MADE IT

MADE IT connects what you see online with what you have in your kitchen and what you need from the store—so food inspiration actually becomes a meal. See it. Got it. Need it. Made it.

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Inspiration

This project was sparked by Eitan Bernath’s Shipyard brief, which immediately resonated with my own experience as a home cook who has many cookbooks and bookmarks but found myself looking up recipes online in the moment of cooking. I constantly find great food ideas online, only to forget them later or realize I'm missing key ingredients, so this inspired idea quickly turned into something I could see myself using regularly.

As Eitan's pointed out, the real problem/friction wasn’t a lack of inspiration — it's the gap between seeing a recipe and actually making it.

What it does

MADE IT turns food inspiration into real meals using a simple, human flow:

See it (the recipe) → Got it (ingredients you already have) → Need it (ingredients you need to source) → Made it (the recipe is made)

Users can paste a recipe or food video, check what ingredients they already have, instantly see what they’re missing, and generate a grocery list to complete the meal. MADE IT starts with what’s already in your kitchen, making cooking more practical and less overwhelming. InstaCart integration was a natural evolution. The entire product was designed so users can understand what to do within seconds of opening the app.

How we built it

Flutter mobile app with a cloud-powered backend, designed for speed and cross-platform compatibility.

TOOLS/TECH STACK

  • Visual Studio Code
  • GitHub Co-Pilot
  • Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Storage) for user management, got it/pantry state persistence, and recipe data
  • Flutter for iOS/Android with a single codebase
  • OpenAI for assisted ingredient extraction from recipe links, barcodes, images, etc...
  • Riverpod for clean state management across the app
  • go_router for declarative navigation between GOT IT, NEED IT, and MADE IT flows
  • Dio & HTTP for recipe parsing and ingredient extraction from URLs
  • AI-assisted parsing to extract structured ingredients from inconsistent recipe formats
  • Camera/Image Picker to enable future barcode/photo-based pantry additions
  • RevenueCat integrated for future monetization (premium features, grocery integrations)

Challenges we ran into

  • Inconsistent recipe formats across videos, blogs, and posts
  • Balancing feature ideas with the need to keep the core flow simple
  • Designing an interface that felt intuitive without explanation

These challenges pushed us to prioritize clarity and focus over feature depth.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Shipping a fully functional mobile app within the hackathon timeline
  • Creating a clear, memorable product language that guides the user naturally
  • Successfully bridging digital inspiration with real-world cooking behavior

Most importantly, we built something we genuinely want to use ourselves.

What we learned

  • People don’t need more recipes — they need less friction
  • Simple language can be more powerful than complex features
  • Strong product narratives help guide both UX and development decisions

We also learned the importance of focusing on one great loop and executing it well.

What's next for MADE IT

Future iterations of MADE IT could include:

  • Cookbook indexing and creator-curated collections
  • Grocery delivery integrations
  • Smart pantry reminders and improving meal planning
  • Social sharing of meals users have MADE

At its core, MADE IT will always focus on one goal: turning inspiration into action.

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