Ritual:
emotional design
as a retention lever
A food anthropologist. WhatsApp, a printed recipe book and Auchan. Growth was in the ritual — not in novelty.
Application for healthcare
When the family table
meets a diagnosis
Food is never just nutrition — it is memory, identity, and belonging. In a healthcare context, certain treatments impose drastic dietary requirements that disrupt the entire family dynamic, not just the patient. The methodology developed here translates directly into a high-stakes application: reducing caregiver mental load while preserving the emotional and social role of shared meals through illness.
The problem
The product vision
The reframe
Not a question of novelty
"The novelty question is secondary. The real question is how can an app cater and make space for beloved food rituals."
— Sophie Brand · Studio Lēoht
Phase 1 — Foundational research & desk research
Game-changing
source of insight
An unconventional insight source made it possible to reframe the problem before even discussing the interface. Data analysis and desk research of when apps lose traction — and for whom — surfaced a family pattern: too much mental workload and logistics to keep up with novelty, combined with a deep desire to instil and pass on family food traditions.
Phase 2 — User Research
From anthropology
to diary study
An unconventional insight source made it possible to reframe the problem before even discussing the interface. Working with a recruitment provider specialised in ethnographic research, we recruited 12 participants — a nationally representative sample of French families, spanning age, household composition, and relationship to cooking.
"My mum sent me her tart recipe as a WhatsApp photo 3 years ago. She's since passed away. Being able to import it and print it in a recipe book... that's exactly what I needed."
— Participant · User Testing · Studio Lēoht
Phase 3 — Bringing customer needs to life
From insight
to lived reality
Translating research into visual tools that make user needs legible — and actionable — for the full product team and stakeholder presentation to validate new product development exploration.
Persona · Marie
Marie
"I cook my grandmother's recipes for Christmas and Easter. I'm afraid they'll disappear with her."
Goals
Frustrations
Behaviours
Dream outcome
Journey map · Marie's recipe preservation arc
| Stage | Trigger | Discovery | First use | Ritual adoption | Materialisation |
| Touchpoint | WhatsApp — blurry recipe photo from her mother | Word of mouth · App store search · "family recipe" | Onboarding · Photo import · First recipe saved | Seasonal reminders · Christmas buche · Easter tart | Rosemood recipe book order · Gift to children |
| Emotion |
😟
Fear of loss
|
🤔
Cautious hope
|
😌
Relief · ease
|
🥰
Belonging · joy
|
🥹
Pride · legacy
|
| Pain point | No dedicated space to store family recipes | Novelty-first apps feel irrelevant to her needs | WhatsApp photo import must be frictionless | Mental load — reminders must be gentle, not pushy | Physical product must feel worthy of the memory |
| Opportunity | Position app as memory keeper, not recipe browser | Family framing in ASO and onboarding copy | 1-tap WhatsApp photo import as hero feature | Seasonal ritual reminders as retention engine | Premium printed book = revenue + emotional peak |
Value proposition canvas · Marie
Customer profile
Jobs to be done
Pains
Gains
Value map
Products & services
Pain relievers
Gain creators
Phase 4 — Design studio
An ecosystem
for family transmission
We invited participants to design their ideal features during a co-creation session — each paired with a UX/UI designer who translated lived experience directly into interface concepts. Not 4 isolated features — a coherent system where each component reinforces the others.
Phase 5 — Aligning product & business strategy
From customer truth
to market fit
Before committing to build, we validated the business case. Market sizing confirmed the addressable opportunity; ROI modelling stress-tested each feature against retention and revenue projections. The fit was clear — and the numbers backed it.
Phase 6 — Impact & business model
Growth was
in the ritual
Research doesn't end at insight. The final deliverable was a dual output: a strategic playbook to align teams, and a stakeholder-ready presentation anchored in business metrics.
Deliverable 01 · Strategic playbook
A cross-functional alignment tool — built to give business, product, and marketing teams a single shared reference for who the user is and how the product serves them.
Deliverable 02 · Stakeholder presentation
A board-ready deck translating research outcomes into business performance — designed to drive decision-making and secure alignment at leadership level.
"The brief was: reduce churn. The research led us to WhatsApp, handwritten notebooks and the fear of losing family memory. The solution wasn't in the app — it was in a behaviour users already had."
— Sophie Brand · Studio Lēoht