Phase 02 — Product Discovery
Prioritized opportunities, insights, hypotheses, prototypes, structured backlog and assessment of Cagan’s 4 risks.
Opportunities Prioritized for MVP
13 opportunities selected (from 19 mapped in the OST), organized into 5 strategic themes:
MVP Narrative
5 pillars:
(1) CURATED DISCOVERY — visual curation, categories, filters and quality evidence;
(2) TRANSPARENT CHECKOUT — zero price surprises, frictionless payment via ecp-digital-bank;
(3) RETENTION & HABIT — repeat order, return incentives, favorites;
(4) RESTAURANT EMPOWERMENT — visibility by quality, management autonomy, fast onboarding;
(5) PREMIUM TICKET — premium visual menu, free delivery as lever.
| # | Opportunity | KR | Type | RICE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPP-12 | Delivery fee as ticket lever — communicate free delivery > R$120 | KR3 | desire | 80.0 |
| OPP-02 | Checkout with no price surprises — users abandon when final price surprises | KR1 | pain | 41.7 |
| OPP-07 | Return incentives — lack of them sends users back to iFood | KR2 | pain | 40.0 |
| OPP-06 | Ultra-fast repeat order without redoing the entire journey | KR2 | need | 37.5 |
| OPP-03 | Filters and categories connected to consumer intent | KR1 | need | 32.0 |
| OPP-04 | Visual quality evidence (photos, badges, ratings) | KR1 | desire | 32.0 |
| OPP-10 | Visual menus that justify premium prices | KR3 | need | 32.0 |
| OPP-01 | Visual curation that reduces decision fatigue | KR1 | pain | 26.7 |
| OPP-05 | Frictionless payment flow via ecp-digital-bank | KR1 | pain | 25.0 |
| OPP-13 | Premium menus for artisan restaurants to communicate value | KR3 | need | 24.0 |
| OPP-14 | Real visibility for artisan restaurants — ranking by quality | KR4 | pain | 20.0 |
| OPP-18 | Simple and fast onboarding for restaurants | KR4 | need | 13.3 |
| OPP-15 | Autonomy to manage menu and promotions | KR4 | need | 10.7 |
| OPP-19 | Discovery of curated new items | KR2 | Deferred | 9.0 |
| OPP-09 | Consistency in the delivery experience | KR2 | Deferred | 8.0 |
| OPP-11 | Combo deals and complementary suggestions | KR3 | Deferred | 6.8 |
| OPP-16 | Behavioral analytics for restaurants | KR4 | Deferred | 6.0 |
| OPP-08 | Personalization based on order history | KR2 | Deferred | 4.5 |
| OPP-17 | Competitive commissions for restaurants | KR4 | Deferred | — |
Key Insights
INS-01 — High confidence
Premium UX gap in delivery is the largest available competitive differentiator
All competitors (iFood, Rappi, 99food, Keeta) prioritize volume over curation. App store reviews repeatedly mention “cluttered UI” and “decision fatigue” as recurring pain points. FoodFlow is born to solve this with premium visual curation (Midnight Express).
INS-02 — High confidence
Pix as validated payment infrastructure — but inline integration is a usability risk
150M+ Pix users in Brazil validate the infrastructure. However, requiring authentication in ecp-digital-bank adds an extra step. Assumption A3 from Phase 01 flagged this as medium risk. Inline flow (no redirect) is critical to maintain conversion.
INS-03 — High confidence
Curation > volume for segments C1 and C2
C1 (Gastronomic Explorer, ticket R$50-80) and C2 (Practical Regular, ticket R$40-60) together represent the core target. Both have explicit pain points with endless catalogs. FoodFlow should offer 50 curated restaurants instead of 500 generic ones.
INS-04 — High confidence
Checkout is sacred — highest RICE score in the portfolio
OPP-02 (checkout without surprises) has RICE 41.7 and OPP-12 (free delivery as lever) has RICE 80.0. Abandoning checkout is the most expensive way to lose a customer. Price transparency from the restaurant card is a prerequisite.
INS-05 — High confidence
Repeat Order is the central retention mechanism
C2 explicitly states “uses repeat order frequently” and complains about “no real shortcut for reordering.” RICE 37.5 with low effort — best ratio in the portfolio. Leading indicator for KR2 (> 15% of orders via repeat).
INS-06 — High confidence
Partner restaurant, not a hostage — quality ranking is the supply-side value proposition
Artisan restaurants pay 12-27% commission on iFood with limited visibility without paid media. The positioning “ranking by quality, not by payment” is the reason artisan restaurants would choose FoodFlow.
INS-07 — Medium confidence
Cold start is the existential risk — supply-side first
Classic marketplace chicken-and-egg. Strategy: 0% commission for the first 3 months, assisted onboarding in target neighborhoods of SP (Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, Itaim). Without 50 restaurants, there is no perceived variety.
