Herb Verse

home screen (user)
product screen (user)
checkout screen (user)
orders (user)
profile screen (user)
Home Screen (Vendor)
order (Vendor)
profile screen (Vendor)
products (Vendor)

🌿 About the Project: HerbVerse

HerbVerse is a cross-platform mobile app built to support both herbal product customers and local vendors. The app lets wellness seekers discover and purchase natural remedies, while enabling vendors to manage their products, track orders, and view their earnings — all in a streamlined, mobile-first experience.

🚀 Inspiration

The idea was born from the increasing global interest in natural wellness and the lack of a centralized, mobile-friendly space where customers and small herbal vendors can connect. We envisioned a digital marketplace tailored for herbs, oils, teas, and more — accessible, cleanly designed, and functional for both sides of the equation.

🧠 What We Learned

Throughout this project, we deepened our understanding of:

Designing scalable cross-platform apps using React Native and Expo.
Managing multi-role flows (Customer & Vendor) with context-aware navigation.
Structuring projects with Expo Router for clarity and maintainability.
Integrating real-time Firebase Authentication and Firestore.
Creating intuitive e-commerce UI/UX experiences optimized for mobile.

🛠️ How We Built It

Frontend: React Native with Expo, styled using custom components and Lucide icons.
Routing: Expo Router (nested layouts for separate user flows).
State Management: Context API for cart, auth, and user state.
Backend: Firebase Auth + Firestore (no Firebase Storage).
Data Models: Products, Orders, and Users are stored and fetched dynamically.
Roles: Role-based screen access for Vendors vs Customers (via Firestore fields).

⏳ Time Constraints & Trade-offs

This app was developed as part of a fast-paced hackathon, and our goal was to demonstrate core functionality — not to ship a polished production app. Some features (like vendor product images, admin tools, or payment integration) were either mocked or left minimal due to time limitations and Firebase storage unavailability. These are conscious trade-offs made to focus energy on building a working prototype that shows off:

A clean customer experience (browse > add to cart > view orders).
A basic vendor dashboard (manage products > view incoming orders).
Seamless navigation and role-based logic in a shared codebase.

⚠️ Challenges We Faced

Firebase Storage wasn’t available, so image uploads were excluded for now.
TypeScript type issues and 3rd-party library quirks slowed us down early on.
Balancing two flows (customer & vendor) in one app within time constraints.
Debugging platform-specific inconsistencies while testing across devices.

✅ Final Thoughts

This is a functional demo, created with care and purpose. While some features are simplified or mocked, the core architecture is strong and expandable. With more time and resources, HerbVerse can easily scale into a complete herbal commerce ecosystem.

We’re proud of what we built in a short span — and we hope it shows!