Smart & Sustainable Meal Planning

Minimizing Food Waste Through AI-Driven Pantry Optimization

Project Overview

Product/Design: Led the development of a meal-planning app for a class project that uses AI and receipt scanning to suggest personalized recipes, reduce food waste, and track nutrition—offering a more sustainable way to eat.

View Final Designs

Problem

Many people struggle with food waste due to poor meal planning and untracked pantry items. Despite the rise of nutrition apps, most fail to consider what users already have, resulting in overspending and expired ingredients.

Households are wasting ingredients due to poor inventory tracking

Solution

We designed a mobile app that combines real-time pantry tracking, personalized recipe suggestions, and a reward system for sustainable choices. Users can scan receipts to auto-update their pantry, receive expiry alerts, and plan meals based on what they already own.

Team

3 UX Designers
1 PM (rotated weekly across team members)

My Contributions

Researched 10+ competitor apps to identify feature gaps
Designed 20+ high-fidelity Figma screens and workflows
Led 5 usability tests, driving 3 major design iterations
Planned scalable technical architecture with proposed stack and APIs

Tools

Figma
Jira
Google Sheets
Zoom

Timeline

Week 1–2: Research and competitive analysis
Week 3–4: Wireframing
Week 5–8: Usability Testing and Iteration
Week 9–12: Technical Architecture Planning and Design

Design Process

Research & Ideation

Explored gaps in current food apps and user behavior data around food waste. Identified key features like expiry tracking, nutrition info, and personalized suggestions.

Wireframing & Design

Sketched low-fidelity wireframes and iterated on designs in Figma with a focus on reducing cognitive load and increasing user retention.

Usability Testing

Conducted usability testing sessions using interactive Figma prototypes. Gathered feedback, leading to multiple design iterations.

Architecture Planning

Outlined proposed technologies, including React for the interface and Flask + Firebase for backend services. Researched APIs for seamless pantry tracking.

Process Documentation

Literature review on food waste and user behavior, identifying key features for the app

Research

Methods

Competitive analysis of existing food and sustainability apps
Literature review on user behavior and food waste
Usability feedback sessions with mentors and peers

Key Insights

Users preferred automatic tracking over manual entry for pantry items
Personalized, low-effort recipe recommendations significantly boosted engagement
Gamified rewards encouraged more sustainable shopping behavior

Research Artifacts

Figma mockup of the app (login, achievements, pantry, and recipe pages). The design evolved through multiple iterations based on feedback

Final Designs

Outcomes

Challenges: Designing for food waste was tricky because most existing apps focused on nutrition, not sustainability. With a small team, I also had to juggle design, research, and technical planning.
Learnings: Gained hands-on experience creating a product from scratch, from ideation to technical architecture. Working in a 3-person team gave me the chance to dive deeper into design and product thinking.
Impact: Created a comprehensive meal-planning app that addresses food waste through smart pantry tracking and personalized suggestions. The project was well-received by professors and peers alike.

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