In creating Feast, my role was more than overseeing design; it was like being an internal founder. I was involved from inception to launch, championing the Lean Startup approach to test, learn, and adapt quickly. Gaining buy-in from critical stakeholders, including the CEO, CPO, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, was essential to secure the necessary investment and keep the project on track. Feast was born out of a need to engage our audience beyond traditional journalism and create a sustainable revenue stream. With The Guardian’s trusted food journalism at the core, we aimed to create an app that could support everyday cooking—helping people discover recipes, build community, and find joy in making meals. Extensive research into food habits and user needs laid the foundation for Feast, helping us address common cooking pain points with meaningful features. Feasibility challenges included structuring over 40,000 recipes, tackled with machine learning support to enable a user-friendly, searchable database. After a soft launch on iOS, our marketing push at Glastonbury in July gave us incredible traction, driving downloads past 100,000 with a 60% conversion rate from free trials to subscriptions. We’ve also brought on Tesco Finest as a sponsor, and Feast currently holds a solid 4.7-star rating on the App Store.
Discover
We conducted extensive, user-focused research through competitor analysis, surveys, and interviews to uncover key needs and food habits—particularly among vegetarian and vegan audiences. Our findings revealed challenges like choice paralysis and demand for family-friendly recipes, highlighting opportunities to simplify recipe discovery and create a personalised app experience that fosters sustainability and community sharing.
Define
We hosted a two-day sprint to unite cross-department teams, reviewing research and framing user problems. This collaborative effort led to innovative, user-centred ideas that address challenges like food waste, skill development, and personalisation, demonstrating our commitment to creating meaningful features based on thorough research and team input.
Develop
Navigating recipe discovery complexity was vital; the UX had to guide users through an extensive catalogue while personalising their experience. We simplified discovery with features like quick filters and meal-planning tools. Our design journey transitioned rapidly from vision to internal beta, balancing stakeholder demands with attention to detail and building a consistent design system.
Deliver
The Feast app was launched as a product that prioritises user needs, from recipe discovery to convenience and community-building. Since its launch, Feast has maintained strong user engagement with features that resonate with audiences seeking trusted recipes, sustainability, and connection. This project reinforced the importance of adaptability and collaboration. Building a product that spans content management, user experience, and personalisation is no small feat. In managing stakeholder expectations and user needs, I’ve seen the value of a lean, iterative approach that places the user front and centre, balancing innovation with practicality. Through this experience, we also established a repeatable approach to innovation via a playbook, setting a foundation for future user-driven projects.
Testimonials
"Tricky is a strong leader, fostering a collaborative and creative environment for the teams he manages. His ability to guide the team through challenges and keep the focus on delivering an exceptional user experience made all the difference."
Matt Ho, Product Manager
"To do this inside the Guardian was a remarkable accomplishment and not just because it was brought to market in less than a year. This work demonstrated Tricky's ability to drive innovation while ensuring the team was empowered to succeed under tight timelines."
Murray Sim, Service Design Lead
"As a leader, Tricky leads with heart and mind - he has a rare ability to galvanise a team and build a culture of creativity and excellence (I’ve seen him do this twice now)."
Rory Keddie, Innovation Lead
