SmartBite - A Smart Meal Planning & Pantry Management Tool

SmartBite is a mobile-first meal planning application designed to reduce daily decision fatigue around cooking by helping users plan meals, manage pantry ingredients, and shop smarter—all in one seamless experience. The project was created as part of a UX design and prototyping assignment, with the objective of solving a real, recurring problem faced by working professionals and families: deciding what to cook every day without wasting time, money, or food.

Problem & Product Opportunity

Users struggle daily with deciding meals after long workdays, often defaulting to ordering food despite having ingredients at home. This leads to stress, overspending, and food wastage. SmartBite addresses three core problems:

“What’s for dinner?” decision paralysis

Lack of visibility into existing pantry ingredients

Time constraints that make meal planning feel overwhelming rather than helpful

The product positions itself as a low-effort, intelligent assistant that simplifies meal decisions instead of adding complexity.

Research & UX Fit

The research focused on understanding how users make meal decisions and what prevents them from planning consistently. From a UX perspective, SmartBite demonstrated strong product fit by:

Solving a daily, high-frequency problem

Offering personalized suggestions based on pantry items and calendar preferences

Encouraging habit formation through weekly planners and “Surprise Me” features

Being optimized for quick, mobile-first interactions for users on the go.

Personas & User Needs

Two primary personas were identified:

Working Professionals (Bachelors) who value convenience, cook infrequently, and dislike planning

Working Professionals with Families who plan meals ahead, value health and structure, but need simplicity

Each persona highlighted different adoption barriers, such as perceived effort, app complexity, and lack of time, which directly informed feature design and prioritization.

Key User Flows

The product defined three core user journeys:

Instant “What’s for Dinner?” Flow – quick meal suggestions, recipe viewing, cooking completion, and progress tracking

Pantry Management Flow – adding, tracking, filtering, and managing ingredients with expiry and storage insights

Shopping List Flow – categorized grocery lists, progress tracking, priority marking, and online ordering integration

These flows were designed to move users smoothly from uncertainty to action with minimal friction.

Testing, Feedback & Iteration

The prototype was tested with multiple users across different roles and age groups. Feedback was evaluated using the UUD framework (Usefulness, Usability, Delightfulness). While users found the app highly useful and intuitive, opportunities for improvement were identified around personalization, engagement, and flexibility.

Key Refinements Implemented

Based on feedback, major enhancements included:

Favourites and “Cook Again” quick-access sections

One-click addition of missing ingredients to grocery delivery apps

Improved recipe visibility and clearer cooking instructions

Calendar-based meal tracking and skip vs cook insights

A built-in AI-powered chatbot to assist with meal planning, recipe queries, and guidance

These refinements significantly improved usability, personalization, and overall user confidence in using the app regularly.

Overall Outcome

SmartBite evolved into a personalized, intelligent meal-planning assistant that reduces cognitive load, minimizes food waste, and fits naturally into busy lifestyles. The project demonstrates strong skills in user research, persona creation, UX flow design, prototyping, usability testing, and iterative product improvement, making it highly relevant for product management and UX-driven roles.

Prototype Link: https://riff-reply-17414021.figma.site/