Food Delivery Platform for Dark Kitchen Chain
Challenge
Sizl, a fast-growing dark kitchen network in Chicago, initially relied on a mobile app built with Kotlin Multiplatform. While promising in theory, the technology posed significant limitations in practice. The ecosystem was immature, with limited libraries and community support, which slowed down feature development and made scaling the product challenging. Additionally, frequent changes in the CTO role led to instability in the tech strategy, lack of long-term vision, and a fragmented understanding of the product’s architecture.
The original app design also misrepresented the actual user experience, leading to user confusion and a drop in engagement and conversions. Crucial features — such as pick-up orders and event kitchen capabilities — were entirely missing, which made it difficult to serve both everyday users and larger catering clients. Operational workflows were hardcoded, leaving little room for flexibility or adaptation to different kitchen or delivery models.
The challenge was to move fast and rebuild the product from the ground up — with a robust, scalable architecture, an intuitive user experience, support for flexible workflows, and features that reflect the full business potential of Sizl. All of this had to be delivered on a tight timeline to help Sizl re-enter the market confidently, attract new investment, and support aggressive growth goals.
Sizl, a fast-growing dark kitchen network in Chicago, initially relied on a mobile app built with Kotlin Multiplatform. While promising in theory, the technology posed significant limitations in practice. The ecosystem was immature, with limited libraries and community support, which slowed down feature development and made scaling the product challenging. Additionally, frequent changes in the CTO role led to instability in the tech strategy, lack of long-term vision, and a fragmented understanding of the product’s architecture.
The original app design also misrepresented the actual user experience, leading to user confusion and a drop in engagement and conversions. Crucial features — such as pick-up orders and event kitchen capabilities — were entirely missing, which made it difficult to serve both everyday users and larger catering clients. Operational workflows were hardcoded, leaving little room for flexibility or adaptation to different kitchen or delivery models.
The challenge was to move fast and rebuild the product from the ground up — with a robust, scalable architecture, an intuitive user experience, support for flexible workflows, and features that reflect the full business potential of Sizl. All of this had to be delivered on a tight timeline to help Sizl re-enter the market confidently, attract new investment, and support aggressive growth goals.
Solution
To solve Sizl’s challenges, we proposed a full product overhaul — rethinking both the technical foundation and the user experience. The first step was moving away from Kotlin Multiplatform to a native iOS app, built using Swift and SwiftUI. This shift allowed us to iterate faster, access a mature ecosystem, and deliver a more stable product tailored to Apple users, which matched Sizl’s target market.
We worked closely with Sizl’s team to redesign the app based on actual user behaviors and operational needs. This included clear user flows for pick-up orders, a fully integrated Event Kitchen feature for large-scale catering, and logic that supported multiple kitchen modes. We also built an admin panel and analytics dashboard to help Sizl’s leadership monitor key metrics and respond quickly to operational bottlenecks.
Instead of hardcoding kitchen workflows, we made them dynamic — so different locations could operate with different logic (e.g., pick-up only, delivery-only, hybrid). The entire product was architected with scale in mind, allowing for new kitchens and markets to be added with minimal friction.
Design-wise, we crafted a clean, intuitive interface that aligns with food delivery UX patterns but also reflects Sizl’s unique brand identity. With user testing and fast iteration cycles, we ensured that the final product not only looked good but delivered real utility for both users and staff.
In just a few months, Sizl went from a technically fragile product to a scalable, investment-ready platform — launching a new MVP that re-established their market presence and laid the foundation for long-term growth.
To solve Sizl’s challenges, we proposed a full product overhaul — rethinking both the technical foundation and the user experience. The first step was moving away from Kotlin Multiplatform to a native iOS app, built using Swift and SwiftUI. This shift allowed us to iterate faster, access a mature ecosystem, and deliver a more stable product tailored to Apple users, which matched Sizl’s target market.
We worked closely with Sizl’s team to redesign the app based on actual user behaviors and operational needs. This included clear user flows for pick-up orders, a fully integrated Event Kitchen feature for large-scale catering, and logic that supported multiple kitchen modes. We also built an admin panel and analytics dashboard to help Sizl’s leadership monitor key metrics and respond quickly to operational bottlenecks.
Instead of hardcoding kitchen workflows, we made them dynamic — so different locations could operate with different logic (e.g., pick-up only, delivery-only, hybrid). The entire product was architected with scale in mind, allowing for new kitchens and markets to be added with minimal friction.
Design-wise, we crafted a clean, intuitive interface that aligns with food delivery UX patterns but also reflects Sizl’s unique brand identity. With user testing and fast iteration cycles, we ensured that the final product not only looked good but delivered real utility for both users and staff.
In just a few months, Sizl went from a technically fragile product to a scalable, investment-ready platform — launching a new MVP that re-established their market presence and laid the foundation for long-term growth.
Results
The redesigned Sizl app launched as a stable, scalable MVP that dramatically improved both user and business outcomes. By shifting to a native iOS app and reworking the architecture, we cut development time for new features by over 50%. The flexible kitchen workflow system enabled Sizl to operate multiple types of kitchens (delivery-only, pick-up, event-focused) without additional custom development — a key step toward rapid market expansion.
On the user side, the intuitive interface and clear UX flows increased order conversions by 35% in the first weeks after launch. The new Event Kitchen feature opened a completely new revenue stream, allowing Sizl to accept and manage large catering orders directly through the app. The integrated analytics dashboard gave the leadership team real-time visibility into performance, helping optimize kitchen operations and make data-driven decisions.
Crucially, the relaunch helped Sizl regain investor confidence. The streamlined tech stack and solid UX narrative supported successful fundraising efforts, which allowed the company to expand operations and plan for additional geographic rollouts.
In a matter of months, Sizl transformed from a fragmented startup product into a robust, investor-ready food tech platform — with a user-centric design, scalable backend, and a roadmap aligned with long-term business goals.
The redesigned Sizl app launched as a stable, scalable MVP that dramatically improved both user and business outcomes. By shifting to a native iOS app and reworking the architecture, we cut development time for new features by over 50%. The flexible kitchen workflow system enabled Sizl to operate multiple types of kitchens (delivery-only, pick-up, event-focused) without additional custom development — a key step toward rapid market expansion.
On the user side, the intuitive interface and clear UX flows increased order conversions by 35% in the first weeks after launch. The new Event Kitchen feature opened a completely new revenue stream, allowing Sizl to accept and manage large catering orders directly through the app. The integrated analytics dashboard gave the leadership team real-time visibility into performance, helping optimize kitchen operations and make data-driven decisions.
Crucially, the relaunch helped Sizl regain investor confidence. The streamlined tech stack and solid UX narrative supported successful fundraising efforts, which allowed the company to expand operations and plan for additional geographic rollouts.
In a matter of months, Sizl transformed from a fragmented startup product into a robust, investor-ready food tech platform — with a user-centric design, scalable backend, and a roadmap aligned with long-term business goals.