Viacheslav Vodopsanov has been in IT for about 6 years. For the past year and a half, the developer has focused on his own project — Meal for Deal. According to the IT professional, this is not just a mobile application, but an environmental initiative that helps reduce food waste and save money.
Viacheslav Vodopsanov has been in IT for about 6 years. For the past year and a half, the developer has focused on his own project — Meal for Deal. According to the IT professional, this is not just a mobile application, but an environmental initiative that helps reduce food waste and save money.
During his first trip to Europe in 2023, Vyacheslav was told about the Too Good To Go app, which allows you to buy Surprise Bags in establishments at a discounted price.
I decided to try it — and I was hooked! I still remember the first time I ordered a package from Nordsee. When I returned to Ukraine, I started looking for something similar — but I couldn’t find it. It was a bit disappointing, because I imagined how much such a service would have helped me during my student years — maybe I wouldn’t have eaten rice with ketchup almost every day. That’s when the idea to create Meal for Deal was born.
To implement his idea, the IT guy started learning React Native and Nest.js. He created his first commit on GitHub on August 23, 2023. From that moment on, development began.
«I worked alone, although I tried to involve familiar developers — but everyone had work. So I had to figure it out myself, face a lot of problems, look for information on Google and ChatGPT. No one in my environment had experience launching a product from scratch,» the developer says.
Meal for Deal is primarily an environmental initiative that helps reduce food waste.
«Each package saves an average of 1.5 kg of food from being thrown away. One saved meal is minus 2 kg of CO₂ that did not enter the atmosphere,» the website states.
In the application, users can purchase «Surprise Packages» from food establishments at a significantly lower price — a discount of at least 50%.
This reduces food waste and users can save money.
In addition to surprise packages, the application is now adding a special offers feature — it’s no longer about leftovers, but about fresh dishes that establishments can sell at a discount of at least 25% to attract the attention of users and new visitors.
«Of course there are competitors. For example, Ricky Food or Good Meal, but I haven’t used them, so I can’t say what makes Meal for Deal better or worse. I was just making an app that I would like to have myself,» says Viacheslav.
How to use the application:
Meal for Deal took about a year and a half to develop. The app became available on the App Store and Google Play a month ago.
«All the development was my responsibility, so writing the code was free.
However, marketing, hosting, domain, and various services are paid for by my close friend, with whom we studied together. The amount is approximately $1,000-$1,500, the developer notes.
Meal for Deal currently has over 100 users, and is continuing to attract establishments. Businesses from Lviv have shown particular interest in the app.
Monetization is done through 10% of each package sold. For comparison, at Too Good To Go this commission is about 33%, adds Viacheslav.
In addition to attracting new institutions, Vyacheslav plans to launch the «social packages» function — free of charge, for those who really need it.
«But this is still more of an idea than an implemented functionality,» the developer clarifies.
Цікавий застосунок. Новий, як мені здається, на просторах України. Має гарно залетіти серед молоді. Для кафе і магазинів це взагалі нормальний такий варіант не викидати продукти, а продавати зі знижкою у застосунку товари, які на межі строку придатності, наприклад. Або заохочувати клієнтів акціями, пропонуючи їх у цьому ж застосунку. Робоча тема.