Rebel Foods · 2020 to 2022
Rebel Foods / EatSureLead Product Designer2020 to 2022
Group ordering experience that transformed how Indians order food
MetricRebel Foods · Product Design
4 Months, Launched November 2021
02 The 30-second version
Group food ordering was chaotic. 15-30 minutes deciding restaurants, multiple phones for variety, 25-minute delivery gaps. Traditional platforms treated group orders as separate transactions, missing that group dining is about shared experiences.
Designed EatSure's Digital Food Court: unified multi-restaurant browsing, real-time shared carts, transparent payments. A lobby pattern where one person creates a session, shares a link, and everyone joins with their own order.
The key insight
We assumed users wanted faster group ordering, but shadowing revealed they wanted to feel included in decisions. This meant designing for belonging, not just logistics.
03 Key decisions
01
The obvious solution was a shared cart. But research showed the coordination problem wasn't about what to order, it was about when and where. We designed a lobby pattern where one person creates a group session, shares a link, and everyone joins with their own order. The host sees all orders in real-time and submits when everyone's ready. This increased order completion by 25% because it removed the back-and-forth that caused abandonment.
02
We could have optimized for speed: auto-suggest restaurants, pre-fill orders. But the research told us speed wasn't the problem. Users said: "By the time we agree, I've lost interest." The real problem was feeling excluded. So we designed for visibility: everyone sees what everyone else is browsing, adding, considering. This turned ordering from a chore into a shared activity.
03
User research uncovered a paradox: hosts wanted to feel like good organizers, but the coordination made them feel like project managers. We designed the host flow to give control (set restaurant, manage timeline) while automating the overhead (payment splitting, order status). The result: hosts felt empowered, not burdened.
The deep dive
04 Context
India’s food culture is inherently social; digital platforms hadn’t caught up with this reality. Swiggy and Zomato dominated individual ordering but hadn’t solved group ordering.
India’s ₹4,200 crore food delivery market had untapped potential. Group orders represented 23% of total volume with 2.8x higher values than individual orders.
73% used multiple phones for variety, 40% faced wrong orders, groups spent 15-30 minutes deciding where to order.
The problemDesign a group ordering experience that gives users both variety and convenience at the same time.
India's food culture is inherently social. 23% of total orders were group orders, representing a ₹4,200 crore market opportunity. But no one had solved the complex challenge of group ordering. 73% of groups used multiple phones, 40% faced wrong orders, and coordination took 15-30 minutes.
We ran a 16-week research program: competitive analysis (5 platforms, none had cracked group ordering), 24 in-depth interviews across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, observational studies of real group ordering moments, and journey mapping emotional highs and lows.
The turning point came during an interview with Priya, ordering for her office team. 'By the time we agree, I've lost interest. It's not about food anymore. It's about whether I still feel included.' We realized group ordering wasn't about logistics. It was about belonging, care, and shared experiences.
Launched across 75+ cities with 2,323+ pilot orders. Group order AOV reached ₹1,330 (3x individual orders). 40% of users were new to EatSure. Session times were 40% longer, 60% of hosts became repeat users. Each group order gained 3.2 new users on average.
05 Research
By the time we agree, I’ve lost interest. It’s not about food anymore. It’s about whether I still feel included.
User interview . The Belonging Crisis
Ordering food for my team makes me feel like a good manager. When it goes wrong, I feel like I’ve let them down.
User interview . When Care Becomes Burden
We used to love deciding together. Apps made it efficient but killed the fun.
User interview . Efficiency That Killed Connection
06 Design pillars
07 User flows
08 Before and after
BeforeHomepage group order promo was easily missed as users quickly scrolled past.
AfterAnimated PIP component with explainer and dismiss option grabbed user attention.
BeforeGroup ordering option appeared without context, users didn’t understand or explore it.
AfterFeature introduced with an illustrated card depicting a group, making purpose instantly clear.
BeforeSavings shown as plain text, leaving users uncertain how/where savings occurred.
AfterSavings now use an icon for trust and detail exactly where money was saved, boosting user confidence.
BeforeGroup ordering in menu lacked motivation, users saw no clear reason to tap.
AfterCard layout and "Save BIG Together!" tag provided clear value proposition and incentive.
09 Gallery
10 Reflections
Valuing belonging over speed taught that solving the right problem beats optimizing the wrong one.
Observation and deep listening reveal insights users themselves don’t recognize they need.
Each iteration improved the experience, proving real user feedback drives meaningful design improvements.
Designing for groups (not individuals) means accounting for multiple roles, social dynamics, and shared visibility.
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