New York-based Pop-up Cocina is transforming the HORECA industry by moving beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant model. Their platform enables kitchen owners to monetize underutilized space by connecting them with culinary creators looking to launch new food experiences.
While pandemic regulations shuttered brick-and-mortar restaurants, the delivery sector exploded. This left established owners with idle kitchens while emerging brands lacked the space to meet rising demand. Pop-up Cocina bridges this gap by transforming underutilized kitchens into collaborative, delivery-ready hubs.
The product has two main users. One group is restaurant owners who want to list their property and get the best deal on tenants and the second group is people who want to rent out space for starting up a delivery business or test menu in a specific district.
To simplify the search experience for our target demographic, we integrated a tag-based filtering system. Derived directly from user interviews, tags like #CornerSpace and #BigFreezer reflect the high-priority requirements identified by chefs, ensuring a frictionless kitchen selection process.
Recognizing that the HORECA industry relies heavily on negotiation, we pivoted away from a standard checkout in favor of a robust, offer-based communication hub. This solution empowers both parties to facilitate nuanced discussions around terms and dynamic pricing directly within the platform.
We adopted standard hospitality design patterns to ensure immediate usability. Drawing from the UX logic of Airbnb and Booking.com, we created a guest experience that feels both professional and instinctively familiar.
Since our target users were unfamiliar with kitchen-sharing platforms, we faced the challenge of designing a comprehensive onboarding flow that remains intuitive. We transformed a complex data-entry process into a guided, multi-step experience that minimizes friction for first-time providers.
The host dashboard provides a centralized interface for efficient asset management. By categorizing listings into logical groups and offering dual view options list and calendar we empowered providers to oversee bookings with high-level visibility and granular control.
We implemented a specialized negotiation-based interface and research-informed filtering, the platform empowers owners to optimize their spaces while providing culinary entrepreneurs with low-barrier access to professional facilities.
