Originally conceived while brainstorming design solutions to address the growing restocking challenges in my family's market; Gachi Grocer helps facilitate grocers in diverse communities to discover reliable and affordable restocking services from trusted independent distributors.
The platform also doubles as an additional income source for distributors seeking lasting business connections.
Think of it as the Doordash for distributors and grocers, bridging the gap between quality products and sustainable partnerships.
Received the highest score of "Best Project" at SUNY Farmingdale State College's Interaction Design Expo.
Best Project encompasses the best design process, best UI Design & best UX research evaluated by Product Designers at Amazon, American Express, Google & more.
Explore nearby wagoners through Gachi Grocer's community map. Grocers can effortlessly specify their preferred criteria for a wagoner tailored to their store's current-day needs.
Once specifications are set, the application displays any wagoners that meet their chosen requirements.
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Discover a wide range of diverse food products and easily add them to your basket as you shop. Since each wagon offers unique food products and prices, pick the one that suits both your market's needs and, of course, your wallet!
After adding products to your basket, you can review your restock; Then select your preferred delivery time, and include any personalized drop-off instructions to ensure a seamless delivery experience.
After each delivery, you can rate and explain your rating, and leave a comment about the wagoner's service. Grocer's feedback is essential for quality control and building trust between themselves and wagoners.
Stay in the loop with your weekly earnings and daily payouts, cashing out hassle-free whenever it fits your schedule.
View breakdowns of every restock you've made, keeping you informed and in control of your wagon's finances.
My uncle has always been driven by the purpose of providing a better future and life for his family than he had growing up.
He came to this country from South Korea to start a business, specifically a small Korean and Caribbean grocery market right in the center of my hometown of Uniondale.
This small store funded my mom and her cousins to come to this country to get an education, leading the entire family to move here for a better future together.
For some grocers, especially those who are immigrants, the path to owning a market is also a path to establishing generational wealth for their families. However, like any business, it comes with its challenges.
To restock our family's market, my uncle makes a weekly commute to various grocery wholesalers, ensuring product needs are met. Through observing his routine, I gained a clear understanding of why he has stuck to this approach for so many years despite some of its obvious shortcomings.
Grocers want to inspect item quality before they actually purchase, often valuing it more than the product's price itself.
Despite the availability of direct-store delivery services that could assist my uncle, he opts to travel to various wholesalers himself to restock and save money.
My uncle's bulk buying minimizes restocking trips but causes prolonged stock shortages, leading to days or even weeks of revenue loss in the market.
Grocers, particularly those serving diverse markets, may need to visit multiple wholesalers for varied product selection and efficient restocking
Having to restock an entire market yourself can get excruciatingly difficult to maintain week to week, especially for older grocers.
While big-box supermarket chains dominate with their widespread presence and established reputation, they don't always cater to the diverse product needs of customers, particularly in ethnic neighborhoods.
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While working at the market, I met Alonzo, a local Wagon Jobber—who in essence is an independent distributor who sells products exclusively from their truck.
Like my Uncle, Alonzo's earnings and the success of his business rely solely on his sales skills and efforts
I soon discovered that a small portion of the restocking efforts in the market do fall to Wagon Jobbers like Alonzo.
However, their effort and services don't always equate to the needs of the store on the day when they do choose to arrive.
When I recognized the significant role wagoners like Alonzo played in our market, I started seeing them as a potential solution to our restocking challenge. Though with this discovery I came to terms with what including wagoners in the product solution would entail.
I realized early that if I was going to include wagoners the end product's solution must address both user groups' needs equally for mutual benefit. (All in all, more work on my end...)
Wagoners couldn't be seen as just another feature for grocers but as an additional set of users with their own problems that needed to be solved thoroughly.
Considering both my user groups, I aimed to define the MVP that would help grocers and wagoners achieve their desired business goals efficiently.
To focus my efforts on their specific needs, I created two problem statements based on my primary and secondary personas to give myself an idea of my product's eventual feature set:
Kim is the owner of an ethnic market, but he struggles with the time and physical effort required to restock his store daily, which costs him money.
Alonzo is an independent distributor who wants to start building business connections with local markets where he can sell his products.
