Should I Build It Should I Build It
08 May 2025
Food & Drink Health & Fitness

what should I eat ? A platform that suggest which food you should eat

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Run Away

Multiple attempts have failed with clear negative feedback. Continuing down this path would likely waste your time and resources when better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

Your idea of a platform to suggest what to eat falls into a crowded space where many have tried and, judging by user feedback, often failed to deliver compelling value. We found 23 similar products, indicating high competition. The engagement, measured by the average number of comments, is also high at 14, suggesting some level of user interest in this space, but the lack of positive signals around use and buy suggests that these products failed to meet user expectations. Given the existing solutions and the challenges they face, launching another generic 'what to eat' platform might not be the best use of your time.

Recommendations

  1. Carefully review the criticism from similar products, particularly the 'Tinder, but to decide what to eat' app, which received a high number of comments (227) and negative feedback. Focus on the reasons users rejected those solutions, such as limited added value, high costs, and missing features like recipes and sharing options. Avoid making the same mistakes.
  2. Rather than directly suggesting 'what to eat,' explore related problems that your skills might solve. Consider a more specific niche, like dietary restrictions (as seen with 'Food For Blood Pressure') or international menu translation (as seen with 'Fork Wise'). A narrower focus may lead to a more valuable and appreciated product.
  3. If you've already built some technology for this idea, evaluate if it could be repurposed for a different, more promising application. For example, if you developed an algorithm for suggesting meals, could it be adapted for a specific dietary need or to analyze nutritional content more accurately?
  4. Talk to at least three people who have used similar food suggestion products. Understand their frustrations, unmet needs, and what they truly desire from such a tool. Their insights will be invaluable in shaping a new, more successful approach.
  5. Instead of focusing on a broad 'what to eat' suggestion, consider building tools for specific dietary needs. 'Food For Blood Pressure' found success by targeting hypertension sufferers. Explore other health conditions or dietary restrictions where a tailored food assistant could provide significant value.
  6. Since recipe and shopping list features were well-received in similar products like 'MealGuide,' think about how you could expand on these features. Perhaps integrate with grocery delivery services or offer personalized recipe recommendations based on dietary preferences and available ingredients.

Questions

  1. Given the criticisms of existing 'what to eat' apps (lack of features, unjustified subscription models), what specific, unique value proposition would your platform offer to justify its existence and attract users?
  2. Considering the success of niche products like 'Food For Blood Pressure,' what specific dietary need or health condition could you target to create a more focused and valuable food suggestion tool?
  3. How will you address the potential technical challenges, such as accurately determining sugar and oil content (as highlighted in the 'AI Diet Companion' feedback), to ensure your platform provides reliable and trustworthy nutritional information?

Your are here

Your idea of a platform to suggest what to eat falls into a crowded space where many have tried and, judging by user feedback, often failed to deliver compelling value. We found 23 similar products, indicating high competition. The engagement, measured by the average number of comments, is also high at 14, suggesting some level of user interest in this space, but the lack of positive signals around use and buy suggests that these products failed to meet user expectations. Given the existing solutions and the challenges they face, launching another generic 'what to eat' platform might not be the best use of your time.

Recommendations

  1. Carefully review the criticism from similar products, particularly the 'Tinder, but to decide what to eat' app, which received a high number of comments (227) and negative feedback. Focus on the reasons users rejected those solutions, such as limited added value, high costs, and missing features like recipes and sharing options. Avoid making the same mistakes.
  2. Rather than directly suggesting 'what to eat,' explore related problems that your skills might solve. Consider a more specific niche, like dietary restrictions (as seen with 'Food For Blood Pressure') or international menu translation (as seen with 'Fork Wise'). A narrower focus may lead to a more valuable and appreciated product.
  3. If you've already built some technology for this idea, evaluate if it could be repurposed for a different, more promising application. For example, if you developed an algorithm for suggesting meals, could it be adapted for a specific dietary need or to analyze nutritional content more accurately?
  4. Talk to at least three people who have used similar food suggestion products. Understand their frustrations, unmet needs, and what they truly desire from such a tool. Their insights will be invaluable in shaping a new, more successful approach.
  5. Instead of focusing on a broad 'what to eat' suggestion, consider building tools for specific dietary needs. 'Food For Blood Pressure' found success by targeting hypertension sufferers. Explore other health conditions or dietary restrictions where a tailored food assistant could provide significant value.
  6. Since recipe and shopping list features were well-received in similar products like 'MealGuide,' think about how you could expand on these features. Perhaps integrate with grocery delivery services or offer personalized recipe recommendations based on dietary preferences and available ingredients.

