UX Research · Client: Partake
Partake
Research-driven TikTok strategy for an allergen-friendly snack brand, from user interviews to three tested video concepts.
Context & Challenge
Building an authentic TikTok presence for Partake
Partake wanted a scalable TikTok strategy that builds brand awareness, strengthens its emotional connection with allergen-aware consumers, and drives sales through engaging, platform-native content.
The scope covered defining Partake's brand presence, developing repeatable content concepts, working with creators, and keeping the strategy scalable and easy to execute with limited resources.
How might we build an authentic and engaging TikTok presence for Partake that expands brand awareness, strengthens emotional connection with its community, and drives measurable sales, while staying true to its mission of building an inclusive table?
Research Methods
Competitive analysis, a survey, and interviews
Competitive analysis
We started by analyzing 6 successful snack and wellness brands to identify the marketing patterns, content strategies, and positioning tactics that drive engagement.
User survey
Goal
Collect quantitative insights from Gen Z consumers to understand which types of cookie content, brand messaging, and “inclusive food” narratives resonate most strongly.
- Responses
- 55
- Restrictions
- 14
- Female
- 68%
- Male
- 32%
Key findings
- Trending sounds and dances are most effective among Gen Z audiences.
- 7–15 second videos perform the best.
- Gen Z is most likely to engage with viral recipe videos.
User interviews
Goal
Explore the deeper motivations behind snack choices, content engagement, and perceptions of inclusive or allergen-friendly brands.
- Interviews
- 5
- Female
- 2
- Male
- 3
Key findings
- Users scroll to consume, not participate, spending hours scrolling without engagement.
- Ideal video length is under 15 seconds; users want clear, immediate satisfaction.
- User trust comes from authentic content that resonates with them.
Affinity mapping
After the research sprint, we sorted everything we'd gathered into categories to identify the pain points users most commonly face.
Affinity map. Themes: passive consumption vs. little follow-through; needs fast, clear, low-effort content; cozy and clean aesthetic; clarity and structure; authenticity > performance; obvious value prop; subtle + early product integration; discovery and visual and brand-driven; misc.
Key Findings
What customers value, and what users prioritize
We found that customers value…
Guilt-free indulgence
Safe, health-conscious treats
Visual cookie moments
Breaks, dips, frosting, etc.
Snack rituals
Time of day or setting to eat the cookie
Inclusive desserts
Allergy-friendly ingredients
Creator reviews
…and that users prioritize:
01
Engagement
Users engage with food content as aspirational entertainment, not with real intent to cook or buy. Saving and liking are expressions of identity.
02
Tight pacing
Content must be quick enough to avoid boredom but slow enough to remain easy to follow without rewatching.
03
Structure
Users rely on a clear mental structure (hook → ingredients → steps → outcome → product).
04
Cognitive load
Users prefer straightforward, easy-to-follow formats over complex or overly edited storytelling.
05
Authenticity
Users strongly prefer authentic, non-performative content, and are turned off by anything that feels overly produced or “try-hard.”
06
Product integration
Subtle product visibility builds trust, but gimmicky marketing reduces credibility and engagement.
07
Value
Users only shift from passive to active attention when something feels distinctly useful, unique, or time-sensitive.
Personas
Two scrolling styles
We distilled the findings into representative user types that differ by scrolling style, then mapped each one's journey to find where product and marketing could intervene.
Partake — Persona 01 Cabo D. — The Doom Scroller
18 · Student · Berkeley, CA · No dietary restrictions
Cabo is a Gen Z college student who scrolls for hours on TikTok and Instagram Reels to unwind. He rarely engages with posts or posts videos, but likes to consume trending content.
Goals
- Unwind and mentally “zone out”
- Consume quick, low-effort entertainment
Pain points
- Scroll fatigue
- Overbearing advertisements
- Overly long videos
Partake — Persona 02 Tonka J. — The Engaged Scroller
19 · Student · Los Angeles, CA · Gluten free
Tonka is a Gen Z student who actively engages with TikTok food content, making quick decisions based on what catches her attention. She frequently saves and likes food content for later.
