Weatherhead students collaborate with iconic Cleveland market hub

With origins dating back to 1840, the West Side Market is a long-standing staple of Cleveland. The market has evolved with time, moving across the street to its current location at West 25th and Lorain, inviting additional vendors and welcoming tourists from all over the world. 

As they work on future expansions to the market, representatives of the market participated last spring in the inaugural xLab Nonprofit Pitch Competition, winning their bid to work with xLab on an upcoming student project. xLab, which is housed within Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management, pairs a multidisciplinary team of digitally savvy students with corporate clients to support digital innovation and enhance customer engagement. 

“Working alongside university students brings fresh energy and innovative ideas to the table,” said Patrick Evans, director of marketing, Cleveland Public Market Corporation, following the pitch competition. “This project is a fantastic opportunity for us to explore how digital tools can better understand our customers, enhance the market experience and build even stronger connections with our community.”

Enhancing customer engagement

xLab students spent the fall semester gathering data from three key groups: West Side Market shoppers, nearby residents who don’t shop at the market and the market vendors—all with the aim of understanding what draws people to West Side Market and what might inspire more community members to explore it.

“The process was very collaborative and ground-up,” said Zelan Eroz Espanto, a second-year undergraduate student who worked on the project. “We began by meeting with the West Side Market team to really understand their goals, history and what challenges they were hoping the project could help address. That context helped us frame what kinds of insights would be meaningful for them.” 

Building on previous market research, the students developed and designed a survey and conducted interviews to understand what draws people to West Side Market and how the customer experience can be improved.

“We organized the data into patterns around motivations, visit frequency, spending habits, barriers and expectations,” said MBA student Milana Sacco. “In addition to the survey, we conducted a competitive analysis of similar public markets, and one of our team members interviewed market vendors to get their perspectives.”  

Finding meaning in metrics

Once the team compiled their data, students worked on creating customer personas by combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. 

“Personas aren’t just statistical buckets,” said Espanto. “They represent real people with lived experiences and needs. Building them required empathy, listening and adding human context to the data.”

With these data-driven insights in hand, students developed a comprehensive list of recommendations for West Side Market that align customer priorities and vendor needs. Their work will culminate in a presentation to the Cleveland Public Market Corporation and West Side Market leadership, after which they will pass the project on to the next class of xLab students. 

“What makes this project really exciting is that the opportunities are endless,” said Espanto. “There are several meaningful next steps that I think can extend both the impact of our findings and the collaboration with the West Side Market. One of the most exciting next steps is that Weatherhead is actually opening a course where students build on our insights and work further with the market. Even if my work with xLab and West Side Market ends after this semester, this is only the start of great things to come.”

Building future foundations

xLab students put their skills to work throughout the project, highlighting the hands-on experience that they gained while diving into analytics.

“I plan to pursue a career in marketing, and I wanted real-world experience with the analytical side of customer strategy,” said Sacco. “Learning how to translate raw data into audience personas, engagement strategies and measurable digital opportunities has enhanced my ability to combine creativity with data-driven decision making.”

Students who worked on the project also had to balance delicate relationships with market leadership, customer survey respondents and vendors—skills that will be instrumental in their future work.

“We weren’t just working with one client; we were navigating between management and vendors, each with different priorities, emotions and pressures,” said Nicco Carter, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Accountancy. “That meant learning how to listen before asking, asking the right questions without escalating tension, and staying neutral and considerate of both sides while moving the work forward. Being in rooms where opinions didn’t always align forced me to understand both sides of the coin.”

The xLab and West Side Market partnership provides valuable opportunities for students to gain experience with a dynamic local institution, and supports the market as it explores new ways to engage customers and evolve in a digital world, a win-win for learning and community impact.

“Ultimately,” said Celeste Blau, director of xLab, “the xLab team’s work will provide the Cleveland Public Market Corporation with a data-driven roadmap to strengthen relationships, modernize digital engagement and ensure that the West Side Market continues to thrive as a vibrant hub for local food, culture and community.”