Whynat.fr: making natural wines more accessible
Whynat.fr is an e-commerce site that I co-founded with two friends. When we discovered natural wines, we were immediately seduced. We quickly became fervent supporters of these wines, made in the traditional way. But we were surprised that they were not more well known. We thought that this market was an exciting niche and that we could bring something different and positive to the online wine buying experience.
- Timeline 1 year
- Release date November 2021
- Client Co-Founder
- Platforms Shopify, Instagram, Facebook, Emails
01.
User research
Start by talking to your potential clients. This is a good starting point when starting a business and it saves a lot of time. We recruited and interviewed twelve people. We needed to understand their drinking habits, their opinions on conventional and natural wine, how they chose their wine, etc. Choosing a wine can require a lot of knowledge. We tried to identify the needs according to the level of expertise of each person.
02.
Product Design
These insights allowed us to prepare a business plan, prioritize the features to be developed first and then establish a roadmap over several years. It's essential to know where we are starting from when founding the company. Then, we started the UX design of the website and the communication strategy.
Building a structure
For an e-commerce site, it is crucial to set up a hierarchy that exactly fits the needs expressed by the customers.
Prioritize ideas and features
The Design Thinking methodology prioritizes ideas and functionalities according to their desirability, business value, and costs.
Wireframing the whole experience, testing and iterating
A good product is a good roadmap
I kept all our ideas, actions, and functionalities in a Trello, where I planned a whole program for success. We've released new acquisition campaigns and new website versions every month since the creation of the brand.
Standing out from competitors with a useful feature
During the user research, we identified that people needed to know if the wine was in keeping with traditional or conventional tastes. We created what we called "The Naturometer." This indicator helps our clients distinguish very "natural" wines from "traditional" ones.
Creating a unique concept for browsing wines
Choosing a wine is never simple, even for experts. We had the idea of creating a funny Netflix copycat. Obviously, we called it "Natflix". People are used to browsing through movies by theme on streaming platforms. We did the same for wines. We created themes like "Made by women," "For a romantic diner," "Perfect for a pizza party," and more.
03.
Brand & UI Design
We wanted to break away from the usual wine images and symbols. We are used to seeing too many pictures of vineyards, barrels, and cellars. Making illustrations helps us to stand out from our competitors. It's also much cuter and fresher. We worked with a talented illustrator: Tristan Bonnemain. From his work, I imagined a visual identity: colors, typography, layout, wtc. I designed all the screens to create a memorable, fresh wine experience.
03.
Acquisition
Having a functional site that is easily converted is good. But having people visit that site is better. I have worked on several acquisition and loyalty strategies: social networks, emailings, ads, partnerships, memeberships, etc. For each campaign, I create visuals, organize photo shoots, and write content.
