Off the Grid at Work
A scalable corporate dining experience powered by mobile food infrastructure
Off the Grid is a mobile food and event platform in the Bay Area, operating since 2010. After 8 years specializing in public & private events, and conferences, the company was ready to take the next step towards growth: build its own corporate dining service. Assembling a multidisciplinary team, we embarked on a journey to understand the U.S. mobile food industry, corporate dining, and workplace landscape to design an experience that responded to the flexibility required by large companies, constantly changing the size of their workforce and campus.
Let’s start with why this project came to be….
Creating a new business line for Off the Grid was a logical step to expand into a new market and capitalize on its strong internal capabilities. This, however, meant exploring a new domain and identifying how to address the gap in the market: none of our competitors provided the necessary flexibility and turnkey scalability for adapting to changing workforce sizes. Recognizing this need, our journey began.
As the Head of the Business Line, I assumed the roles of product owner and project manager. Leveraging Product Management and Design Thinking frameworks, I built a roadmap, bringing together key stakeholders and fostering collaboration to achieve our goals within a 24-month timeframe.
Project Snapshot
The roadmap to get to market
Assessing the opportunity through discovery and research
Over a period of 6 months, we shadowed and interviewed managers, employees and decision-makers in mid to large-size corporations in the Bay Area. This, in addition to extensive environmental and ecosystem scanning, provided insights that formed the foundation of our unique offering.
Journey mapping, site observation, testimonials, and key metrics analysis allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the space to identify product-market fit.
Setting a Vision and Value Proposition
Off the Grid at Work's differentiated solution was designed for seamless implementation and scalability, making it an ideal choice for companies of varying sizes. We would support our customers through operational flexibility. However, the crucial final touch was the integration of Off the Grid's legacy—a curation of truly diverse menus, continuously refined based on our valuable feedback from guests. This ability to modify and improve ensured that our offerings remain dynamic and in tune with evolving employee preferences.
Building a comprehensive Service Design framework
Workshops and cross-collaboration to define our vision
To develop a user-centric and value-driven service design strategy, we mapped the customer journey through the stages of the customer funnel. For each customer persona, we identified their expectations, aspirations, and ideas to delight and serve them according to their preferences and needs. I designed and facilitated this workshop, which brought together our CEO, VP of Business Development, VP of Operations, Head of Culinary, Head of Product, and Lead Account Managers, ensuring that our approach was informed by key perspectives from across the company
Key Insights
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Needs Defined by Stage
Detail the transition of customer emotions, actions, and needs at each stage, along with strategies to address them effectively
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‘Moments of Truth’
Pinpoint critical moments that significantly impact our brand perception and defined value from the customer’s perspective
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Integrated Service Script
Develop a cohesive quality experience that integrates human interaction, operational processes, communication, and support
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'Low-Hanging Fruit
Identify existing capabilities that could be enhanced and leveraged for immediate improvement
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New Capabilities
Outline investments in new capabilities, touchpoints, hardware, and brand elements necessary to fully realize our service vision
Service Design Blueprint
Our vision was mapped out into a repeatable and scalable operation captured in a service design blueprint, our compass for service development and training.
Defining our customer journeys was the first step, to clearly specify the needs, tools, and touchpoints that had to support our users through the program. This user-centric approach allowed line-level managers to empathize with this new set of customers, creating a language of value, predictability and effectiveness.
Off the Grid at Work
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Unparalleled Menu Diversity
Combining 30+ in-house food concepts along with access to 300+ local mobile food businesses, OTG curates a food program that constantly introduces new menu options and incites discovery in each meal
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Flexible Design, Scalable Solution
Off the Grid is at the forefront of the mobile food movement. The innate flexibility of multiple mobile service formats adapts rapidly to the changing needs of any team with no spatial or structural modifications required
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Integrated Operations Platform
OTGs proprietary software allows our customers to oversee all food operations, curate shifts, and gather data to improve the program’s engagement. The days where food management meant endless coordination are over
Go-To-Market Strategy
Simultaneously, we implemented a comprehensive go-to-market (GTM) strategy centered around building awareness and developing our sales pipeline. While Off the Grid had a strong reputation in public events, our objective was to establish a clear positioning as the premier corporate dining provider.
