Freshly

Cutting food waste. Growing your savings.

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Inspiration

This app idea came from a problem my wife and I kept running into — we were always throwing out food because we’d forget about expiration dates, or we’d come back from the store with stuff we already had at home. It was frustrating to waste food and money like that, so we wanted an easy way to keep track of what we had and what we actually needed. That’s how this project got started.

What it does

The app helps you keep track of the food you have at home so you can see what’s about to expire and avoid letting things go to waste. You just log your groceries, and it gives you reminders before stuff goes bad. It also helps you check what you already have so you don’t end up buying the same thing twice. Simple, practical, and designed to save you money and reduce food waste without any extra hassle.

P.S. App doesn't store any data on Back-End right now, everything is stored locally on your phone. All the photos uploaded for scanning to Back-End are removed after product scan is completed. Privacy is top priority.

How we built it

I've built the app using a mix of tools that would keep it simple, fast and easy to use. The backend is powered by Node.js, which handles product recognition with the help of Google Gemini AI, while the frontend is built with React Native and Expo, so it works smoothly on both Android and iOS. I've focused on a clean, user-friendly design, so adding items and checking expiration dates feels quick and effortless.

Challenges we ran into

It was a bit tricky to get the right answers and come up with the right response format from Gemini AI at the beginning. Prompt needed to be adjusted a lot. Preparing demo for the project wasn't an easy thing to do, I needed to come up with the right idea, scenario and film editing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am really proud that I've turned a small, everyday frustration into a working app that actually helps reduce food waste. The app is easy to use, does what we hoped it would, and has already saved us from tossing out some food.

What we learned

One of the big things I learned during this project was how to work effectively with AI tools - Bolt.new and Google Gemini. Writing clear, focused prompts made a huge difference in getting helpful code suggestions, ideas, and even design feedback. I also learned how important it is to balance features with simplicity — it’s easy to overcomplicate things, but keeping the app clean and easy to use was key.

What's next for Freshly

There’s a huge roadmap ahead for this app. First up is fixing bugs and making optimizations to keep everything running smoothly. After that, we want to add more useful features — like letting users mark when a product has been opened, so the app can adjust the expiration date, or giving the option to manually add items to the list when automatic scanning didn't work.

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