How a dumpster-top usability test reshaped HelloFresh’s UX culture | James Villacci (Head of Global UX Research, HelloFresh)

In this episode of How to Love a Customer, James Villacci, Head of Global UX Research at HelloFresh, shares how one scrappy usability test—run on top of a New York City dumpster—uncovered a critical friction point in the signup flow and proved just how directly customer problems can impact revenue.

James explains how that moment helped shift HelloFresh from seeing research as “nice to have” to building a company-wide culture where insights drive decisions. He describes his “research restaurant” model, where teams across the business become chefs of their own small studies, and insight “meal kits” empower product, engineering, and commercial teams to de-risk ideas quickly and at scale.

He also reveals how the unique complexity of meal-kit UX—balancing choice, simplicity, personalization, and global eating habits—informs everything from menu filters to the launch of new meal occasions. And with tools like Chattermill and new AI workflows, his team now uncovers patterns and trends in minutes that once took weeks, helping HelloFresh evolve as fast as customer expectations.

Tune in to learn how James built a research practice that’s playful, memorable, and relentlessly customer-obsessed—and why sometimes, one fast insight can shift an entire organization’s mindset.