Buzzarek

Product DesignUX ResearchCommunityMVP

A farm-to-table platform for local food producers and discounted group-buying for consumers. Born from rising food costs and distrust in industrial supply chains.

Role: Lead Designer and researcher
Client: Startup
Scope: UX Research · Product Design · Community Validation
Stack: Figma
When: 2023

Scroll to discover the project

01Overview

Buzzarek was an interactive e-commerce marketplace designed to connect local growers in Poznań directly with consumers. Designed for seeking fresher, more transparent produce, bypassing traditional supply chains amid rising food costs and declining trust in mass-market options.

I joined as founding designer and researcher, collaborating closely with the founder to validate the concept through community channels, design user flows for both growers and consumers, and shape the early product and brand experience. The platform combined WhatsApp for demand aggregation with a web/mobile presence and grew to handle dozens of weekly orders with high customer retention.

02Problem

Poland’s food system left small growers without effective ways to reach consumers directly. Inefficient middlemen created high carbon footprints, elevated prices, and opacity around food origins. Consumers, meanwhile, wanted fresher produce and better value but faced limited accessible options beyond supermarkets.

The opportunity was to build a more interactive, community-powered marketplace that benefited both sides through group purchasing and direct relationships.

03Approach

We started with validation before heavy product development. Using WhatsApp Business as the initial operating layer, we tested demand in real time while building relationships with both growers and the local community.

The core idea was to cut out unnecessary middlemen, shorten the supply chain and reduce costs to deliver fresher produce — often from farm to table in just 8 hours.

As founding designer and researcher working with the founder, my role was to translate this operational model into clear user experiences for both sides (growers and consumers), create the visual identity, and help design the early platform flows that would eventually support scaling.

04Scope of work

Conducting user research with community members

Designing flows for two distinct user types (producers and consumers)

Creating a cohesive brand and visual identity

Supporting the transition toward a lightweight MVP

05Challenges

Main Challenge: Designing for Two Distinct User Types

Growers needed simple, fast inventory tools for variable daily stock and pickup windows. Consumers wanted engaging discovery, group buying (with shared discounts), and convenient ordering.

Creating one cohesive platform that served both without complexity was the central design tension.

Main Challenge: Designing for Two Distinct User Types — Buzzarek

Manual Operations to Scalable Product

WhatsApp proved highly effective for building trust, aggregating demand, and enabling personal connections. The challenge was transitioning to digital tools without losing the social glue and community feel.

Making Group Buying Intuitive

Coordinating group discounts and collective orders added complexity.

06Outcome

Buzzarek proved strong demand for a direct farm-to-table model and delivered tangible early traction.

orders a week

90%

returning customers

80%

are women 30-60 yo

60%/40%

whatsapp/website

Visual Identity & Brand Experience

A significant part of the work was the creation of a complete visual identity and design system. I developed a warm, elegant aesthetic using Perfecto Calligraphy for the logotype and Poppins for the interface. The design intentionally blended Instagram-like familiarity with a more refined, feminine sensibility — using natural photography, soft green tones, and clean layouts — to make direct-from-farmer shopping feel both approachable and special.

07Reflection

Working on Buzzarek taught me how powerful hybrid manual-digital systems can be in the early stages — especially in sectors like food where trust and relationships matter deeply. The social and interactive aspects (group purchases, WhatsApp coordination, seasonal discoverability) drove both retention and basket size in ways pure e-commerce often struggles with.

If I did it again

If I did it again I would invest even more time documenting and protecting the successful manual/community patterns during the product transition, and prototype social features (e.g., group champions, FB integration) earlier to strengthen network effects. This experience deepened my appreciation for designing products that augment real human behaviors and local ecosystems rather than replacing them.