Fridge App

Inspiration

A couple of months ago, I had the idea of building an app where you could update your fridge. Just log what you have and see it visually. In theory, it felt cool. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt pointless. It was what I would call a featureless feature. Okay, I update my fridge in an app. Then what. What does that actually help me accomplish. It felt like a game with no reward. So I dropped it.

A few weeks later, I saw a tweet showing a UI concept for something similar. People were genuinely interested. That surprised me. I struggle with validating ideas because I am not big on social media, so I do not get strong feedback when I post. I usually just build without validation. But seeing real interest made me rethink it.

Around that same time, I found this hackathon, and recipes were part of the conversation. The fridge idea came back, but this time it made sense. The fridge alone was pointless. The fridge connected to recipes was not. Most people do not know what they have in their kitchen at any given time. You cannot keep checking your recipe list to see what you can cook. So the idea became simple. Build a fridge and pantry system that connects directly to recipes, so you always know what you can actually make with what you already have.

That was the real inspiration.

What it does

Fridge App helps you save recipes from anywhere on the internet, then actually turn those saved recipes into something you cook.

Right now, you can save recipes from different places, organize them in your recipe book, and track what you already have in your kitchen using the fridge and pantry inventory. Instead of guessing, you can see what you have and connect it to what you want to make.

It also includes a grocery list feature, so when you are missing ingredients for a recipe, you can quickly add what you need and shop intentionally, instead of doing random grocery runs.

The whole point is to connect three things that usually feel disconnected. What you saved, what you have, and what you need.

How I built it

I built the app using Expo for the mobile app, Supabase for authentication and database management, and RevenueCat for subscriptions.

The hardest part was designing the fridge itself. There was nothing on the App Store that I could use as a reference. A realistic fridge does not translate directly into a functional app component. At first, it looked flat and awkward. I considered using an image, but I knew it would not scale properly across devices. So I built it manually, drawing lines, adjusting shadows, and carefully calculating spacing so it would scale correctly on different screen sizes.

The fridge design went through at least five major iterations. I constantly switched between Figma and code, redesigning while also planning how the database should be structured. I had to think about UI and backend at the same time because everything was connected.

This was also my first time integrating Apple Sign In, Google Sign In, and in app subscriptions. I had to learn how App Store Connect works, how to configure entitlements, how sandbox testing behaves, and how RevenueCat ties everything together. I also built streaks, onboarding flows, sound feedback, and an in app tutorial for the first time.

A lot of this project required me to move fast and learn at the same time.

Challenges I ran into

The fridge design was the biggest challenge. Balancing proportions, shadows, and responsiveness without any reference took days of adjustment.

Generating consistent food icons was another challenge. Because of time limits, I used AI to create them, but maintaining a consistent style was difficult. Even with the same prompts, the results varied. That was frustrating from a design perspective.

I also attempted to build my own server to handle recipe transcript extraction. It worked once and then stopped working. I spent days on a solution that never made it into the final app.

RevenueCat and Apple sandbox testing were also difficult. Tests would fail, then suddenly work, then fail again. Debugging under time pressure was stressful.

Even small things like the confetti animation took more time than expected.

The worst one was figuring out sharing.

Accomplishments that i am proud of

I am proud that this is not just a concept. It is functional and ready to go live.

I am proud of the fridge component itself because it is fully responsive and intentionally designed.

I am proud that I pushed through complicated parts like authentication, payments, and App Store configuration instead of avoiding them.

Most of all, I am proud that I turned an idea I once considered pointless into something that actually solves a real problem.

What i learned

I learned that publishing an app is very different from just building one.

I learned how important proper database planning is when you intend for a product to scale.

I learned that many recipe sites follow structured formats that make integration easier than I originally assumed.

Most importantly, I learned that sometimes an idea is not bad, it is just incomplete. The fridge alone was not useful. The fridge connected to recipes is.

What's next for Fridge App

The next step is to make everything feel more coherent, more consistent, and more like the design I actually wanted. Because of time, I had to move fast, and I did not get to polish the UI the way I normally would. So I want to tighten the design system, improve consistency across food items and icons, and make the overall experience feel cleaner and more intentional.

I also want to gamify it more. More rewarding moments, better streak logic, better progress tracking, and more of that feeling that you are building something over time.

Onboarding is another big one. I want it to feel smoother and smarter so people understand the value immediately, without feeling like they are doing setup work.

Feature wise, I want to expand the recipe side, add more recipes, improve saving, and grow the food items database so inventory tracking feels unlimited.

Then the bigger future feature is suggestions. The app should be able to prompt you with recipes you can make based on what you already have, so you stop forgetting what is in your kitchen and stop letting good food waste.

Finally, I want to connect the grocery list to real shopping. Integrations with Instacart, Amazon, and similar platforms, plus coupons and deals, so you can go from recipe to grocery cart in a few taps. And later on, add a social layer where people can make recipes public, share them, and build off each other.

Overall, the next phase is polish, coherence, more motivation, and a smarter loop that makes you actually cook.

Built With

• expo.io
• straico
• supabase
• supadata