Alma Food Box
Overview
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I created and led from the ground up an innovative gourmet gift-box business that celebrates Latino culture by delivering authentic, comforting flavors from home to customers across the United States. I owned the full product lifecycle—from in-depth market research through interviews, surveys, and focus groups to the design and launch of highly personalized gift experiences—while also managing operations, brand development, and nationwide promotion. I crafted an intuitive, user-centered digital platform (website) that enabled seamless customization, purchasing, and order tracking. At the same time, I defined and brought to life a warm, vibrant brand voice across social media, collaborating with the design team to produce daily content that built a loyal and engaged community. Through targeted high-impact campaigns in Chicago and thoughtful seasonal marketing initiatives, I expanded the brand’s reach and deepened customer loyalty nationwide. Alma Food Box was a true 360° project that I built and drove end-to-end, blending strong user experience design, business growth, and meaningful cultural connection.
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My role:
Co-Founder & Product Designer (End-to-End) — Sole designer on the founding team​
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The Problem
In the gift-giving market, most established brands operated at a large, national scale with impersonal, mass-produced offerings that lacked genuine emotional connection. Customers received standardized products without meaningful customization, resulting in generic experiences that failed to convey personal sentiment or thoughtfulness. Additionally, while material gifts dominated the category, edible and gourmet options were scarce—and those that existed often leaned heavily into overly traditional, rustic, or holiday-specific aesthetics, rarely achieving an elegant, sophisticated, and modern gourmet presentation suitable for year-round gifting occasions.
The Goal
Design and launch a premium, made-to-order gifting brand that:
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Delivered deeply personalized food experiences rooted in Colombian culture
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Looked and felt elevated — modern, elegant, giftable year-round, not just at holidays
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Operated through an intuitive digital platform enabling customization, ordering, and tracking
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Built a loyal community through consistent brand voice and seasonal storytelling
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Could grow beyond the Latino community without losing its cultural identity
The Research & The Pivot
This is where most case studies would show you a research plan. Ours looked different — because we didn't just study the market. We entered it.
Phase 1: Sell first, learn fast
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Five months of selling homemade desserts through personal social media — no brand, no website. Just product and people. We wanted real purchase behavior before building anything permanent.​
What we found: The dessert market was crowded. Competing on quality alone wasn't enough.
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Phase 2: Structured discovery with 52 participants
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Once we identified the pivot, I conducted structured research with 52 potential buyers covering brand name, colors, slogan, service preferences, and menu options.
What surprised us: Participants didn't just want desserts — they wanted a full Colombian food experience that worked as a gift and a treat for yourself. That insight became the entire brand.
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Phase 3: Ongoing seasonal feedback
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After launch, every new seasonal menu was preceded by surveys through social media and the website. Instagram became a live research channel — I used it to ask followers about new products and menu ideas before committing to production.
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The key finding:
​​Chicago had no brand doing personalized gourmet food gifting. Not one. Our competitive landscape wasn't other food box companies — it was generic gift shops that felt nothing like us.
The Pivot
Desserts on personal profiles
Market too crowded, margins tight
Branded Colombian desserts
Cultural specificity resonated, scope felt limiting
A box of Colombian treats
The box format created value the items alone didn't
Full Colombian menu experience
The insight: it wasn't about the food. It was about the experience of receiving it.
Website Design
Danna's Notes Designed a user-friendly website using UX/UI principles, enabling purchases, personalization, and order tracking, driving 500 monthly visitors on average.
Social Media
Danna's Notes I crafted a vibrant brand voice for social media, guiding daily content strategy with a design team to boost engagement and build a loyal market audience. And my favorites of the year: I launch a high-impact Chicago campaign and seasonal marketing initiatives, expanding brand reach and fostering customer loyalty nationwide.
Key Decisions
Sell before you brand
Five months of unbranded selling gave us customer knowledge no desk research could have provided. The pivot came from being in the market, not studying it.​
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Experience over inventory
Choosing a restaurant menu format over a product catalog kept the ordering experience aligned with the brand positioning — you're not buying a box, you're placing an order for an experience.
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The box is the product
We calculated how long it should take to open the box and designed the unboxing sequence intentionally. The result: customers described it as "too pretty to open."
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Bilingual by design
Built in English and Spanish from day one — because a brand about cultural bridge-building has to live that value in every touchpoint.
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Instagram as feedback loop
New menus were shaped by Instagram questions before launch, not after. It reduced waste and kept the offering aligned with what customers actually wanted.​
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What I Learned
Delegate sooner. As the sole designer on a founding team, I was spread across production, operations, and design. I would protect my design focus earlier and let go of the operational work faster.
Research doesn't have to look like research. The most valuable insights came from selling unbranded desserts and asking questions on Instagram — not from formal surveys. Market participation revealed what we didn't know to ask.
Cultural specificity is a strength. Every decision to lean into Colombian identity made the brand more distinctive, not less accessible. The customers who weren't Latino found it more interesting because of its specificity.
The Outcome
2,500+
$65K
3 years
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Valentine's Day &
Mother's Day
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"Too pretty to open"
Units sold
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Annual revenue
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Business duration
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Highest sales seasons
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Most common customer reaction
Alma Food Box closed in 2024 when members of the founding team relocated. The business didn't fail — it ended. Three years, 2,500+ units, $65K in annual revenue, a loyal community, and a brand that people still talk about in Chicago. The reviews on Google and social media remain. So does everything I learned from building it.