Questions

  1. Given the criticisms of existing 'what to eat' apps (lack of features, unjustified subscription models), what specific, unique value proposition would your platform offer to justify its existence and attract users?
  2. Considering the success of niche products like 'Food For Blood Pressure,' what specific dietary need or health condition could you target to create a more focused and valuable food suggestion tool?
  3. How will you address the potential technical challenges, such as accurately determining sugar and oil content (as highlighted in the 'AI Diet Companion' feedback), to ensure your platform provides reliable and trustworthy nutritional information?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 23
  • Engagement: High
    • Average number of comments: 14
  • Net use signal: -12.8%
    • Positive use signal: 6.6%
    • Negative use signal: 19.4%
  • Net buy signal: -18.3%
    • Positive buy signal: 1.9%
    • Negative buy signal: 20.1%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

Tinder, but to decide what to eat

03 Nov 2024 Dating

Hello HN,My girlfriend and I waste too much energy to decide what to eat. Every day, we would text each other, "what do we eat tonight" messages, and go over options and many times spend too much time on deciding. I am an indie dev and created this app to solve my own problem: decide with my girlfriend what to eat for dinner.Initially, I created a simple app, in which we listed all the recipes we ever prepared, and it would propose randomly three of them. We would then choose together one of them. This app[0] turned into a tinder-like app, which would propose every day a set of recipes to my girlfriend and me - we would swipe and go for the first match.If have some time, give it a try and feedback is very appreciated!Cheers, Kiru[0] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/meal-planner-dinner-ideas/id64...

The Show HN product has been criticized for limited added value, high cost, and a lack of features such as complete recipes, sharing options, and restaurant listings. Users find the subscription model unjustified and prefer a one-time purchase. The app is seen as basic, with a shallow experience that doesn't justify the price. There are concerns about the effectiveness of the algorithm, the practicality of the swipe feature, and the app's appeal to different demographics. Additionally, there are technical issues like crashes and a lack of cross-platform availability.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Tajnymag

I see how that isn't a pocket money amount of cash. However, that's still a price I would be willing to pay to have a single shot try at the event. I might actually try it this month.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=rafamvc

I think there is a market. I pay for mealime monthly, I don't even know how much it costs. The cost of an app to help the family choose a dinner menu instead of eating out is worth it. Not only for money savings, but for health as well.One of the best features is to streamline the online ordering from the app.It works very well.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=CrazyStat

If the price was reasonable (less than ten cents in this case), absolutely.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Y_Y

This is actually a great idea. Lots of subscriptions just pay for a thing to be available. Netflix will tell you "sleeping giants" who never watch are ok, because the content was made available, but I think that's BS. I'd love to see a system where you're only billed on the months that you use it. Or even just charge me a dollar per use with a monthly cap of ten after which the rest of the month is free.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Kwpolska

I would benefit from the app myself, primarily. And I would need to pay to host it anyway. Others may also make use of it, with no warranty, and no guarantee of me keeping the service running for any length of time.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=woodylondon

I like the idea and face the same challenge. I’ve just installed it and, from my first impressions, it seemed a bit basic. Here’s what I expected:Hundreds of recipes that I could swipe left and right through, allowing me to build up a typical selection of what I would usually eat. Instead, I was presented with only three choices, none of which I would generally consider.A simple way to send the code to my wife — via imessage, Telegram, etc. Instead, I had to tell her in person! :)This presents the perfect opportunity to delve into shopping lists where the wife wants something healthy, and the I crave a burger. I can think of quite a few features you could add if the app develops further.Also, like the comment below about having a stranger over for dinner (not for dating purposes), it could involve a couple or someone visiting a new country who would appreciate a local showing them around and perhaps covering the dinner cost. Once the app learns your food preferences and interests, that could be quite exciting! There might already be an app that does this; I’m not sure. Swiping left and right on both food likes / dislikes and also general interests.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=kassner

I understand that and I’m all ears for suggestions!AFAIK I’m the only user, and our household doesn’t have issues with that. We also don’t have complete recipes, because we are pretty decent with cooking and coming up with stuff, so the main use is for idea generation and making some decision.Recipes like “meatballs with mashed potatoes”, if we don’t have cream to make the mash, you either exclude the cream, or you can just decide “meatballs” is good enough of a suggestion and make some spaghetti to go with it. The idea was to aid us getting over the indecision hill, and for that it has been pretty great.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dotancohen

Noted, thank you.Singing up now...