Goals
- Inspiring videos that showcase unique ideas
- Video concepts that can translate into real life (e.g., a product you can buy at Safeway, or an easy recipe)
Pain points
- Unclear videos
- Influencer distrust
- Decision fatigue
Cabo D., The Doom Scroller
| Stage | Open social media | Scrolling | Attention capture | Impression formation | Reflection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actions | Opens TikTok out of habit, usually during idle moments or when feeling mentally tired, without any specific goal in mind. | Scrolls rapidly through the feed, making instant decisions to skip or stay based on the first visual impression within seconds. | Briefly pauses on content that is visually striking or satisfying, watching for a few seconds before deciding whether to continue or scroll away. | Forms a quick, low-effort impression of the product or brand without clicking, engaging, or seeking additional information. | Continues scrolling but never ends up buying things he sees on social media. |
| Pain points |
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| Emotions | Drained“I just want to turn my brain off.” | Indifferent“Nothing is really catching my attention.” | Curious“Wait, this looks kind of interesting.” | Engaged“I've never seen anything like this before. Let me save it.” | Not sold“At the store: “I recognize this brand from their videos, not for their content.”” |
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Tonka J., The Engaged Scroller
| Stage | Open social media | Scrolling | Attention capture | Impression formation | Reflection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actions | Opened TikTok or Instagram looking for food inspiration, quickly scrolling until one video caught her eye with strong visuals and an easy-looking final dish. | Scrolling with purpose, prioritizing allergy-friendly, inclusive recipes with clear visuals and skipping non-food content. | Stopped on a visually appealing, allergy-friendly recipe with clear steps, and saved it for later. | Decided that the recipe felt trustworthy, allergy-friendly, and realistic enough to try later. | Revisited the saved recipe and went to the store to get ingredients. |
| Pain points |
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| Emotions | Inspired / Intentional“I want to find a recipe that's healthy, quick, and easy to make.” | Focused / Slightly overwhelmed“There are so many videos, which one is actually healthy or allergen friendly?” | Inspired / Excited“Wait… this looks really good.” | Optimistic / Cautious“I think I can actually make this.” | Satisfied / Accomplished“The video skipped a lot of steps, so it was harder to recreate and took way longer than expected, it didn't meet my expectations…” |
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Outcome
Three concepts, tested on TikTok
Using the insights and synthesis, we curated 3 video types to appeal to both personas, aiming for short-term brand exposure and long-term user conversion.
Partake — Prototype 01 Video still, Cookie Crumb Latte Series
01
Cookie Crumb Latte Series
Visually appealing, cafe-style recipes using Partake cookies to highlight versatility while tapping into aesthetic, trend-driven food content.
TikTok performance (after 24 hours)
- 492 views, 4.9s avg watch, 6.29% completion rate, 1 new follower
- 16 comments and 50 likes, strong for this audience size
Comment quality is high
- “Satisfying to watch”
- “Decadent fr”
- “I need it”
Takeaways
- Distribution is the bottleneck, not the creative
- Hook at 0.01 needs to be extremely eye catching
- Drives conversation
Partake — Prototype 02 Video still, Partake Everywhere
02
Partake Everywhere
Partake being enjoyed across different real-life settings (school, work, travel, etc.) to reinforce accessibility and everyday relevance.
TikTok
- 586 views, 3.4s avg watch, 16.5% completion rate
- 5 comments, 53 likes
Comment quality is high
- “This is the best content I've ever seen”
- “Edited so well”
- “i LOVEEE this song omg”
Takeaways
- Music selection is a differentiator; lean into it
- Strong edit quality noticed unprompted; production value is landing
- Higher completion rate suggests a shorter format works better for this concept
Partake — Prototype 03 Carousel slides, Your Month, Your Cookie
03
Your Month, Your Cookie
Matching Partake cookies to user identities to create playful, shareable content that encourages engagement and self-expression.
TikTok
- 824 views
- 33 likes, 1 comment, 1 save
- Reposted by a friend: organic amplification
- Audio: “Better in the Dark” by Jordana & TV Girl
- Format: photo carousel
Takeaways
- Highest view count of the three prototypes
- Interactive format (“comment your month”) drives participation
- Carousel format may be outperforming video for this audience
Team
- Hailie AtkinsonProject Mentor
- Sophia ClancyResearch Lead
- Emily ChenSynthesis Lead
- Sophie GillernIdeation Lead
- Avery RoslanskyPrototyping Lead
Reflection
Parting thoughts
Our 10 weeks with Partake Foods were a chance to go deep on marketing strategy design. Moving from user research to ideating solutions let us empathize with users and pin down their pain points, and because the broad scope valued creativity over implementability, we could explore a wide variety of potential solutions.
Thank you to our clients at Partake for building out such an extensive project scope, and for the opportunity to expand our marketing knowledge through a hands-on project.