What it does
Eato is a mobile calorie and nutrition tracker that aims to simplify weight loss. Its core function revolves around an AI-powered food scanner that identifies meal components to log calories and macronutrients automatically. The app guides users through an extensive onboarding quiz to create a personalized diet plan based on their goals, biometrics, and lifestyle. It then provides tools to track daily food intake, exercise, and water consumption to maintain a calorie deficit.
Where it shines
Eato’s strength lies in its meticulously crafted onboarding experience. It transforms a potentially tedious data-entry process into a journey of self-discovery and motivation. At 00:48, the app introduces 'Behind the question' prompts, which build trust by explaining why certain data is needed. Later, at 01:27, it provides dynamic, encouraging feedback as the user sets their target weight. The entire flow is designed to build a strong sense of personalization and investment before the user even reaches the main dashboard.
UX highlights
- AI Food Scanning Demo: The app opens with a compelling demonstration of its core AI scanning feature (00:11), immediately showing its primary value.
- Transparent Data Collection: Small, expandable sections explain the rationale behind each quiz question (e.g., 00:56), which fosters user trust.
- Gamified Upsells: After the initial onboarding, the app uses a 'Lucky Draw' spinning wheel (05:32) and other escalating offers to make the subscription process feel more engaging and less transactional.
- Clear Daily Dashboard: The main dashboard (08:50) offers a clean, at-a-glance view of calorie intake, remaining budget, and macro progress, making daily tracking straightforward.
- Manual Logging Depth: When adding a custom food, the app provides an extensive list of optional nutrient fields (07:02), catering to both casual and power users.
- Contextual Help: The 'Behind the question' pattern is reused throughout the app, such as when asking about snacking guilt (02:37), consistently reinforcing the app's helpful, transparent tone.
Monetization & growth
Monetization is a central and sophisticated part of the Eato experience. The app employs a multi-stage paywall funnel immediately after onboarding. It starts with a standard subscription offer (04:47), but if the user hesitates, it triggers a series of escalating promotions. This includes a 'Newcomer Gift' pop-up offering 20% off (05:01), which is then 'boosted' to a 60% discount with a countdown timer to create urgency (05:08). For users who still don't convert, a gamified 'Lucky Draw' wheel (05:32) provides another opportunity with a potential 70% discount. The strategy is clearly to maximize conversion through layers of psychological triggers: discounts, urgency, and gamification.
Who it’s for
The app appears to be designed for individuals who are serious about starting a weight loss journey but may have been overwhelmed by traditional calorie counting. The guided, educational onboarding suggests a target audience that appreciates structure and understanding the 'why' behind their diet plan. The AI scanning feature appeals to users looking for convenience and a lower-friction way to log meals compared to manual searching. The detailed tracking and reporting cater to data-driven users who want to monitor their macro and micronutrient intake closely.
Notes & opportunities
The onboarding, while comprehensive, is extremely long. At over four minutes, the sheer number of questions could be a significant point of friction, potentially causing high user drop-off before they ever see the core product. While the app attempts to mitigate this with reinforcements and explanations, testing a shorter, more streamlined version could be a valuable experiment. Additionally, the post-onboarding paywall sequence is aggressive; while likely effective, it could feel overwhelming for some users and might benefit from being toned down or delayed until after the user has logged their first meal.