FRIDGE

Inspiration

As a group of international students, we’ve all lived through the stress and chaos of shared kitchen accommodation. Fridges packed with leftovers, food going bad before anyone remembered it existed, and confusion over whose ingredients belonged to who. We realised this wasn’t just inconvenient, but was wasteful, expensive, and occasionally the source of awkward roommate conversations. That shared experience started the ispiration: what if managing a shared fridge didn’t have to be stressful, disorganized, or unclear? What if technology could make it effortless?

What it does

FRIDGE helps people who live together keep track of what's in their kitchen. You can scan or add items, decide whether they’re yours or shared, and see everything organized in one place. The app reminds you before food expires, shows what needs to be used soon, and even recommends recipes based on what’s already in the fridge. It’s basically a way to stop confusion, waste less food, and make shared living a little smoother. KEY FEATURES:

• Barcode scanner that adds a product to your “fridge” or by manual entry.
• Choose what’s yours and what’s communal → Easily move or edit items as they’re used, shared, or purchased.
• Smart expiration tracking with alerts.

How we built it

We began by thinking about how people interact with a real fridge: who adds things, who uses them, how people remember what they bought, and how quickly things get forgotten. Then we built the MVP around those real behaviors. We connected a shared database, integrated barcode scanning to make adding items quick, and designed a simple interface where everything feels clear and easy to manage.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to handle personal vs. shared items without making the app confusing. Another challenge was designing notifications and expiration tracking in a way that’s helpful, not annoying. And of course, building a system that updates in real time for multiple users took some thinking and troubleshooting.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that we built something functional that solves a real, everyday problem. We got the barcode scanner working, we built shared inventory logic, and we created a user experience that feels simple — even though the system behind it is pretty complex. Seeing the idea become an actual working prototype felt like a big win for us.

What we learned

We learned a lot — not just technically, but about designing for real people. We learned how important small UI decisions are when multiple people are using one system. We also learned to focus on what actually helps users, not just what sounds cool. And on top of that, we improved how we collaborate and communicate as a team.

What's next for FRIDGE

Advaced features: We’ve talked about things like group invites, more advanced meal planning, and even short video-style recipe walkthroughs you can follow in real time (reel inspired). Our long-term goal is to make FRIDGE the go-to app for anyone living in shared accommodation: making life easier, reducing food waste, and maybe preventing the next forgotten science-experiment Tupperware.

Built With

• gemini
• next.js
• react-native
• tailwind