INS-08 — Medium confidence
Midnight Express emotional design elevates value perception without raising prices
The dark premium theme with gradients, Inter typography and dramatically lit food photography generates a visceral reaction (Norman). Consumers assign 15% higher WTP to dishes with narrative descriptions vs ingredient lists. Sustains ticket > R$45 without discounting.
Synthetic Personas
5 synthetic personas derived from market segments (Phase 01): 3 consumers (C1-C3) and 2 restaurants (R1-R2). Each persona captures JTBD, behaviors, pain points and willingness to pay.
Consumers
🧑🍳
C1 — Gastronomic Explorer
22-35 y/o | A/B class | Urban SP | Income R$ 5-15k/month | Single or couple without kids
“When I’m bored of the same old options, I want to discover new and interesting restaurants near me to experience gastronomic variety.”
Behaviors
Pain Points
Willingness to Pay
💼
C2 — Practical Regular
28-40 y/o | Salaried/Freelance | Urban SP | Income R$ 6-20k/month | Intense routine
“When I need a quick dinner after work, I want to repeat an order I already know is good, spending minimal time and energy deciding.”
Behaviors
Pain Points
Willingness to Pay
🎯
C3 — Deal Hunter
22-32 y/o | Students and young professionals | Income R$ 2-6k/month | Price-sensitive
“When I want to order delivery without blowing my budget, I want to find real promotions and coupons so I feel like I’m getting a good deal.”
Behaviors
Pain Points
Willingness to Pay
Restaurants
🍽️
R1 — Artisan Restaurant in Growth
1-3 locations | Revenue R$ 50-300k/month | Chef/owner involved | Curated menu 15-40 items
“When my restaurant doesn’t appear at the top of iFood without paying for media, I want a platform that values my product quality to attract customers who truly appreciate well-crafted food.”
Behaviors
Pain Points
Willingness to Pay
🏭
R2 — Dark Kitchen / Delivery-First
Delivery-only | 1-5 virtual brands | Lean team | Revenue R$ 30-150k/month
“When I operate exclusively via delivery, I want a platform with detailed analytics and strong exposure to optimize my menu and operations based on real data.”
Behaviors
Pain Points
Willingness to Pay
Hypotheses
14 hypotheses organized into 5 strategic themes. 6 selected for prototyping (H01, H04, H05, H07, H10, H13).
| ID | Hypothesis | Opps | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| H01 | Context-Aware Curated Home — visual categories, hero banner, live metrics | OPP-01, OPP-03 | Selected |
| H02 | Visual Trust Cards with Social Proof | OPP-04, OPP-01 | Embedded in H01 |
| H03 | Multi-Criteria Predictive Search | OPP-03, OPP-01 | Embedded in H01 |
| H04 | Transparent Pricing from the First Card — zero checkout surprises | OPP-02, OPP-12 | Selected |
| H05 | 2-Tap Payment with ECP Virtual Card — inline auth without redirect | OPP-05, OPP-02 | Selected |
| H06 | Pix with Contextual QR Code and Real-Time Feedback via SSE | OPP-05, OPP-02 | Embedded in H05 |
| H07 | 1-Tap Repeat Order — habit shortcut in order history | OPP-06 | Selected |
| H08 | Visible and Contextual Return Incentives — coupon MVP10, promos | OPP-07 | Cycle 2 |
| H09 | Favorites as Emotional Loyalty Shortcut | OPP-06, OPP-07 | Cycle 2 |
| H10 | 4-Step Guided Onboarding — from sign-up to first item in 30 min | OPP-18, OPP-15 | Selected |
| H11 | Restaurant Panel — full control without complexity | OPP-15, OPP-13, OPP-14 | Embedded in H10 |
| H12 | Visibility by Quality — fair ranking without pay-to-play | OPP-14, OPP-13 | Embedded in H10 |
| H13 | Visual Menu That Generates Desire — mouth-watering photos, Midnight Express | OPP-10, OPP-13 | Selected |
| H14 | Free Delivery Lever as Ticket Gamification | OPP-10 | Embedded in H04 |
Prototypes
Low-fi Prototype — HITL #4 Approved
17 Wireframe Screens
Wireframes of all screens in the primary flow, covering consumer, restaurant and admin journeys:
- Login / Sign Up
- Home with Hero Banner, Categories and Catalog
- Restaurant Page with Menu
- Cart with Financial Summary and Free Delivery Bar
- Checkout with Address and Coupon
- ECP Card Payment (inline auth + card selection)
- Pix QR Code Payment with Timer and SSE
- Order Confirmation
- Real-Time Status Tracking
- Order History with Repeat
- Favorites with Dynamic Status
- Profile and Addresses
- Restaurant Panel — Menu
- Restaurant Panel — Orders
- Restaurant Panel — Profile
- Admin — Dashboard and Restaurants
- Admin — Categories and Promotions
High-fi Prototype — HITL #5 Approved
17 Full Design Screens — Midnight Express
Complete design in premium dark mode with visual identity applied:
- Midnight Express theme (#181A20 bg, per-restaurant gradients)
- Inter typography + emojis as visual icons
- Cards with cover_gradient, rating, ETA, promo badge
- Visual menu with premium photos and narrative descriptions
- Checkout with transparent price breakdown
- Pix QR Code with timer, instructions and SSE status
- Gamified free delivery progress bar
- WCAG AA contrast validated on all components
Structured Backlog
7 epics, 19 features, 51 user stories with acceptance criteria in BDD/Gherkin. Distribution: S=15, M=24, L=8, XL=1.