We executed this outreach strategy on three fronts:
Firstly, we showcased our value proposition through onsite service demos and a launch event in San Francisco. This allowed potential clients to experience firsthand the unique benefits we offered
Secondly, our sales and marketing model leveraged the robust data collected over the years to effectively communicate our strengths and tailor our approach
Lastly, we strategically pursued key Request for Proposals (RFPs) that enabled us to enter new markets and provide concrete targeted proposals to new clients
The combination of these three pillars was highly effective and garnered recognition. Off the Grid at Work was showcased at a national level by Inc. Magazine.
Project Outcomes
The fully developed and tested service was consolidated, and operating in 3 large Bay Area campuses by January 2019. We implemented temporary programs that allowed us to adapt the number of vendors, menus, and space based on real-time data, traffic and consumption.
Moreover, we prioritized feedback from clients, actively seeking their input to refine our service model. This customer-centric approach helped us to continuously improve and identify new opportunities to create value. As a result, Off the Grid at Work emerged as a trusted partner for workplace services, complementing permanent kitchens. Our clients gained the flexibility to grow their businesses without any concerns regarding the quality and availability of great food service for their employees.
01.
Consolidate new business line. Replicable service model and FoodServe-certified mobile fleet, providing a plug-and-play program for clients of different sizes
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Proprietary management software for our client, a responsive dashboard to enable data-driven program evaluation and adjustment
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Prebuild tools for workplace managers, such as communication templates, support channels and feedback dynamics, to reduce manual work and integrate a system to oversee employee satisfaction and awareness
04.
Account management process and communication channel to enable transparent connection with our client and key leaders who had to run the service
Success Case
Off the Grid at Google: Mountain View Campus
Using OTGs ability to maximize real estate by converting underutilized outdoor spaces into temporary high-density dining, we were able to support Google through temporary or long term gaps in cafe coverage
Bringing mobility to the operation opened the opportunity for overall cost savings by serving smaller populations with trucks and Small Site solutions, instead of cafes
OTG at Work supported rapid scaling by easing demand spikes. Trucks and flexible sites were excellent at improving food experience by assisting in reducing lines at busy cafes/peak times
Key Takeaways
01.
Nothing could have prepared us for the transformative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, merely 6 months after kicking off the programs, multiple client negotiations in our pipeline were canceled; remote work became the norm, and the need for workplace services was quickly deprioritized, unsettling the ground we had built for Off the Grid at Work. Looking at it from today’s perspective, implementing de-risking strategies to expand beyond office spaces would have been beneficial. In fact, did this happen as Off the Grid translated the model to serve emergency responders. However, integrating foresight analysis could have better positioned us to navigate the unexpected challenges brought about by uncertainty, like the pandemic.
02.
The journey of conceptualizing and constructing Off the Grid at Work, like any significant corporate strategy initiative, was not a linear process. In retrospect, I recognize various stages where we could have improved efficiency by narrowing our objectives and involving the subject matter experts in the process, ultimately reducing future efforts. One valuable lesson learned is the importance of understanding and trusting each manager's expertise and adapting the vision based on their insights. This level of collaboration allows all stakeholders to feel recognized and empowered with the necessary support to work and succeed.
03.
Service Design blueprints, storyboarding, testimonials, and other artifacts serve a purpose beyond the planning or design process. They effectively depict the experiences and motivations of our customers. It is crucial to share them with business leaders, enabling them to internalize the insights through training and incorporate them into standard operating procedures (SOPs). By transforming design artifacts into tactical tools, we empower the team to align their efforts and work towards a shared vision. The result is a customer-centric approach embedded throughout the organization that guides decision-making at all levels.