Hall of Fame of Rondesignlab - Colgate (Hill's)

Pet Care

• We at RDL are very fond of cuteness in all ways. About a half of our team are proud pet parents, and the whole team is always excited to see a furry friend appear either during our online calls or as a visitor in our office. So, when the time came to work on a project for Hill’s, Colgate’s subsidiary, we did not miss the chance.

The Idea

For the better cause

• The company had an amazing mission that we really teared up at during the meeting — “make the pets healthier at the easiest effort, because they deserve happy and sickness-free lives.” The product managers at Hill’s didn’t really talk about the design; their minds were occupied with the higher purpose of making pets healthy with ease for the owners.

In sickness and in health

• If you own a small companion, you know the journey is glorious, but it’s often punctuated by those necessary, sometimes confusing, visits to the vet. So, when we asked Hill’s about the new product, they shared a beautiful idea with an even more beautiful motivation - a service that not only allows pet owners to access health records of their pets from their vet visits, but also suggests healthy meal options based on the doctor’s prescription.

• A word from Hill's

  “Most of all, we want the pets to get all of the care they deserve in times of sickness. To manage that, we came up with this tool so that the pet owners can easily pick the correct pet food in the matter of minutes, leaving plenty of time to spend with their furry loved one.”

The Issues

• Besides the struggle, Hill’s have also pointed out that often, pet owners will have to purchase at least 3 to 5 different food options to test them out for their pet. This was all due to the overwhelming amount of pet food that just all…looked the same.

• “Surely, we wanted to localize the tool to our brand specifically…but by doing this, we make sure to direct the pet owners to the minimum of options, so they don’t have to spend around all the money just to find the correct food type.”

Organization

• Hill’s original product version was not simple, the layout was scattered and messy, which brought them away from the main idea of the product — to simplify the choice of pet food. To solve this, we designed a smart checkout basket, which, by the standards of that time, was quite innovative. We got rid of unnecessary elements of the design, brought everything close together, created pet profiles, and boom  - the product transformed.

• Pet Profiles

  The pet profiles was the smartest decision in this project. They were designed for pet owners with multiple friends — different breeds, species — whatever it is, Hill’s new product design allowed to create multiple “accounts” for each pet, with all their health records separated, thus, all food recommendations divided as well. The owners now could choose, which pet they are buying the food for, and the platform would instantly adjust to the available health records of picked pet. This decision helped boost the organization by a lot.

Soul

• The soul part is more tricky. We needed the product to reflect the feelings of the designers, the managers, the owners of the product regarding this issue. It was a product made of love and to multiply and prolong it. Knowing how much pets matter to their owners, the managers at Hill’s were delighted to bring at least a bit more joy to the days they get to spend together. Their whole team showcased high empathy and love towards pets, and we couldn’t help but remember it for a long time.

• The manager at Hill's

  “You know, they say “they are a part of your life, but you are their whole life.” This is what we want to capture.”

• Following the launch of the product, Hill’s came back to us about three months later. We were scared the product faced issues, but they called to report amazing news. “The product launched like a rocket. Everyone loves it.”

Making it easier

• Hill’s were kind enough to share some of the feedback they have collected over the months since the launch, and we were, once again, in tears. Hundreds, if not thousands of reviews submitted with pictures of pets after their recoveries. One thing that united them all — happiness in their eyes. Hill’s have launched a product that changed many lives, bringing the light and joy to those with pets. And we were beyond happy to be a part of that.