E01
Discovery & Navigation
Allow consumers to discover restaurants and dishes quickly, visually and with curation, reducing decision fatigue and connecting intent to choice in under 2 minutes. Goal: conversion > 8% (KR1).
F01.1
Curated Home with Hero Banner and Live Metrics
Promotional hero banner, integrated search bar, live metrics and visual category grid.
US-001 View hero banner with daily promotion
US-002 View live metrics on home (restaurants online, coupons, delivery)
US-003 Filter restaurants by category via visual chips
US-004 View catalog in visual cards (photo, rating, ETA, delivery fee, badge)
F01.2
Multi-Criteria Search by Restaurant, Dish and Category
Search bar with instant suggestions grouped by type and 300ms debounce.
US-005 Search restaurant by name
US-006 Search by dish name or category
F01.3
Restaurant Detail and Visual Menu
Screen with banner, complete info and premium item grid that generates desire.
US-007 View restaurant detail (rating, ETA, delivery fee, promo)
US-008 Browse menu with photos, descriptions and badges
US-009 Add item to cart from the menu
E02
Cart & Checkout
Ensure the journey from cart to confirmed order is fluid, transparent and free of price surprises. Free delivery progress bar as ticket lever. Goal: abandonment < 15% (KR1, KR3).
F02.1
Persistent Cart with Real-Time Financial Summary
Sidebar (desktop) / bottom sheet (mobile) with items, +/-, summary and free delivery bar.
US-010 View cart with added items
US-011 Change item quantity in cart (+/-)
US-012 View detailed financial summary (subtotal, delivery, discount, total)
US-013 View progress toward free delivery (“R$X more for free delivery”)
US-014 Item count badge on cart (global)
F02.2
Checkout with Summary and Coupon Application
Order summary, delivery address, coupon field with real-time validation.
US-015 View order summary at checkout
US-016 Apply discount coupon (MVP10)
US-017 Confirm delivery address at checkout
F02.3
Order Status Tracking
Order protocol and timeline (Confirmed → Preparing → On its way → Delivered).
US-018 View order confirmation with protocol number
US-019 Track order status in real time
E03
Integrated ECP Digital Bank Payment
Integrate payment with ecp-digital-bank via virtual card (inline auth) and Pix QR Code with webhook + SSE. Goal: 85% complete payment without assistance (KR1).
F03.1
Payment with ECP Digital Bank Virtual Card
Inline auth, card listing with balance, selection and debit confirmation.
US-020 Authenticate in ECP Digital Bank for payment (inline)
US-021 Select virtual card and confirm payment
F03.2
Pix Payment with QR Code and Real-Time Feedback
QR Code with amount, step-by-step instructions, timer and automatic confirmation via SSE.
US-022 Generate Pix QR Code for payment
US-023 Receive Pix payment confirmation in real time (SSE) XL
E04
Retention & Recurrence
Create mechanisms that turn the first order into a habit: quick reorder, favorites as personal curation and return incentives. Goal: repurchase > 25% in 30 days (KR2).
F04.1
Order History with Quick Repeat
List of past orders with “Repeat” button that pre-populates cart in 1 tap.
US-024 View order history (date, restaurant, items, amount)
US-025 Repeat previous order in 1 tap (pre-populates cart)
F04.2
Favorites System with Real-Time Status
Heart to favorite, favorites screen with dynamic status (online/offline, promo, ETA).
US-026 Favorite and unfavorite a restaurant
US-027 View favorites screen with dynamic status
F04.3
Return Incentives and Welcome Coupon
Celebratory MVP10 coupon on first access, next order incentive shown at confirmation.
US-028 Receive welcome coupon on first access (MVP10)
US-029 See next order incentive at confirmation
E05
Onboarding & Authentication
Simple sign-up (email/password), fast login with persistent session via JWT and address setup. Goal: time to first order < 5 min (KR1, KR2).
