Redesigning the Online Catering Ordering Experience
I redesigned Pret Catering UAE’s online ordering experience to help users find products suited to
their events more quickly, order the right quantities, and complete the delivery process with greater confidence.
Customer
Pret A Manger
Industry
Food & Beverage / Online Catering
Role
Lead UI/UX Designer
Duration
6 Weeks
01 — Project Goal
Turning a product-led shop into a catering experience
Pret Catering UAE is a catering platform that lets users order food and beverages online for meetings, office breakfasts, and group events. Although the existing experience offered a broad product range, the ordering journey was structured mainly around product categories.
Catering customers, however, manage far more than product selection — guest counts, delivery timing, dietary preferences, and portion quantities. The goal of this project was to transform a product-led shopping experience into a catering experience guided by users’ event needs.
02 — The Problem
Questions users struggled to answer
In the existing experience, users could find it difficult to answer questions such as:
How many people will my order serve?
Which products should I choose for my event?
Are there enough vegan or vegetarian options?
Can my order be delivered on my preferred date and time?
How should I calculate portions across different products?
Where can I find allergen information?
This structure could cause users to spend a long time browsing products, calculate quantities manually, and discover important delivery information too late in the process.
Design Question
How might we help users find catering products that match their event type, guest count, and dietary preferences more quickly — while enabling them to complete their order with confidence?
03 — Research & Evaluation
What I reviewed, and what it told me
I reviewed the existing Pret Catering UAE experience, researched online catering and e-commerce flows, and compared the category, filtering, and ordering journeys of similar services — identifying key problem areas using established usability principles.
Because no real user data was available, I treated the research outcomes as design insights rather than validated findings.
Key Insights
Insight 01
Users want an event solution, not just a product
People ordering catering often begin with a need such as “office breakfast for 20 people” rather than a specific product such as a “sandwich platter.”
Design decision — I added an event-based discovery section to the homepage: Office Breakfast, Team Lunch, Client Meeting, Celebrations, and Afternoon Treats.
Insight 02
Guest count is a core ordering variable
Manually calculating portions across different products can make the decision-making process more difficult.
Design decision — I moved guest count to the beginning of the ordering flow and suggested product quantities based on the size of the user’s group.
Insight 03
Delivery information should be shown early
For catering orders, the date, time, and delivery area are critical details users need to confirm before choosing products.
Design decision — At the start of the journey, users select Delivery or Click & Collect and enter their address, date, and time.
Insight 04
Dietary and allergen info should be easy to find
Group orders may need to accommodate multiple dietary requirements at once.
Design decision — I integrated vegan, vegetarian, and allergen information into product cards, product detail pages, and the cart.
04 — Target User
Meet Maya, the office manager
M
Maya
Office Manager · Dubai
Maya regularly orders catering for team meetings. A hypothetical user archetype based on desk research rather than real interviews.
Her Goals
Complete the order quickly
Select the right amount of food
Accommodate different dietary needs
Feel confident about the delivery time
Keep the total cost under control
Core Need
“I want to see how many people I am ordering for, whether the products I selected will be enough, and when the order will be delivered — all in one place.”
05 — Experience Strategy
Four principles behind the design
01
Start with the event
Instead of presenting product categories alone, first understand the context of the order.
02
Surface critical information early
Don’t leave delivery, guest count, pricing, and dietary information until the end of the journey.
03
Reduce the calculation burden
Help users calculate portions and product quantities instead of leaving the math to them.
04
Make confidence visible
Keep the order summary, delivery information, allergens, and total price clear throughout the journey.
06 — New User Flow
The reorganized ordering journey
1
Choose Delivery or Click & Collect
2
Set the address, date, and time
3
Select the event type
4
Enter the number of guests
5
Set dietary preferences
6
Review recommended products
7
Check product details
8
Add products to the cart
9
Review the portion and price summary
10
Complete delivery and payment details
11
View the order confirmation
07 — Key Design Solutions
From insight to interface
Solution 01 — Order Setup
Order setup at the top of the homepage
I added an order setup section to the top of the homepage where users define their delivery preference, date, and address. This lets users confirm that their order can be fulfilled before selecting products.
Solution 02 — Discovery
Event-based discovery
Instead of expecting users to understand product categories, the experience supports discovery through different use cases — guiding users toward suitable products more quickly.
