Beautifully Designed E-commerce Marketplace

Joining the Produce Peddlers project, I was part of a mission to sow the seeds of a unique platform connecting local farmers and distributors to various buyers in Western New York. My role as UX Designer, UX Researcher, and Front-end Developer empowered me to cultivate the platform from the soil up, utilizing a lean agile process akin to tending a thriving garden. This approach enabled continuous innovation, user-centric design, and the responsive development of new features and functionality, much like nurturing delicate seedlings. By embracing this iterative process, we fostered growth, attracted new business, and ensured that Produce Peddlers blossomed, remaining aligned with the dynamic needs of the market and the ever-changing seasons of the industry.

Understanding the users was the foundation of our strategy. I identified two main user types: Buyers and Sellers, and various customer types, including Wholesalers, Farmers, Restaurants, Schools & Institutions, Grocery Stores, Processors, and Individuals. Through research, I tailored the platform to meet their unique needs.

Intuitive Search and Shopping List Interface: Allowed buyers to quickly find and organize products, catering to the diverse needs of Restaurants, Schools & Institutions, Grocery Stores, and Individuals.

Subscription and Contract Options: Provided flexibility for regular purchases, meeting the specific requirements of larger institutions and regular buyers.

Multi-Location Support: Enabled efficient management of addresses for buyers with multiple locations, such as school districts and restaurant franchises.

Custom Inventory Management: Allowed sellers to easily manage their listings, reflecting the unique attributes of their products, such as grade, origin, pack size, and price.

Mobile Listing Capability: Empowered farmers in the field to list products directly from their phones, providing real-time updates and flexibility.

Visibility Control: Enabled sellers to show or hide products from the marketplace, giving them control over their sales strategy.

Order Receipt Customization: Provided detailed receipts that reflect relevant information for both the seller and buyer, enhancing transparency and communication.

Comprehensive Dashboard: Offered insights into revenue, projected earnings, items sold, and user behavior, supporting informed decision-making.

Driver Management Interface: Allowed for efficient scheduling and reordering of pickups and deliveries, optimizing logistics.

Responsive Development: Ensured a seamless experience across various devices and platforms, catering to the diverse user base.

Promo Code Generations: Incentivized participation and attracted new business through exclusive promotions and offers.

By understanding the unique characteristics and needs of the different user and customer types, the Produce Peddlers platform was crafted to provide a tailored experience. From the ease of finding products for buyers to the on-the-go listing capabilities for farmers, each feature was designed with the specific user in mind. This created a vibrant and user-centric marketplace that truly serves the local farming community, bridging the gap between the field and the market.

Creating Produce Peddlers' Visual Identity was a journey of alignment with its core mission. The design reflects freshness, locality, and community, resonating with the platform's goal of connecting local food suppliers.

We explored several variations of the design and color scheme, each embodying different aspects of the brand's essence. From earthy tones that symbolize the soil's richness to vibrant greens representing fresh produce, each concept was a step towards defining Produce Peddlers' unique identity.

We settled on a friendly feeling arched layout akin to what you might see on a turn-of-the-century produce cart. This design choice not only evoked a sense of nostalgia but also connected with the local and community-driven focus of the platform.

The brand icon featured a farmer with his hat flying off, rushing a plant forward in a wheelbarrow. We affectionately named him "Petey," and this character became a symbol of the hustle and dedication that goes into local farming. Subsequently, the delivery trucks also took on this name, further embedding "Petey" into the brand's culture.

The chosen color palette and typography complemented the overall design, adding depth and emotion. The colors were fresh and inviting, while the typography was approachable yet professional, mirroring the balance between community connection and business efficiency.

The visual identity was thoughtfully applied across various touchpoints, from the website to packaging, ensuring a seamless and recognizable brand experience.

