UX Case Study: Maplehofe Dairy —
Rebuilding a digital prescence
Project Duration: 2 months
Platform: Web Platform, Mobile Optimization
A Digital Bottleneck for a Beloved Local Brand
Friction-Heavy Mobile UX
Essential information (store hours, location, contact details) was buried or missing, causing high mobile bounce rates for users on the go.
Poor Product Placement
A diverse catalog of dairy, deli items, and 40+ ice cream flavors was lumped into an unsearchable photo gallery, obscuring signature products.
Information Gaps on Core Services
Crucial operational pillars—such as their Lancaster Central Market schedule, bottle-return policies, and farm store offerings—were omitted, driving up repetitive phone inquiries.
Research & Discovery: Understanding the Users
To diagnose the friction points, we analyzed user behavior, support calls, and studied the typical store visitor. We identified two primary user personas:
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The Loyal Local Regular: Needs quick, frictionless access to store hours, daily ice cream flavor rotations, and market schedules. Usually browsing on a smartphone from their car or kitchen.
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The New Regional Customer / Foodie: Looking to discover where to buy local glass-bottle milk, exploring Local options and seeking the story behind the farm.
The UX Solution: Strategic Design Pillars
Eliminating Mobile Friction & Restructuring Navigation
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The Fix: We adopted a Mobile-First Information Architecture, pinning vital operational data (Hours, Address, Quick Directions) directly to the mobile persistent footer space.
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Navigation Overhaul: We trimmed a bloated multi-tier menu down to 4 high-intent pathways: Ice-Cream, Milk, About, and Home.
Impact & Results
Metric/Objective Legacy State Redesigned Outcome
Mobile Access Time
30+ seconds to find basic
store hours
< 3 seconds via persistent sticky header
Product Discovery
Buried text blocks and unsearchable galleries
Visual, categories driving high engagement to signature milk and ice cream
Support Inquiries
High volume of repetitive calls regarding market schedules and bottle returns
Drastically reduced via clear informational hubs.
The Final Product
Moving Forward into the Digital
Maplehofe Dairy a staple of Lancaster County has now been launched into it's digital era. Better User Navigation and Product Placement allows site visitors to easily browse products, and discover a taste of this family owned local business in a modern, yet still homey way.
