Weanie
Weanie is an in-house R4Dev venture — a personalised quit-nicotine app built by a founder solving his own problem. Designed from scratch, Weanie helps users gradually reduce their smoking or vaping through smart schedules, behavioural insights, gamified tools, and a proven, research-backed weaning method. The project includes full product strategy, UX/UI design, complete mobile development, data infrastructure, onboarding psychology, and ongoing optimisation resulting in a powerful, founder-led product now used by 10,000+ people around the world.
(Client)
Weanie
(TIMELINE)
Ongoing
(challenges)
Building Weanie wasn’t just another client project. It was a personal mission and a first-time founder journey inside R4 DEV.
1. Turning a personal quitting journey into a scalable product
The idea started with the our own attempt to quit smoking. The challenge was transforming that personal experience into a system thousands of people could rely on, structured, predictable, and scientifically grounded.
2. Designing a method that actually works in the real world
Most quitting apps focus on the “after.” Weanie focuses on the process, the weaning-off itself. Crafting a gradual reduction model that felt achievable, safe, and flexible required deep research into behavioural psychology and habit formation.
3. Building a full mobile product from scratch as a first-time founder
It meant learning everything: product design, data architecture, user psychology, engineering management, and mobile UX, while simultaneously validating an idea completely new to the market.
4. Creating an experience that stays encouraging, not overwhelming
Quitting is emotionally difficult. The challenge was designing UI, copy, and flows that were supportive, friendly, and simple never judgemental or clinical.
5. Scaling from early prototypes to thousands of users
As Weanie grew, we faced new challenges: subscription flows, paywall optimisation, analytics, retention, push notifications, and performance all while maintaining a small, scrappy team.
(SOLUTION)
1. A founder-led blueprint grounded in real quitting behaviour
We translated the core problem of addiction into a structured, flexible weaning framework. This became the DNA of the entire product.
2. A personalised reduction engine
We built a scheduling algorithm that adapts to a user’s habits, preferences, failures, and successes. The result: a plan that feels human, achievable, and responsive.
3. Warm, supportive UX/UI built intentionally for emotional moments
We designed a mobile experience that feels encouraging, colourful, and non-judgemental. Copy, micro-interactions, notifications, and visuals were carefully crafted to reduce anxiety and increase confidence.
4. Gamification and accountability tools
Features like savings visualisation and the Crave Cave mini-games helped users stay engaged and made the quitting journey feel lighter and more fun.
5. Fast iteration cycles powered by user feedback and real analytics
Weanie evolved rapidly, adding retention systems, improved onboarding, paywall flows, widgets, and data insights all driven by live user behaviour.
