desktop, mobile
Sniffod
A system-driven app and dashboard for rescuing surplus bread through redistribution and prediction.
My role
UX/UI designer
Project
Self-initiated
Timeline
April-July 2024
Problem

The problem

As a part-time bakery employee, I noticed that there is leftover bread every day at closing time. This leftover bread is fresh and still good to eat, but unfortunately, it ends up getting thrown into the trash.
So this sparked the question for me. Why is there an oversupply of bread in Australian bakeries? More specifically, the problem was that the bakery struggles to produce appropriately, resulting in daily waste of surplus bread.
Opportunity

Opportunity

I conducted some competitor analysis to better understand the problem area, with the goal of identifying gaps in the current solutions.
Left spring
TGTG
Cybake
Existing redistribution apps
Existing prediction tool

Key insight:

None of these competitors could both predict production needs and effectively handle surplus food.
Research

Domain expert interview

Professor Karli Verghese
The REDUCE Program Leader for the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Center

Q1:

Where should I start if I want to reduce waste in a bakery?

Q2:

What’s the key factor behind production and waste?

Q3:

How is surplus bread handled efficiently by bakeries?

Q4:

How do local charities feel about surplus bread?

A1: Prediction tool

Analyze the predictive business model to determine production.

A2: Bakery location

Probably bread waste, which also depends on where they are located.

A3: Tracking products

Are surplus breads tracked or just discarded at the end of the day.

A4: Charitable Request

Nowadyas, local charities are eager to receive donations.

User interviews

Bakery owner
5 years of 2 bakery stores operation experience in CBD
Key questions
  • How do you estimate production needs?
  • How does a bakery work day to day?
  • Do you consider redistributing surplus?
Kitchen staff
Over 2 years full-time baker, handled daily bread baking
Key questions
  • How do you determine the exact amount of bread to bake each day?
  • Does overproduction occur? What causes it?
Customer
A Melbourne-based student who often buys from bakeries
Key questions
  • The reason why you buy bread？
  • When do you typically buy bread?
  • What you would consider if you buy bread at night ?
Bakery owner
5 years of 2 bakery stores operation experience in CBD
Key questions
  • How do you estimate production needs?
  • How does a bakery work day to day?
  • Do you consider redistributing surplus?
Kitchen staff
Over 2 years full-time baker, handled daily bread baking
Key questions
  • How do you determine the exact amount of bread to bake each day?
  • Does overproduction occur? What causes it?
Customer
A Melbourne-based student who often buys from bakeries
Key questions
  • The reason why you buy bread？
  • When do you typically buy bread?
  • What you would consider if you buy bread at night ?

Service blueprint

User needs

Bakery owner
Ture needs
  • Increase bread sales
  • Protect the brand’s quality
  • Balance profit and waste
  • Minimize donation risks
Kitchen staff
Ture needs
  • Clear daily production plans
  • Real-time stock visibility
  • Avoid overproducing
  • Better use of leftovers
Customer
Ture Needs
  • Flexible purchase time
  • Know if favorite bread is available
  • Save money
  • Effectively reduce waste

How might we question

Product Thinking

Product thinking

Prediction
Auto prediction tool
Bakery owners can optimize their production with the auto prediction tool, which forecasts the required quantity for each batch and supports smart tray consolidation.

By integrating with their POS system, it automates accounting and sales tracking, helping reduce waste and improve efficiency.
Redistribution
App connects with live inventory
Customers benefit from the app by purchasing surplus bread at discounted prices, ensuring transparency in availability and reducing waste while enjoying fresh bread at a lower cost.

Additionally, a portion of the income from the surplus sales is automatically donated to local charities, supporting the community.
Part 1.

Part 1. Auto prediction tool

My unique features
    • Smart tray consolidation
    Allows bakeries to control batch sizes and product mix, minimizing waste.
    • POS live sale data
    Helps bakeries track sales and demand for better production adjustments and waste reduction.
    • Sustainable donation
    Facilitates donations to local charities while addressing food safety concerns

    Wireframe & User flow

    The prediction tool emphasizes a streamlined user flow where users can quickly:
    • Accurate and real-time tracking of each batch of baking quantity
    • Visualized tray baking quantity to improve tray space utilization

    Design iteration

    Part 2.

    Part 2. App with Live Inventory

    My unique features
    • POS automatic inventory import
    Inventory updates automatically, syncing sales and stock data to help bakery owners save time and effort.
    • Transparency surplus sales
    Clear display of daily surplus bread and discounts encourages customers to pre-order and collect during off-peak times.
    • Sustainable donation
    Promotes donations to local charities while addressing food safety concerns.

    Wireframe & User flow

    Design iteration 

    Customer buying dashboard
    Bakery discount and donation rate setup

    Final low-fidelity user flow

    Customers side:
    Bakery owner side:

    Visual design iteration

    Customers side:
    Bakery owner side:
    Final Design

    Final design

    Customer storyboard
    Bakery storyboard
    Key Takeaways

    Key takeaways

    Challenge
    The biggest challenge was ensuring all components worked together seamlessly as a system, rather than as isolated tools.
    Lesson learned
    This project taught me how to design an end-to-end system for both customers and merchants, balancing different user needs.

    By creating a customer app, a merchant backend, and a prediction dashboard, I learned to think across the whole user journey and connect design with operations and data.

    The goal was to reduce food waste, and I focused on making every part of the system contribute to that impact.
    Next step
    To further improve the product, I would focus on strategies to increase user retention — such as introducing a loyalty program or refining notification timing based on user behavior.