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Spiritz explorer
Your All-in-One Spirits Tasting Assistant
0→1 App Product Design & Operations Support
Background
What's next? Finding the right bottle.
Imagine standing in front of a shelf of spirits. All the labels are in a foreign language. Information is scattered across forums and review sites. For most people, picking the right bottle takes time — or just luck. I mapped user journeys to help people find what they're looking for, and to meet the product's business goals.
Product
iOS/Android/PWA
My Role
UI/UX Design
Brand Identity & Visual Design
Research & Test
Expert interview
Prototype
Timeline
Q1 2023 - Q1 2024
Operation support: Q4 2024 - Q2 2025
Team
1 Designer, 1 Project Manager, 2 Engineers
Business Goal
Build the first structured spirits information platform in the Chinese-speaking market. Early goals: validate demand, grow traffic, and build a content library. Long-term: convert the depth of that library into value for users, distributors, and brands.
Impact & Achievements
Built from 0 to 1 with a small team. Validated the market and kept improving. Key outcomes:
12,000+ members, 30%+ sustained conversion rate
Peak conversion hit 40%, validating product-market fit
App rating up 25%+
Iterated on data to improve experience. App Store 3.5 → 4.4, Google Play 3.0 → 3.8
Improved ops efficiency and built a review workflow
Stepped in to handle review, helped hit the spirits count milestone
20% faster development & collaboration
Proactively filled gaps. Estimated 20% efficiency gain based on team feedback
65%+ reduction in time to find a spirit
Typical search used to take 3+ min. The product does it in 20 sec to 1 min
Design Process
Match the process to the problem
Discover & Define
Research
User Flow
Design & Prototype
Validate & Iterate
Problem
Finding useful spirits information is harder than it should be
Spirits information is scattered across forums and social groups. Over 90% of labels are in a foreign language. Beginners find the barrier high, and even experienced drinkers struggle to quickly find reliable info. Most decisions end up based on word of mouth, brand familiarity, or instinct.
This was the opportunity: help users find spirits information fast, in their own language.
Research
Breaking down the journey, information structure, and pain points
Analyzed 9+ competitor products, interviewed spirits experts, consulted distributors, studied community tasting posts, and reviewed relevant research to understand how people look for spirits and what gets in the way.
Insight
Typing a label name is a hassle
Whether buying or tasting, users need quick answers. But typing out a foreign-language label is slow and error-prone.
Information is hard to access and digest
Full spirits information lives on foreign-language platforms. The language barrier makes it hard for beginners to make confident decisions.
No structured content in the Chinese-speaking market
Tasting content is inconsistent and disorganized. Consumers in Taiwan rely on friends, brand names, or store staff to make decisions — there's no easy way to find what matches their taste.
High barrier to entry for beginners
The typical learning path is trial and error — tasting on your own, attending events, or browsing online. The high price of spirits makes every wrong choice more costly.
User Journey
Typical online search journey, > 3 mins
Search label online
Hard to spell, easy to get wrong
Find relevant info
Login required, age verification, ads
Read the content
Foreign language, complex and inconsistent info
Hard to decide
No unified rating to reference quickly
Decision blocked
End up guessing based on brand or word of mouth
Product search journey, < 1 min
Scan the label
Identify the spirit
Read ratings, flavor, details
Decide or find the next one
Solution
Scan, Rate & Take Notes
#Acquisition #Activation #Retention
Designed a full flow from scanning to note-taking. The core strategy was to layer by user behavior depth — casual users can finish quickly, while serious users can leave detailed records. Both drive the growth of the platform's knowledge base.
Three levels:
Looking up a spirit
Users want ratings, flavor profiles, and background. Accuracy first — remove the first obstacle to finding information.
Quick rating
Users want to rate, record, and share quickly. Simplified to one tap, then guided to add more detail.
Detailed tasting notes
Users want to record and share detailed notes. Key info first, then deeper layers for those who want more.
Instant Scan
Guide users to take a clear photo for scanning.
