Homepage
Homepage variations
FINAL VERSION
Illustrations in the homepage banner change with time of day. Based on routine ordering, we added a personalized Order Again section. Favorite stores populate from order frequency, and users can pin them.
Revamped store menu
We wanted a richer menu — images, details, filters, and a place for merchants to promote specials. I experimented with layouts and icon style.
Previous store menu
Store menu variations
FINAL VERSION
Filters plus a Best Sellers section for discoverability. New icon style across the app. Item details are easier to read; tap the image to expand it.
Payment flow
Besides instructions and more payment methods, I tested cross-sell — a last-minute ordering section on the payment screen.
Previous payment
Payment variations
FINAL VERSION
Business asked for promo codes on payment. I added quick instructions users can send to the cafeteria. For cross-sell, last-minute desserts and drinks — the way people actually order in line.
Order status
We wanted people informed at every step so they would not crowd the cafeteria. I tried a few ways to keep that wait useful and calm.
Previous status
Status variations
FINAL VERSION
Unique illustrations per status, plus multi-store receipts — token number and receipt color tied to each cafe’s brand.
Delightful animations
Illustrations by time of day, homepage scroll, and crowded-cafeteria moments.
Launched the new version by the end of 2019
With design mostly locked, I worked with engineering on implementation. Weekly syncs with engineers and PM. There were hiccups — I made small iterations and workarounds so we could keep shipping. We launched at the end of 2019 with the new features in.
Increase in number of transactions by 36%
Overall, 17.4% increase of new consumers
Rating increased from 3.7 to 4.0 on Play Store
Sodexo partners with Zeta Express
In June 2019, Sodexo invested $60m in Zeta and acquired the employee-benefits division, including Express. Leadership stood up a separate design group to work with Sodexo. I handed the work off in a series of meetings — rationale included.
The underdog project that kickstarted my career
Express was not expecting a refresh when I joined the team. With sudden acquisition interest, my manager Ramakrishna trusted me with the project. I saw it through research, design, and implementation.
Owning research, experimentation, and design — managing stakeholders, synthesizing findings, presenting to leadership, taking peer feedback — made me a better designer. The success of the work built trust, and I moved to Zeta’s banking vertical to take on new initiatives.