OVERVIEW
Together with a fellow student, I created Eco-Eats, a smart and sustainable food app that helps reduce food waste. The app recognizes leftover ingredients and suggests recipes based on what users already have at home. Our goal was to inspire people to cook in a more sustainable, efficient, and creative way.
THE CHALLENGE
For the course Future Design, we were free to choose our own topic. After researching global food waste issues, we found that consumers in wealthy countries waste an average of 100 kilograms of food per person each year (Wikipedia, 2023). This insight formed the foundation for our concept: an app that turns leftovers into valuable meals.
Common causes of food waste include forgotten supplies, oversized packaging, and a lack of inspiration. Most existing solutions focus on awareness or single recipes, but few combine technology, convenience, and behavior change. Our challenge was to design a concept that was practical, user-friendly, and sustainable while motivating users to make use of their leftovers.
THE SOLUTION
We designed Eco-Eats, an interactive app and prototype that recognizes leftover ingredients and offers personalized recipe suggestions. The design process went through several phases, from moodboards, mind maps, and sketches to storyboards, wireframes, and finally a high-fidelity prototype. At the same time, we developed the brand identity (logo, colors, and typography) and the UI design. Key features of the app include:
Product Recognition: Using camera input and AI technology (Google Teachable Machine + TensorFlow).
Smart Fridge Integration: Raspberry Pi and camera setup for automatic inventory tracking.
Recipe Suggestions: Tailored to price, difficulty level, and dietary preferences.
Shopping List Integration: Automatically adds missing ingredients to a grocery list.
THE RESULT
The final result was an interactive app supported by a Raspberry Pi setup for product recognition.
User feedback was positive, particularly about the app’s usability and innovative concept. Eco-Eats encourages creativity by turning leftovers into new recipes, helping users cut waste, save money, and contribute to a more sustainable food system.
Eco-Eats was well received and showcased as an innovative example of future literacy in design within education.
