Case Study
Independent · Founder & Builder · 2026
Scroll2Stove
An AI recipe app that imports recipes from Instagram, Facebook, and the web, then rewrites the ingredients to fit your allergies and diet.
The problem
Recipes live in Instagram captions and ad-heavy blogs, not in a format you can cook from. And for anyone with an allergy or diet, every saved recipe raises the same question: can I actually eat this?
The first version did what most recipe apps do: save a link, run timers, build a shopping list. Apple rejected it under Guideline 4.3(a) as too similar to apps already in the store.
What I did
Turned messy posts into structured recipes
Imports check for structured recipe data first, then fall back to AI extraction through Firebase Cloud Functions. That handles unstructured captions and cluttered pages. Timers are detected from the recipe steps, and nutrition comes from USDA data.
Audited every claim after the rejection
I checked all 22 App Store claims against the code. That surfaced a false TikTok claim and a privacy policy that left out some data providers. It also showed the app's strongest feature, dietary adaptation, appeared nowhere in the listing.
Repositioned around personalization
The new pitch is recipes that adapt to you. Onboarding asks for allergies, diets, and dislikes up front. Conflicting ingredients are flagged on every recipe, and one tap rewrites the ingredient list with substitutions you can undo. Shopping lists use the adapted version.
Let App Review see the value before the paywall
Saving recipes used to require a subscription, so reviewers hit the paywall before seeing what made the app different. Now everyone gets five free saves with full personalization, then a subscription through RevenueCat.
The outcome
Built end to end: product strategy, design system, React Native app, Firebase backend, AI pipeline, and App Store submission.
The 4.3(a) rejection turned into the product's positioning. The App Store subtitle, onboarding, paywall, and review notes now all lead with the same promise: recipes adapted to your diet.
Scroll2Stove is live on the App Store with a $4.99 premium subscription. Since launch I've added a weekly meal plan that sends adapted recipes straight to the shopping list.