Produce Peddlers' visual identity is more than just a logo or color scheme; it's a visual representation of the brand's mission and values. From the friendly arches to the energetic "Petey," every element was crafted with intention, creating a visual identity that truly resonates with the local farming community and the platform's goal of reducing waste and fostering connections. It's a symbol of growth, community, and the vibrant life that springs from the soil.

“It’s not like you could spin up a standard e-commerce website and get it to work; the product needs to be customized to this industry for us to succeed.” -Gary

The founders of Produce Peddlers approached us with a vision and industry knowledge but needed a technical team to bring it to life. Through whiteboard sessions, we sketched ideas and documented the user journey for both buyers and sellers. This stage led to a clickable prototype used for early customer feedback, guiding the development of the first iteration of the product.

The platform has become more than just a marketplace; it's a hub for local food entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Through our multi-year engagement, we've helped other local food startups by creating a platform where they can reach a larger audience.

Filtered Search: Allows users to effortlessly navigate through produce categories, finding exactly what they need.

Shopping List Interface: Enables buyers to create and manage personalized shopping lists for streamlined purchasing.

Buy It Again Option: Offers convenience for repeat purchases, enhancing the user experience.

Detailed Views: Each product is showcased with comprehensive details and clear purchase options, making the buying process intuitive and user-friendly.

Quick-Add to Cart: A one-click option to add items to the cart.

Relevant Product Attributes: Displays essential information such as price, discount pack size, quantity available, grade, origin, and price, providing a transparent shopping experience.

Custom Table Interface: Allows sellers to sort by product type (wholesale, subscription, contract), update listings, and show or hide them from the marketplace, giving them control over their inventory.

Multi-Location Support: Tailored for buyers like school districts and restaurant franchises with multiple locations, ensuring accurate deliveries.

Buyer and Seller Specific Information: Receipts are customized to reflect relevant information for both user types, providing clarity and transparency.

Comprehensive Insights: Allows admins to review month-over-month revenue, projected earnings, items sold, and user churn, supporting informed decision-making.

Contract Structuring: Enables admins to create and manage contracts, locking in pricing to ensure consistency and reliability.

Custom Promo Code Generations: Incentivizes participation through exclusive promotions and offers.

Intuitive Scheduling Interface: Admins can manage drivers and schedule or reorder their daily pickups and deliveries using a drag-and-drop interface, optimizing logistics and efficiency.

These features collectively contribute to a robust and user-centric platform, reflecting the unique needs and dynamics of the produce industry. By focusing on usability, transparency, and control, Produce Peddlers offers a tailored solution for both buyers and sellers, fostering a thriving community of local food suppliers and consumers.

The custom marketplace development for Produce Peddlers was a journey of innovation, collaboration, and tailored solutions. From initial sketches to ongoing growth, the platform reflects a deep understanding of the industry and a commitment to connecting local food suppliers to WNY businesses and organizations.

The scheduling of deliveries was a critical aspect of the Produce Peddlers platform, requiring a detailed and well-organized system. This feature allows Produce Peddlers to see all day-to-day orders and schedule their fleet of drivers to pick up the day's produce from specific Sellers.

Driver Scheduling: The platform offers a view of all the day's orders, enabling efficient route planning for pickups and deliveries. This intelligent scheduling minimizes travel time and aligns with Produce Peddlers' commitment to sustainability.

Seller Order Organization: We provided sellers with a structure to organize the delivery pickups for easy truck packing by the delivery fleets. This organization ensures that the right products are picked up in the right order, minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency.

Regrouping and Exchange: The system facilitates the regrouping of the fleet, allowing drivers to exchange their picked-up produce and re-pack their trucks for their scheduled final deliveries.

Stripe for Payment Processing: We chose Stripe as our payment processing solution for its robust security, flexibility, and ease of integration. Stripe's well-documented APIs allowed us to create a seamless payment experience for both buyers and sellers. Its reputation for reliability and compliance with financial regulations made it an ideal choice for handling all transactions within the Produce Peddlers marketplace.

