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FreshTrack

Smart food management for budget-conscious students, tackling UK food waste and financial hardship at once.

Role
Product Designer, UX Researcher, Business Analyst
Type
iOS mobile application
Context
UWE Bristol, Dissertation Project
Model
Freemium, three revenue streams

The problem

UK households waste £14 billion worth of food annually. Yet students, the demographic with the least financial resilience, are among the worst affected. Existing tools either lacked student-specific features or were built around US infrastructure. No single app combined fridge tracking, expiry management, budget-conscious meal planning and shared-accommodation coordination for UK students.

Research & analysis

I approached it as both a designer and a business analyst, grounding the product in evidence before designing a single screen.

  • Macro-environment analysis (PESTLE)
  • Competitive landscape review
  • Customer research through empathy mapping
  • Persona development for budget-stressed UK students

The solution

A freemium iOS app that lets users log their fridge contents, receive AI-powered meal suggestions for items nearing expiry, build smart shopping lists, and coordinate with flatmates. Integration with Tesco and Sainsbury's APIs provided real-time pricing and automatic basket building, turning awareness into action at the moment of purchase.

90% of consumers are aware of food waste, but only 67% actively work to reduce it. FreshTrack bridges that gap.

Outcomes

The dissertation established clear commercial viability alongside the design work.

£781mAddressable market identified
23-37%Target freemium conversion
3Distinct revenue streams

Key partners

  • Tesco API
  • Sainsbury's
  • Lidl / Aldi
  • Universities
  • WRAP (gov)
  • Apple App Store
  • AI / Cloud infra

Key activities

  • AI meal planning
  • Fridge tracking

Key resources

  • AI / ML engine
  • Retailer API access

Value proposition

  • Turn food chaos into organised savings.
  • Save £200-400 / year
  • Zero expired items
  • AI meal suggestions
  • Flatmate coordination
  • UK retailer integration

“Max 30 seconds to log an item.” Simplicity was the #1 success factor.

Customer relationships

  • Freemium self-serve
  • Push notifications

Channels

  • Apple App Store
  • Uni partnerships

Customer segments

  • Students 18-25
  • Shared houses
  • Budget-conscious
  • 2.86m UK students
  • £781m addressable market

Cost structure

  • AI infrastructure & cloud hosting
  • iOS development & maintenance
  • GDPR compliance (est. £340k) · API partnerships · Marketing / UA

Revenue streams

  • Freemium → £4.99 / mo
  • Retailer commission
  • B2B uni licence
  • Conversion target: 23-37% free → paid · Sector CAGR 6.1%

£781m addressable market · £14bn household food waste p/a · £31m gov funding available

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