F05.1
Consumer Sign Up and Login
Sign-up flow with email/password, login with persistent JWT session.
US-030 Create consumer account (name, email, password)
US-031 Log in with email and password (persistent JWT)
F05.2
Delivery Address Management
Register and manage addresses with free text and postal code.
US-032 Set delivery address (street, number, postal code)
US-033 Manage saved addresses (edit, delete)
F05.3
Consumer Profile
Personal data, available coupons and logout.
US-034 View and edit personal data
US-035 View available coupons
US-036 Log out
E06
Restaurant Management
Empower artisan restaurants with tools to manage menu, orders and profile autonomously. Guided onboarding in 4 steps (< 30 min). Goal: 50+ active restaurants (KR4).
F06.1
Menu Management (Item CRUD)
Add, edit, activate/deactivate and sort items with visual preview.
US-037 Add item to menu (name, description, price, badge, emoji)
US-038 Edit menu item
US-039 Activate and deactivate menu item (toggle)
US-040 Reorder items in menu
F06.2
Real-Time Order Management
List with pulsing “New” badge, order details and sequential action buttons.
US-041 Receive and view orders in real time
US-042 Update order status (Confirm → Preparing → Ready)
F06.3
Restaurant Data and Profile
Edit public information, delivery fee, minimum order and promotions.
US-043 Edit restaurant information (name, photo, cuisine)
US-044 Configure delivery fee and minimum order
US-045 Manage active promotions
E07
Platform Administration
Global administration tools: restaurant approval, category management, global promotions and marketplace health metrics (KR4).
F07.1
Restaurant Management by Platform
Approve/reject registrations, suspend/reactivate, general metrics dashboard.
US-046 Approve or reject restaurant registration
US-047 Suspend and reactivate restaurant
US-048 View general platform metrics
F07.2
Marketplace Category Management
CRUD of cuisine categories with name, icon and ordering.
US-049 Manage marketplace categories (CRUD)
F07.3
Platform Global Promotion Management
CRUD of coupons, free delivery rules and hero banner highlights.
US-050 Manage discount coupons (create, deactivate)
US-051 Configure promotion for hero banner
Cagan’s 4 Risk Assessment
Customer Value
Approved with caveats
Confidence: High (80%)
Food delivery market in Brazil reaches R$75B/year (TAM). 5 segments validated with distinct JTBDs. 13 opportunities prioritized via RICE covering 4 KRs. OPP-02 has highest RICE (41.7) and OPP-12 highest adjusted RICE (80.0). Caveat: cold start problem — consumers with iFood history may not migrate without critical mass of restaurants. Mitigation: coupon MVP10, free delivery > R$120 and premium UX as incentives.
Business Value
Approved
Confidence: High (85%)
4 KRs with measurable targets: KR1 conversion > 8%, KR2 repurchase > 25%, KR3 ticket > R$45, KR4 50+ restaurants. SOM of R$18M/year with 10-18% commission. Integration with ecp-digital-bank is a unique differentiator. Quality-based ranking creates a value proposition iFood cannot replicate without cannibalizing media revenue.
Usability
Approved with caveats
Confidence: High (78%)
14 hypotheses with 38 falsifiable assumptions, 15 usability risk assumptions. Two prototyping rounds approved: low-fi (17 screens) and high-fi (17 Midnight Express screens). 7 Norman principles applied with traceability. Caveat: inline ecp-digital-bank authentication (phishing perception risk) and waiting for Pix via SSE (anxiety).
Technical Feasibility
Approved with caveats
Confidence: Medium-High (72%)
Stack identical to ecp-digital-bank (Node.js + Fastify + SQLite + React) — team with proven experience. 51 stories (S=15, M=24, L=8, XL=1). Caveat: ecp-digital-bank integration (latency, SSE + webhook for Pix) requires technical spike in Delivery week 1. Responsive parity (desktop + mobile + tablet) with a lean team is a challenge.
Overall verdict: Approved with caveats — confidence 79%. Recommendation: proceed to Delivery with 5 conditions, 1 of which is a blocker (ecp-digital-bank technical spike).
Phase 02 HITLs
| HITL | Scope | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| #2 | Opportunity prioritization (13 of 19 for MVP, 5 themes, RICE scores) | Approved |
| #3 | Insights and hypotheses (8 insights, 14 hypotheses in 5 themes, 6 selected) | Approved |
| #4 | Low-fi prototype (17 wireframe screens, 3 journeys) | Approved |
| #5 | High-fi prototype (17 full design Midnight Express screens) | Approved |
| #6 | Structured backlog (7 epics, 19 features, 51 stories) + 4 risks assessed | Approved |