01 · Onboarding
Onboarding introduces the full loop—from finding and importing recipes to planning, cooking, and shopping—before someone enters the product.
Trove · iOS · 2026
A social cookbook built from recipes you find everywhere
Trove pulls recipes from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the open web into one place to cook from. You can save an editable copy, plan it into your week, and turn several recipes into one grocery list.
The problem
Recipes live everywhere, and nowhere you can cook from
A recipe found in a social post or blog can disappear, change, or remain awkward to use in the kitchen. Saving the link does not make the recipe easier to plan, shop, or cook. Trove becomes your treasure trove: one place to keep recipes and return when you are ready to complete the journey.
The product
From something you find to something you can cook
Trove turns scattered recipes into a repeatable flywheel: discover something worth cooking, add it to your Trove, plan it into the week, cook it, and shop for what comes next.
02 · Discover
Find recipes through people and the open web
Discover brings together recipes from other cooks and the open web, with search for both recipes and people. When someone finds one they want to cook, they can open it and add it to Trove.
Two import paths
03 · Import
Bring recipes in from wherever you find them
From Safari, someone can share a recipe directly to Trove without leaving the browsing flow. Inside the app, they can also tap Add and paste a link. Both paths create a private, editable copy.
04 · Plan and cook
Plan the week, then cook one step at a time
Recipes from your Trove can be placed into a weekly plan. Guided steps and timers turn the saved recipe into something easier to follow in the kitchen.
05 · Shop
Turn several recipes into one shopping list
Trove gives you one list to maintain across the week. Someone can move an item from To buy to Stocked as their pantry changes, then hand the remaining list to a retailer.
Key decisions
Build for two kinds of constraints
The first constraint comes from recipe publishers and bloggers. Their sites depend on traffic, while users still need a clear path back to the original page or video when it helps them cook. The second comes from grocery commerce: retailer capabilities vary by partner, traction, and location.
Keep attribution and originality intact
Trove keeps the publisher and original source visible wherever a recipe appears, so users can find the page or video again when they need it.
When someone saves a recipe that is already in the community, Trove sends them to the publisher before creating the private copy. The source receives the visit, and the user imports the directions from the original.
Attribution and save-from-community media
Use commerce technology that works now
Retail integrations depend on traction and geography. Trove uses Kroger where direct cart support is available; otherwise Amazon stays available as an affiliate handoff.
Building for social connection
How might we make finding recipes feel social?
Recipes usually reach people through other people. V1 makes that visible with profiles, a People directory, following, and saves that connect each recipe to who shared it. Community suggestions remain a future direction once the line between shared input and a private copy is clear.
Build for different tastes
Early feedback showed that people struggled to identify cuisines they wanted. I grouped recipes into sections, then let people star categories as preferences that shape what appears in their feed.
Where it stands
Available on TestFlight
The end-to-end product is available to test while I prepare for a broader launch. The current loop runs from discovery and import through planning, cooking, and grocery.
Reflection
Choosing what matters most
Pivoting and scoping came from the same discipline: choose the problem with the clearest product and business value, then prioritize the smallest version you can build and ship.
Know when and how to pivot
The project began closer to health and behavior change. I narrowed toward the problem with a clearer flywheel and more immediate value: helping recipes move from discovery into planning, shopping, and cooking.
Scope, scope, and scope
Once the problem was clear, I drew the V1 boundary around importing a cookable copy and making it useful across the week. Richer commerce and community contribution could follow after the core product was reliable.