Fig helps people manage dietary restrictions by letting them avoid ingredients in groceries and when eating out through setting up dietary profiles (Figs)
Problem statement
During onboarding, users often search for individual ingredients (e.g., lactic acid) on the first screen. Since only templates and categories appear there, they see no results, assume Fig doesn’t meet their needs, and abandon the app.
The challenge: Add individual ingredient search in onboarding without discouraging template use, which powers most of Fig’s backend and delivers better user outcomes.
Background
Templates: Bundles of 100+ related ingredients (e.g., “Milk” covers milk, whey, casein, lactose).
Template Categories: Groups of templates (e.g., “Tree Nuts” includes almond, walnut, cashew templates).
Individual Ingredients: 3,000+ items like xanthan gum or almond flour.
Why?
The first onboarding screen lists only templates and categories.
When users search for:
Medical conditions — now fixed by adding a “Medical Conditions” section.
Individual ingredients — still unaddressed, leading to confusion and drop-off.
We previously tested a search bar, but conversion dropped because queries like “lactic acid” returned no matches.
