What it does
ReciMe is a comprehensive digital cookbook and meal planning tool designed to centralize a user's cooking life. The app's primary function is to import recipes from anywhere, whether it's a website link, a photo of a cookbook page, or manually typed text. Once imported, recipes can be organized into custom cookbooks, added to a weekly meal planner, and used to automatically generate categorized grocery lists.
Where it shines
ReciMe shines in its seamless workflow from recipe discovery to meal preparation. The recipe import process is a great example. At 02:53, the user performs a simple web search for "Carbonara," taps a link, and hits the "Import to ReciMe" button. The app intelligently parses the webpage and presents a clean, structured recipe in seconds (03:26). Another standout moment is the integration of AI. At 05:43, the app offers to substitute ingredients or make a recipe easier, transforming a static recipe into a dynamic cooking guide.
UX highlights
- Multiple Import Options: The app provides several ways to add recipes, including a browser, camera scan, and pasting text (02:51), catering to different user contexts.
- Celebratory Feedback: Successful actions, like importing a recipe (00:47) or marking one as cooked (05:03), are met with playful confetti animations that create a positive user experience.
- Smart Grocery Lists: Ingredients are automatically categorized by aisle (e.g., "Fresh Produce," "Dairy, Eggs & Fridge" at 11:17), which simplifies the shopping experience.
- Cook Step-by-Step Mode: The app offers a focused, step-by-step cooking mode (05:22) that breaks down instructions into single, manageable cards, reducing cognitive load in the kitchen.
- Serving Size Adjustment: Users can easily scale recipe ingredients up or down by adjusting the serving size (03:40), and the app recalculates all quantities automatically.
- Pantry-Based Filtering: The cookbook view includes a powerful filter to find recipes based on ingredients the user already has (07:37), helping to reduce food waste and answer the "what can I make?" question.
Monetization & growth
The app uses a free trial model presented during onboarding (01:20). It strategically places a notification permission warm-up right before the paywall, framing it as a reminder for when the trial ends (01:13). The paywall itself includes social proof like a 4.8-star rating and user testimonials to build trust. After subscribing, account creation is required, ensuring the user is retained in the ecosystem.
Who it’s for
ReciMe is for home cooks who feel overwhelmed by recipes scattered across browser bookmarks, screenshots, and physical cookbooks. It targets individuals looking for an all-in-one solution to organize their culinary life, plan weekly meals, and streamline their grocery shopping. The AI features also suggest it appeals to users who enjoy customizing recipes to fit their dietary needs or available ingredients.
Notes & opportunities
The app offers a polished and feature-rich experience. However, the onboarding is quite long, with numerous questions and a tutorial before the user even reaches the main interface. While thorough, this could be a point of drop-off for some users. Additionally, the manual recipe creation flow (10:11) is powerful but could be streamlined further, perhaps with more intelligent parsing as the user types.