Increasing revenue and client retention for restaurants across Mexico during the pandemic

As the Co-Founder of Qarta Online, I led design, development, and business growth. I created the brand identity, designed the website, web application and produced social media content. I contributed to frontend development with React and CSS. I managed client relationships from acquisition to ensuring the product was up-to-date with their needs.

We created Qarta Online, a subscription-based service for restaurants with different products:

1. Basic Menu: A simple PDF menu with no popups or distractions, the economic solution for simple needs.
2. Custom Menu: An interactive digital menu for in-restaurant experiences, hand-crafted specifically for the stakeholder’s needs.
3. Delivery Platform: A delivery service platform where orders are sent through WhatsApp, ideal for sharing restaurants with their own delivery service.

Because of its intuitive UX and helpful post-purchase service, Qarta Online offered services to more than 150 restaurants in Mexico and the United States, with many of them obtained by recommendations through our clients. We also got interviews at news pages such as El Financiero Bloomberg, Conecta, and more.

To kick-off the project, we started by going to restaurants in the city and interviewing the owners and customers with the objective of understanding their experience with digital menus.

I interviewed 9 restaurant owners whom shared their experience with digital menus, and how the pandemic had affected their business. Then, I interviewed 21 friends and family (from ages ranging between 18-60) to understand their challenges when using digital menus, how they overcame them and what they wish was different.

The results obtained were arranged on an affinity map with each section being a type of problem present with digital menus. Some interesting findings were about delivery food ordering was a growing trend that interested people and we knew we wanted to help in that area as well.

I researched competition both in the delivery service industry, as well as the digital menu industry to have a bigger overview of what is in the market. Some of the findings on the delivery research was that most companies charged expensive commissions, and are sometimes overkill for what the owners need.

Regarding digital menus, there were some options which had PDF menus, which are not the most efficient, and there were not yet in many restaurants in the country. There was a great area of opportunity to offer quality and economic solutions for both of theses areas.

After gathering the research from the interviews and the upcoming delivery trend, I conceptualized the information in two user personas. These include a customers and a restaurant owner. These personas served as the foundations to keep in mind when building the product.

After the research, we decided to develop three products, which would target each of the stakeholder’s needs. This is an overview of the three products we developed, the PDF menu, the custom menu and the food delivery menu.

I defined the user flow for the food delivery web application that sends the order through a WhatsApp message. Because of its complexity, it was the only product that required establishing a user flow. The user flow starts when the user enters the menu, and ends when it sends the message with the order.

Based on the user flow, I designed wireframes for the web application to establish the interactions between pages. Working closely with the developer, I ensured the designs included necessary features while remaining feasible to build within the short target timelines.

The development of Qarta Online was greatly improved by documenting even a simple Design System. This allowed for an easy communication between designer-developer and modifications were much quicker an efficient since interfaces where made with components that could be easily modified.

After launching the initial version, we conducted user interviews with friends and family to identify friction points. Based on their feedback, we refined the design to make the ordering experience more intuitive and reduce the number of steps to complete an order.

We prioritized high-impact, low-effort changes to ship improvements quickly and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving market.

Custom menus are the most popular product by Qarta Online. They are targeted at restaurants looking to offer an outstanding experience when browsing a menu, be it at the restaurant or through social media. They are hand-crafted based on the user’s needs. These are some examples of custom menus I designed.

After delivering the custom menus, we ask owners to get feedback on their menus through asking guided questions when delivering the check. The following example is for a specific seafood menu, where we remade the menu we had made before, with the updated branding and a better UX based on customer’s reviews.

The economic and simple option is the PDF Menu is targeted at owners looking for a simple solution. It includes the menu without any obstructing banners, and some optional buttons placed at the bottom such as telephone number, schedule, etc.

Qarta Online had a very successful stage during the pandemic, giving service to more than 150 restaurants in Mexico and the United States. The impact was obtained through interviews with owners and the restaurant customers.

Qarta Online has several areas of opportunity. We launched under tight constraints, racing against a rapidly shifting market. While the platform successfully addressed pandemic needs, the post-COVID landscape requires evolution. To remain competitive, the product needs updates such as integrated payments, and alignment with current digital trends.

A useful improvement would be having an admin panel that allows owners to manage their own content, including complex needs such as handling multiple locations, and generating menu’s QR codes directly on the platform.

Beyond menu management, many clients have asked for operational tools such as inventory management features to track item count. Expanding Qarta’s scope beyond digital menus would provide greater value and differentiate us from competitors.

Qarta Online was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences that I’ve had. Starting a company with my brother taught me what it means to be a Co-founder, balancing product design, marketing, development and business strategy simultaneously. Growth required moving fast across these areas while keeping our objectives aligned.

Beyond creating a useful product, I enjoyed deepening my skills across multiple domains. I learned Facebook ads to acquire clients nationwide, refined my communication skills to build strong customer relationships, and returned to coding as a Software Engineer, building custom menus with Next.js and CSS.

I’m grateful to the customers who trusted us as a small company to help them grow their businesses. Through continuous research and client feedback, we improved our product to serve their evolving needs. Knowing our work helped restaurants stay operational during the pandemic was incredible fulfilling.