Nestlé Nuts

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/ About the project

NUTS was an innovation concept created for Nestlé to rethink the relationship between convenience, food and retail. Designed as a mobile point of sale, the experience brought products directly to people in environments where convenience often determines what they choose to eat.

More than a vending solution, NUTS was conceived as a character with its own personality, behavior and digital ecosystem. The project connected physical interaction, artificial intelligence and mobile experiences to make everyday food choices more engaging, contextual and accessible.

/ Credits

Client:

Nestlé

My Role:

Design Director

Services:

Branding, 3D Modeling, Product Design

/ Year

2020

/ PROBLEM

Busy routines often make food decisions reactive rather than intentional, especially in places such as shopping centers, schools and hospitals where people tend to choose whatever is most immediately available. The opportunity was to explore how technology and retail could make better food options just as convenient while creating an experience people would actually want to interact with.

/ SOLUTION

NUTS transformed the traditional point of sale into a mobile and interactive experience. The robot could move through strategic spaces, connect with people through a distinctive personality and extend the interaction to their phones. A time-based digital journey provided contextual wellness tips and product recommendations, allowing users to discover products, explore recipes and content, complete payment online and collect their purchase directly from the robot.

/ RESULTS

The project created a new retail concept for Nestlé that connected product discovery, content, commerce and physical interaction within a single experience. The ecosystem was also designed to extend beyond the robot itself, allowing the same mobile experience to work as an app or widget and making the concept adaptable to different contexts and future applications.

/ PROJECT OVERVIEW

The experience began with the idea that technology does not need to feel technological. NUTS was designed as a simple, approachable character inspired by nature, with a personality expressed through movement, visual language and an unconventional sound system that mixed animal sounds with the sounds of people eating.

Rather than trying to imitate a human assistant, every interaction reinforced the character and purpose of the product. The digital layer turned each encounter into a contextual journey. Depending on the time of day, NUTS could offer relevant wellness content, recommend a product available inside the robot, provide recipes and videos, and enable payment directly through the user’s phone. By connecting personality, mobility, content and commerce, the project explored how a point of sale could become a living part of the customer experience.