3x Faster AI Feature Iteration for Smart Pantry
Project Type
Web-Based AI Meal Recommendation System
Industry
Hospitality
Tech Stack
ABOUT THE CLIENT
Smart Pantry is a next-generation AI-powered pantry and meal intelligence platform focused on transforming how people decide what to cook with what they already have. At its core, Smart Pantry helps users digitize their pantry and, based on the ingredients available, provides personalized suggestions on what meals they can prepare.
*All names and logos have been changed to respect the NDA
OVERVIEW
GeekyAnts partnered with Smart Pantry from an early stage to conceptualize, design, and develop an end-to-end personalized meal recommendation system. The project involved building an AI-first consumer experience that could intelligently recommend meals based on user preferences, pantry inputs, and evolving behavior.
Key challenges included creating accurate personalization logic, handling unstructured food data (images, recipes, ingredients), and ensuring recommendations felt culturally relevant rather than generic. Through a combination of AI modeling, thoughtful UX design, and scalable engineering, we are helping Smart Pantry launch a robust MVP capable of real-world usage and rapid iteration.
The solution enabled faster user onboarding, higher engagement, and a strong foundation for future monetization and AI-led feature expansion.
Reduction in meal decision time
Increase in daily active usage during pilot
Faster iteration on new AI-driven features
BUSINESS
REQUIREMENT
The client’s vision was to reduce food waste, eliminate daily meal decision fatigue, and make home cooking smarter and more intuitive. Their long-term goal is to build a scalable consumer platform that becomes the default AI pantry companion for households globally, starting with Indian households.
The client needed a differentiated consumer product that could:
- Deliver meaningful personalization from day one
- Handle complex food-related data inputs seamlessly
- Scale AI recommendations as the user base grows
Key Requirements
The business goals included:
1. Creating a highly personalized meal recommendation engine
2. Reducing user friction in deciding daily meals
3. Building a scalable MVP ready for investor demos and user growth
SOLUTION
GeekyAnts proposed a full-stack AI-driven solution that combined an intuitive consumer UX with a robust recommendation backend.
1. Designed a personalized onboarding flow to capture food preferences, dietary restrictions, and lifestyle inputs
2. Built an AI-powered recommendation engine leveraging LLMs and rule-based intelligence for culturally relevant meal suggestions
3. Developed a scalable mobile-first platform with a modular architecture to support rapid experimentation and feature rollout
CHALLENGES
IN EXECUTION
& SOLUTIONS
In building this platform, we addressed the core problem of providing accurate personalization from limited data by designing a progressive profiling system that improves recommendations as users interact. To ensure the cultural relevance of AI recommendations, we combined AI outputs with specific domain rules so that meals consistently aligned with regional and cultural expectations. We also solved the difficulty of handling unstructured food inputs by building flexible data models that support images, text-based recipes, and ingredient lists without rigid constraints. Finally, we ensured the scalability of AI workflows by architecting the system to support rapid experimentation and growth without requiring a rework of the core platform.
Accurate Personalization from Limited Data
1
Cultural Relevance of AI Recommendations
2
Handling Unstructured Food Inputs
3
Scalability of AI Workflows
4
OUR APPROACH
To ensure predictable delivery and strong technical foundations, we followed a milestone-driven, discovery-first approach.
- Product discovery & requirement deep-dive
- UX/UI design & rapid prototyping
- AI architecture & recommendation logic design
- MVP development & integration
- Testing, iteration, and launch readiness
Product Discovery & AI Feasibility
- Conducted detailed discussions to understand user personas, eating habits, and cultural nuances
- Defined personalization dimensions such as diet type, cuisine preference, ingredient availability, and time constraints
- Evaluated AI feasibility for recommendations, image-based inputs, and natural language interactions
UX & Experience Design
- Designed intuitive onboarding flows to minimize user effort while maximizing personalization signals
- Created meal recommendation screens that felt assistive, not prescriptive
- Ensured the experience remained simple despite complex AI logic underneath
AI Recommendation Engine Development
- Implemented AI-driven meal suggestions using LLMs combined with deterministic logic
- Structured food data to handle recipes, ingredients, and nutritional metadata
- Continuously refined recommendation quality through feedback loops
Mobile & Backend Engineering
- Built a scalable backend to support personalization and AI workflows
- Developed a high-performance React Native mobile application
- Ensured clean APIs and modular services for future integrations
Step Testing, Iteration & Launch Support
- Conducted extensive QA across devices and real-world food scenarios
- Iterated on recommendation quality based on early user feedback
- Prepared the platform for beta rollout and investor demonstrations
PROJECT
RESULTS
The final delivery positioned Smart Pantry as an investor-ready MVP and a strong, AI-first consumer product ready for market validation. By delivering within planned timelines, the platform demonstrated how AI can meaningfully reduce daily decision fatigue around food while maintaining a delightful user experience.
Reduction in meal decision time
Increase in daily active usage during pilot
Faster iteration on new AI-driven features
OTHER CASE STUDIES
Chronicle Stream: Video Journalism Platform Modernization
Chronicle Stream Modernization: Achieved 20x faster search and 1s publish times. See how GeekyAnts built a scalable video journalism platform with React and Node.js.
NowMatch: Next-Gen Dating & Social App
See how GeekyAnts developed NowMatch, a next-gen, scalable cross-platform social & dating app for the DACH market using Flutter, GraphQL, and Firebase.
SaaS Solution for Digi Vendor: Simplifying Vending Management
GeekyAnts built a SaaS platform for Digi Vendor using Next.js & Supabase—delivered in 12 weeks with 100% on-time launch, automation, and seamless user and admin experiences.