Challenge
Improving scan accuracy
Scanning is the first action users take, so it has a big impact on engagement and retention. Early backend data and user feedback confirmed that accuracy was low, hurting satisfaction. Since a single result can never be 100% correct, forcing one answer only amplifies frustration. The design decision shifted from "one answer" to "ranked similar results".
Solution
Guide users to take a cleaner photo
Added text and visual prompts to help users capture cleaner shots, improving the quality of input to the model.
From one result to ranked similar results
The same spirit often has multiple versions. Since results can never be certain, the design shows ranked similar matches — targeting a hit within the top two results to maximize accuracy.
Results
Accuracy up to 90%+
Over 50% of members use the scan feature
Challenge
Growing the spirits database
The number of spirits in the database is a core product metric — it directly affects the quality of search and the platform's reference value.
Solution
One-tap report for missing spirits
Initially, we hoped users would submit full details. Testing showed they would only provide a name and photo. Forcing a complete form lowered the rate of reports. The flow was simplified to one tap — backend staff fill in the rest. Users are also asked if they'd like to contribute a photo as the cover image.
Building the backend review workflow
Backend data showed reports were piling up with no one assigned to handle them. I stepped in to review submissions myself, documented the process into a clear SOP, then handed it off to the client team — so operations could continue without depending on me.
Results
1,300+ user reports
Helped hit the spirits count milestone
Quick Rating
One-tap rating, fast record
Structured Notes
Key info at a glance
Challenge
Balancing speed and depth
For the product to work, users need to leave records. We considered two extremes: forcing a full form lowers participation, while a completely open field leaves users unsure where to start. The solution was a layered design — the minimum is one-tap star rating, which then reveals optional deeper fields.
Solution
Combined input from flavor wheels, consultants, experts, and clients to build a categorized flavor tag system with auto-complete search, making it easy for users to find and select the right terms.
Layered rating options
Default is one-tap to submit. Tapping reveals secondary dimensions and advanced fields — letting users naturally go deeper as they get comfortable.
Most valuable info first, deeper as you go
Referenced tasting frameworks from experts including Charles MacLean and Lin Yi-feng, and studied in-depth community tasting posts to plan the information structure. The three priority fields are overall rating, secondary ratings, and flavor. The first version only had overall rating. After studying professional tasting processes, I proposed adding aroma, taste, and finish — making the case that these were standard dimensions from expert practice, with low development cost. The team agreed, and note quality improved significantly.
Results
4,000+ tasting records
Scan to rating in under 1 min
90%+ of users fill in secondary ratings
*After the secondary rating launched, most entries include it — confirming users are willing to go deeper.
Takeaways & What if continue
This project covered everything from 0-to-1 development through marketing and operations. A lot was learned along the way.
Working within constraints
Industry constraint: online spirits sales are not permitted in Taiwan, so we explored alternative monetization paths with the team — an interesting challenge. Resource constraint: with a team of four, covering for each other quickly was essential. Staying agile and avoiding over-engineering kept things moving.
Balancing priorities with business goals in mind
Clients, experts, and the team all had different views. With limited time and resources, making good trade-offs — while keeping business goals the priority — was a key part of the job.
What if continue
Separating expert reviews
As ratings grow, expert reviews risk getting lost in the noise. I'd propose a verification system for experts and KOLs to surface high-quality reviews — ensuring users get reliable recommendations. This also opens a potential revenue stream through verified memberships.
Recommendation system
A personalized recommendation engine, leaderboards, and seasonal gift guides would improve the discovery experience and drive repeat visits and new member growth.
Appendix
Other design features, visuals, and UI samples
Acquisition
· Coupon feature · Rating prompt feature · Ad creative design · Personality quiz · Distillery partnership campaigns ×2 · EDM content design
Activation
· Scan feature · Backend review system · User report feature · AI chatbot for spirit discovery · Tasting notes feature · Advanced search
Retention
· Themed discovery · Personal achievements · Quick record optimization · Rating improvements · Community features · Wishlist
Revenue
· Ad placements
Other
· Logo design · Admin backend
Spirits product detail
Flavor explore page
AI chatbot with prompt cards