QuickBooks Integration for Sellers: Recognizing the need for sellers to have clear insights into their earnings and financial performance, we integrated QuickBooks into the platform. This integration provides sellers with real-time access to their earnings, sales data, and other financial metrics. By connecting directly with QuickBooks, sellers can easily manage their accounting, track income, and ensure that their financial records are accurate and up-to-date. This feature not only simplifies bookkeeping for sellers but also aligns with Produce Peddlers' commitment to transparency and support for local food suppliers.

These tools were designed to streamline the complex logistics and financial management of a produce marketplace. By creating systems that handle scheduling, payments, accounting, and more, we ensured that Produce Peddlers could operate smoothly and efficiently. These features not only enhance the operational efficiency of the platform but also contribute to the overall user experience for both sellers and buyers, fostering a thriving community of local food suppliers and consumers. It reflects a deep understanding of the unique needs and dynamics of the produce industry and a commitment to supporting local food suppliers in Western New York.

The web development phase of Produce Peddlers was more than a one-time effort; it has been a sustained commitment to innovation, quality, and responsiveness. From crafting a responsive front-end to designing custom transactional emails, every aspect was handled with precision and care. The continuous work over the past four years reflects not only a deep understanding of the industry but also a dedication to fostering a thriving community of local food suppliers and consumers in Western New York. The result is a living platform that continues to grow and adapt, embodying the very essence of Produce Peddlers' mission.

Agile Development and Value-Driven Sprints: Adopting an agile methodology, we built discreet functionality in focused sprints, each delivering tangible value. This approach fostered continuous innovation, alignment with project goals, and the ability to adapt to evolving requirements.

Front-End Development: Translating design specs into a functional front-end was a meticulous process. By leveraging and customizing the Bootstrap UI Kit, I crafted a responsive design that resonated with Produce Peddlers' brand and user needs, setting the stage for a cohesive user experience.

Back-End and API Integration: Utilizing Slim PHP for the backend, we laid the foundation for a robust and scalable architecture. The implementation of Vue.js as an interaction layer with the front-end and APIs ensured seamless and dynamic user interactions, enhancing the platform's functionality.

Rigorous Testing and Optimization: I conducted extensive testing across various mobile devices to guarantee responsiveness and optimal performance. Special care was taken to ensure printability of essential screens like order receipts, catering to the specific bookkeeping needs.

Custom Transactional Emails: A vital part of the user experience, custom transactional emails were designed for various interactions within the platform, including purchases, sales receipts, subscriptions, and inventory management notifications (such as low stock and sold-out alerts).

Email Testing with Mailtrap: Understanding the diversity of email clients used by the platform's users, I utilized Mailtrap to extensively test these custom emails. This ensured compatibility across a wide range of email clients, guaranteeing that every user, regardless of their email service, received clear and well-formatted notifications.

Ongoing Support and Enhancement: Over the past four years, my involvement with Produce Peddlers has been a continuous journey of support and enhancement. Regular updates, feature additions, and refinements have kept the platform aligned with the dynamic needs of the market, ensuring its ongoing relevance and success.

The marketing website producepeddlers.com was crafted to not only attract and engage potential users but also to showcase Produce Peddlers' vibrant visual identity. Infused with fun design elements and interactive scroll interactions, the site serves as a lively extension of the brand's mission. These playful features, coupled with a thoughtful content strategy and responsive design, demonstrate how the Produce Peddlers identity can be leveraged in a marketing capacity, connecting with users in a unique and memorable way.

Produce Peddlers is more than just a marketplace; it's a thriving community connecting local food suppliers to businesses and organizations in Western New York. Through innovative features like customized seller inventory management, intuitive buyer experience, efficient driver scheduling, and engaging notifications, we've crafted a platform that resonates with the industry's unique needs. Our continuous collaboration over the past four years has fostered growth, attracted new business, and empowered local food entrepreneurs. Produce Peddlers stands as a testament to innovation, user-centric design, and a commitment to sustainability and community engagement.