How can Gousto balance offering personalized meal recommendations versus promoting new dishes to expand users' culinary horizons?

Introduction

Balancing personalized meal recommendations with promoting new dishes is a critical trade-off for Gousto's product strategy. This scenario involves weighing user satisfaction through familiar choices against expanding culinary horizons and potentially increasing engagement. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining key metrics, designing experiments, and providing a data-driven recommendation.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm assuming Gousto is seeing a plateau in user engagement or retention. Could you confirm if this is the case, and if so, what specific metrics are showing this trend?

Why it matters: Helps identify the root problem we're trying to solve. Expected answer: Yes, we're seeing a slight decline in repeat orders. Impact on approach: Would focus on retention strategies in the recommendation.

• Business Context: Based on Gousto's subscription model, I'm thinking personalization might be key to reducing churn. How does our current churn rate compare to industry standards?

Why it matters: Helps prioritize personalization vs. exploration in our strategy. Expected answer: Our churn rate is slightly above industry average. Impact on approach: Would emphasize personalization in the short term to improve retention.

• User Impact: I'm assuming we have data on user preferences and order history. Can you confirm what percentage of users regularly try new dishes vs. stick to favorites?

Why it matters: Helps understand user behavior and appetite for culinary exploration. Expected answer: About 30% regularly try new dishes. Impact on approach: Would inform the balance between personalization and new dish promotion.

• Technical: Considering the complexity of personalization algorithms, I'm curious about our current technical capabilities. How sophisticated is our current recommendation system?

Why it matters: Determines the feasibility of enhancing personalization. Expected answer: We have a basic collaborative filtering system in place. Impact on approach: Would influence the timeline and resources needed for improvements.

• Resource: Given the potential impact on multiple teams, I'm wondering about our current resource allocation. Do we have dedicated teams for personalization and menu development?

Why it matters: Affects the implementation strategy and timeline. Expected answer: We have small teams for both, but they're currently at capacity. Impact on approach: Would need to consider resource constraints in the recommendation.