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=tourmalinetaco

> I would personally open a chatGPT session and tell what I have eaten today or this week and should suggest from the history when I need it.Honestly, an interesting idea. Finetune Llama on a bunch of nutrition info and it can help you find out what micros you’re missing and maybe even find recipes to help your macros

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dirkc

Nice app, I really like the idea! Let me know if you need help getting the Android app through the closed testing, happy to install and test!

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=0b01

For me I like to use a tournament tracker.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=casta

I'm not organized at all! The deck of cards idea sounds much better than the spreadsheet, I might print them!For the "who can cook them" in the spreadsheet, I guess it's just a matter of what we're used to cook. I'm from Italy, she's from Malawi, I'm sure I could cook 'nsima and she could cook polenta.

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Relevance

MealGuide - Healthy, mindful eating starts here

21 Apr 2023 Android Dieting Health & Fitness

A nutritionist consultation and healthy recipes app that takes away the taboo around 'dieting'. With the help of 1600+ recipes and qualified nutritionists, we help cure lifestyle diseases while helping people get healthy and fit.

The Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with users congratulating the team and expressing excitement about the features. The recipes feature was specifically highlighted as cool and enticing for users to try. The recipes-to-shopping list functionality was lauded as a great feature, prompting immediate downloads. Overall, the product is viewed as a great idea for cookbook management, inspiration, and shopping list organization.

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Eato – provides personalized restaurant and dish recommendations

06 Nov 2023 Food & Drink

Eato is an app that curates restaurant AND dish recommendations based on the user's specific food taste.Finding new restaurants is time-consuming, especially for picky foodies who are new to a place. Personally, I only trust the recommendations of friends who share the taste in food as me. However, if I can't rely on personal recommendations (from friends, family, locals), I have to experiment a lot in order to find a good food spot, wasting both time and money. The goal of this app is to recommend places you are guaranteed to like by taking into account the type of food you grew up eating, type of flavors you gravitate towards, etc.The beta app is now live (for Seattle, WA only) and we're looking for some feedback.Backend logic: The app requires the user to answer an initial survey about specific food habits. Eato then matches you with users with similar responses and displays those users’ fav restaurants and dishes. This does, however, require the user to do some work. If you're a foodie and have faced this problem, I would love to hear your feedback!Check out our Instagram eato.app if you want to hear about app updates and information :)

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Fork Wise - Eating out? Scan your menu!

11 Oct 2024 Food & Drink Health & Fitness

Dining out? Snap a picture of the menu wherever it may be (even a board!) - our AI will neatly show you the best choices based on nutrients, health goals, allergies etc.

Users are interested in features like translating non-English menus and allergy customization. The allergy feature is particularly appealing, as it helps users avoid awkward restaurant situations. There seems to be interest in broader language support within the app.

The primary criticism raised concerns the lack of translation features for international menus. Users are looking for the capability to translate menus in different languages.

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Munchy – Automated Diet Planning Website

04 Jan 2024 Health & Fitness

I'm working on an automated diet planning app and I'd love to get your thoughts on it. You tell it about your diet and lifestyle, and it crafts personalized meal plans. It's still a work in progress - we are missing food item images in the sub-menus, and it can stumble on strict diets.We're using a donation model to keep it community-focused. That way, we are building for it to be genuinely useful for everyone here.https://buy.stripe.com/28o29a2uReDB87K4ggAs this is my first project of this kind, I'm excited to share the journey with you. If you're interested in following the progress and getting regular updates, feel free to join our Discord server:https://discord.gg/4VbseGpgI really appreciate any kind of feedback on this, and look forward to hearing it!

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