Project Description

In 2018, the United States signed into law the Farm Bill, which removed restrictions on the sale and production of hemp by no longer classifying it as cannabis. It also made it easier to send hemp products and samples across state lines, and that’s why Zera Hemp Labs came to us. They tasked us with helping them launch a laboratory network for the new market of hemp cultivators nationwide.

What followed was a robust and in-depth process to understand, ideate, strategize, design and launch not just a website service but a fully-fleshed business for a new industry.

Strategic Process & Tactics

Our strategy work needed to serve and satisfy a range of users. This included people who cultivated hemp, people who produced hemp products, people who bought them, people who sold them, our client’s employees and future lab partners, and all the federal and different state legal requirements and regulators. 

Here are some strategic tactics we employed:

• We conducted a competitive analysis of over 30 competitors in the hemp testing space. 
• We wrote and evolved multiple user flows and personas to capture all layers of information needed to build a great UX and product experience.
• We interviewed end-users about their needs, including hemp cultivators and product makers.
• We designed sitemaps, wireframes, prototypes, and UI for a marketing site, an accounts portal, and a shipping kit.
• We tested our designs on real users before finalizing them.
• We developed a content strategy, UX writing, and other product copy.
• We also just learned A LOT about hemp and documented that research as we went.

Our Deliverables

The Marketing Site

The outcome of our strategic work allowed us to build the first touchpoint for most users—the marketing website. 

The Accounts Portal

We built Zera Hemp Labs an account portal unlike any other in the marketplace. This is where users can order, track and manage tests for their hemp products all in one place.

The Shipping Kit

Because hemp isn’t restricted like cannabis, we innovated and designed an easy shipping kit for users to send their samples. This helps customers who need quick turnaround and ease of mind to send their product to labs in an easy-to-use kit equipped with instructions, product containers, and a pre-paid shipping label to boot.