Picky App

Most meal-planning apps are built for one person cooking for themselves. Picky was built for the much messier reality of planning meals for an entire family — different palates, different restrictions, and a decision that has to get made again every single day.

Research started with interviews across several states, backed by a wider survey, and turned up consistent pain points: decision fatigue by early evening, the same handful of meals on repeat, and the daily balancing act between what’s healthy and what a picky eater will actually agree to eat. A notable finding along the way: a good chunk of respondents were already leaning on AI chatbots to help plan meals — a sign of exactly where the category was heading.

The product centers on Earl, a mascot who guides the planning conversation so that gathering household preferences feels more like a chat than filling out a form. The MVP includes AI-suggested meals based on each family member’s preferences and restrictions, per-person allergy tracking, expiry-aware pantry management with photo scanning, and automatic grocery list generation. Usability testing shaped key decisions along the way, like pre-populating the first week’s plan so new users never face an empty, intimidating blank slate.