Developing a Personalised Health Chatbot with Holland and Barrett

10-week

community

participants

market

10-week

community

participants

market

The challenge

Leveraging UX research to support fitness and wellness goals

Holland and Barrett, a leading health and wellness retailer, partnered with Loughborough University to create an AI-driven chatbot on Facebook Messenger. This service was designed to provide tailored monthly exercise and diet plans based on AI interactions regarding lifestyle, health, and body measurements. We were brought in to conduct an in-depth audit of the user experience to ensure the chatbot supported users' goals effectively, while identifying the right audience and go-to-market positioning.

Industry

Health and wellness retail

Solution

User experience

Market

Participants

40 across life stages and diets

Methods

Longitudinal monitoring, in-depth audit

The approach

A longitudinal community on our platform

We conducted a 10-week online community with 40 participants in the UK, representing different life stages and diet preferences.

Longitudinal monitoring

We remotely accompanied participants through every stage, from initial onboarding and chatbot interactions through to weekly plan reviews.

Digital ethno-diaries

We captured diary-style ethnographic feedback to understand the emotional highs and lows of their fitness journeys.

Strategic market audit

Regular tasks explored the competitor set, pricing options, and potential endorsement opportunities to inform the full marketing strategy.

The result

A sharper product and a clearer route to market

The research showed exactly how the chatbot fit into real daily routines and where the experience needed strengthening. Our findings helped Holland and Barrett enhance the chatbot's content and tone to make users feel more supported, while also providing a clear blueprint for their go-to-market and positioning strategy in a competitive wellness market.