Food Benefit Ledger
Designed a visibility layer for benefit redemption that enabled real-time troubleshooting and reduced support dependency.
Role
Lead Product Designer
The Challenge
Registered dietitians had no visibility into whether codes were redeemed, whether codes expired, when codes were used, or whether a code correction existed. This forced simple member questions into engineering escalations.
The design goal was to create a ledger that gave RDs visibility without requiring engineering support for routine troubleshooting.
“When a member says their code isn't working, I have no way to see what's happening.”
Context & Complexity
This work improved transparency around member food benefit codes used by Foodsmart dietitians. The feature supported registered dietitians managing Instacart Fresh Funds for members.
No visibility into redemption status, expiration, or usage
No way to see code corrections or resolve discrepancies
Simple member questions escalated to engineering
Approach
First iteration
Basic list view: transaction history, code amounts, simple layout. Limitations: no status clarity, no filtering, weak expiration visibility.
Second iteration
Added status badges, filtering, redemption timestamps, and expiration visibility. RDs could now answer basic questions during member conversations.
Final variant
Production-ready ledger: complete history, status hierarchy, progressive disclosure, contextual warnings. The ledger supported real-time troubleshooting and proactive outreach.
Production ledger
Complete history with progressive disclosure and contextual warnings
Outcomes
Real-time troubleshooting
RDs could troubleshoot during member conversations instead of escalating. Support escalations dropped.
Proactive outreach and RD confidence
Expiration visibility enabled proactive outreach for expiring codes. Stronger RD confidence in answering member questions.
RD satisfaction
Users rarely reach out unless something is broken — so when we received unsolicited messages of appreciation, we knew we'd hit the mark.
What mattered most
This project reinforced a core belief: transparency isn't just a design principle—it's a trust-building tool. By giving RDs visibility into member benefits, we didn't just solve a usability problem. We gave them the information they needed to be better advocates for their members. The work also demonstrated the value of lean, iterative design in B2B healthcare. Instead of waiting months for a perfect solution, we shipped MVPs, gathered feedback, and evolved the experience based on real-world needs.
I had one member who reported the link to her FreshFund code wasn't working. I was able to see that a correction link had been added to her account with the new features. I didn't have to submit a support ticket for the link not working. This feature will be so helpful. Instead of me having to guess or guide them through multiple already-redeemed codes, I can tell them exactly which dates need to be redeemed. It will save me a lot of time when working with tech-challenged members!
RD user