Plates Final Reflection

The origin story of Plates comes from many ideation phases and reconsiderations of what could become the best product. Our group initially thought about addressing sustainability and social activity on campus, but knew that this could look extremely different depending on the approach we took. There’s transportation sustainability, health sustainability, academic career stability, and more. We decided that creating a product within the food industry would be the most applicable and necessary across collegiate campuses. Students, whether on a meal plan or not, need to eat every single day and many of the times, they eat with other people. Currently, the most successful food-ordering platforms like UberEats and DoorDash maximize convenience and profit, but they lack emphasis on many valuable concerns that Plates tackles. Our platform can provide users affordability and social connection in a manner that is more human-centered than others. By placing ourselves in the shoes of college students wanting to share a meal with peers, we decided to create a group-food ordering platform that ensures convenient, enjoyable, and affordable meals. The early phase of our product was challenged by the decision to incorporate both financial and social considerations because they are equally valuable. Moving into the weeks, we performed user interviews and tried to gauge more input on what students need. At this moment, we have successfully created a group food-ordering platform connecting people through convenient, affordable, and enjoyable meals.