Helping Google understand how users think about cross-device authentication to inform future sign-in, security, and account experiences
The Challenge
Google's Cross-Device Authentication (XDA) team wanted to understand how people navigate authentication across increasingly connected ecosystems of phones, laptops, smart TVs, watches, speakers, and smart home devices.
The challenge was that authentication is largely invisible. Product teams think about authentication every day; users rarely think about it until something breaks. Google needed a behavioral understanding of how people make authentication decisions, how they perceive risk, and what future authentication experiences they would trust.
My Contribution
Primary Research: Led in-depth operator interviews across five U.S. markets
Quantitative Analysis: Built market sizing models, identifying a $5.3B opportunity and priority geographic markets
Competitive Analysis: Conducted analogous analysis of Chipotle, Taco Bell, McDonald's, and broader industry trends
Product Strategy: Led assessment of Mexican cuisine product needs against the GFS catalog
Synthesis & Frameworks: Developed operator segmentation and sourcing frameworks
Business Strategy: Translated findings into merchandising, sales, and growth recommendations
Key Insight #3: The opportunity isn't more products—it's the right products
A detailed comparison of operator sourcing needs against the GFS catalog revealed that most Mexican operators already purchase 60–70% of their products from broadline distributors. Even many "specialty" ingredients were domestically available and commonly sourced through existing channels. The challenge was not assortment breadth. It was:
Carrying the right brands
Offering appropriate pack sizes
Meeting operator price expectations
The problem was less about product availability and more about product-market fit.
Strategic Outcomes
Quantified a $5.3B market opportunity within the GFS footprint
Identified 14 priority U.S. markets, including several of the fastest-growing Mexican cuisine markets in the country
Revealed that 60–70% of Mexican cuisine ingredients are already sourced through broadline distributors, reframing assumptions around assortment expansion
Developed a behavioral segmentation framework to guide product, sales, and service strategies
Identified opportunities around brand assortment, pack sizes, and pricing rather than catalog expansion
Key Insight #1: Mexican cuisine is not a segment—it's a spectrum
The category spans a wide range of concepts, from regional traditional restaurants to modern Mexican interpretations, fusion concepts, and Americanized formats. These operators differ not only in culinary approach, but also in:
Product preferences
Service expectations
Purchasing behaviors
Business priorities
Treating Mexican restaurants as a single customer segment obscures meaningful differences and leads to generic solutions that fail to resonate.
Key Insight #2: Cultural credibility matters more than language
While Spanish-language capabilities were helpful, operators consistently evaluated distributors based on their understanding of ingredients, regional cuisines, sourcing realities, and operational challenges.
Trust was built through demonstrated knowledge rather than language alone.
This shifted the conversation from hiring more Spanish-speaking representatives to building deeper cultural and culinary fluency across sales teams.
Key Insight #4: Authenticity and business realities coexist
Operators care deeply about tradition, heritage, and authenticity.
They also care about labor costs, margins, customer preferences, and operational efficiency.
Even highly traditional operators routinely adapt menus, substitute ingredients, and introduce Americanized offerings when necessary.
Authenticity was not an absolute goal—it was continuously balanced against business realities.
This revealed opportunities for GFS to support operators beyond traditional Mexican ingredients alone.