BUZZAREK2023
A new way of farm-to-table with discounts
Buzzarek tested the idea of collective local-food ordering. I joined as the product designer and researcher to turn that early signal into a working service and digital product. Together with the founder, we developed a WhatsApp pilot, researched both sides of the marketplace and iterated the identity, ordering flows and interfaces.
- Role
- Product designer and researcher
- Team
- Fouder-developer • Product designer • Local producers
- Scope
- Research • Product flows • UX/UI • Visual identity
- Tools
- Adobe XD • Illustrator • Photoshop • Indesign
01 Overview
Could Pinduoduo’s group-buying model work for local food in Poznań?
Buzzarek started with an idea inspired by Pinduoduo: if people buy together, everyone can get a better deal. We explored how that principle could connect local growers with friends and neighbours combining their orders. The founder first tested the idea through Facebook groups. I joined to research how it should work as a service and product, then designed its identity, user flows and interfaces as we moved through a WhatsApp pilot and into a working marketplace.
02 Problem to solve
Could buying together create a shorter route between growers and customers?
Local produce commonly reaches customers through several commercial layers, with each step adding coordination, time and cost. Buzzarek explored a shorter route: combine demand from nearby customers into one larger order placed directly with a grower, then offer delivery or collection at a group price.
The question was whether collective ordering could make direct purchasing practical for both sides.
03 Interviews
Research from both sides: customers and producers
Nine conversations with potential customers revealed a recurring trade-off. People valued freshness, quality and direct contact with growers, but price, convenience and distance often determined where they actually shopped.
I also visited growers and spoke with them in context to understand the other side of the service. These were informal field conversations rather than structured interviews, so I used them to understand the practical conditions around selling and collecting local produce.
04 Designing group purchase
It is truly difficult to make buying together feel simple
Buzzarek could not behave exactly like an ordinary online shop. Customers needed to understand how joining with others affected the price, how close the group was to unlocking a discount, and whether their order would be delivered or collected.
I used low-fidelity wireframes to map the purchase journey and make the collective mechanism understandable before designing the interface.
05 Brand evolution
Giving Buzzarek a recognisable form
The design intentionally blended Instagram-like familiarity with a natural photography, soft green tones, and clean layouts. Designed primarily for women 30–60 who seek direct, trustworthy connections with local growers.
06 Outcome
Buzzarek in numbers
Buzzarek became a working marketplace used by customers and local producers in Poznań. The project later closed when the founder decided to pursue a different, more AI-focused startup direction. The closure does not change what the pilot demonstrated: people were willing to coordinate, order together and return to a service built around local food.
45
weekly orders
90%
returning customers
150+
community members
10+
local producers