Office Breakfast
Working Lunch
Client Meeting
Team Celebration
Solution 03 — Recommendations
Recommendations based on guest count
Once users enter their group size, recommended quantities are displayed on product cards, and an estimated total portion count is shown in the cart.
Example on a product card
Recommended quantity for your group of 18: 3 platters.
Solution 04 — Filtering
Improved filtering around catering decisions
Product filters were reorganized around the decisions catering customers actually make. On mobile devices, filters are presented in a bottom sheet.
Event type
Guest count
Product category
Vegan
Vegetarian
Allergens
Price range
Portion size
Delivery availability
Solution 05 — Product Cards
Product cards built for faster decisions
Essential information was made visible on product cards to reduce the need to open the detail page for every item.
Product name and image
Price
Number of servings
Estimated price per person
Dietary labels
Allergen summary
Recommended quantity
Quick Add action
Solution 06 — Product Detail
Product detail reorganized by importance
Details were reorganized so the most decision-critical information sits at the top, with supporting detail below.
Top section
Product name
Price
Number of servings
Dietary information
Quantity selector
Add to Cart action
Lower section
Product contents
Ingredients
Allergens
Nutritional information
Storage and serving instructions
Delivery availability
Solution 07 — Cart
A cart designed for catering
The cart was designed not just to display products and prices, but as an order-planning tool. When an order appears insufficient, the user receives a helpful warning.
Number of guests
Estimated total portions
Vegan and vegetarian portions
Delivery date and time
Delivery address
Total price
Helpful warning
Your order may not be enough for your group of 18. You can add another product or update the guest count.
Solution 08 — Checkout
Simplified, four-step checkout
Checkout was divided into four visible steps. Users can place an order without creating an account, then create one afterwards to save their information.
1 · Contact
2 · Delivery
3 · Payment
4 · Review
Solution 09 — Confirmation
An order confirmation that anticipates next needs
Instead of only showing a success message, the confirmation screen addresses what the user needs next.
Order number
Delivery time
Address
Order contents
Download invoice
Share order
Reorder
Support link
08 — Visual Design
Keeping Pret’s warmth, clarifying the commerce
I aimed to preserve Pret’s warm, friendly, and energetic brand character while creating a cleaner e-commerce experience.
Used Pret’s signature red for primary actions
Chose neutral surfaces to keep product photography in focus
Made product prices and portion information more prominent
Supported dietary labels and statuses with both icons and text, not color alone
09 — Responsive Design
Adapted for desktop, tablet, and mobile
The experience was adapted across screen sizes, reshaping layout and navigation to fit each context.
Desktop
Filter panel on the left
Multi-column product grid
Persistent cart summary
Mobile
Single-column product list
Bottom-sheet filtering
Sticky “View Cart” action
Step-by-step checkout
Touch-friendly quantity selectors
10 — Accessibility
Considered throughout the process
Accessibility considerations were built into the design decisions from the start.
Sufficient color contrast
Visible focus states
Persistent form labels
Clear error messages
Minimum touch target sizes
Dietary information via icons and text
Alternative text for product images
Keyboard-accessible navigation
11 — Expected Impact
Anticipated outcomes and metrics to watch
Because the project was not tested with real users, there are no measurable outcomes. The design is expected to have a positive impact in several areas.
Faster product discovery
Easier portion planning
Lower cognitive load
A clearer delivery process
A more streamlined checkout
Greater user confidence
Faster repeat ordering
Recommended metrics to track
Task completion rate
Add-to-cart rate
Checkout completion rate
Cart abandonment rate
Time to complete an order
Repeat order rate
User satisfaction
12 — What I Learned
A catering journey is more than ordering food
Users are not simply choosing products — they are managing guest counts, delivery timing, budget, and a range of dietary needs. A strong catering experience should support users throughout the planning process, not just display products.
I also learned that solutions developed without real user research should be treated as design hypotheses. The next step would be to validate these decisions with real users.
13 — Next Steps
Where I would take this next
Interview office managers and event coordinators
Run usability tests
Validate guest-count recommendations
Test the mobile checkout flow
Review allergen communication with specialists
Compare discovery models through A/B testing
14 — Conclusion
From a menu, to a plan
In the Pret Catering UAE redesign, I focused on transforming a product-led menu experience into an ordering journey guided by users’ real catering needs.
The resulting solution places critical information — event type, guest count, dietary preferences, and delivery time — at the centre of the journey, helping users place orders more quickly and with greater confidence.