Why I Created Plateful

My wife and I had an ongoing frustration: we'd (she would plan it) set a grocery budget every two weeks, only to blow past it repeatedly.

The issue wasn't that we were buying extravagant foods—it was that we were shopping separately, planning our own meals, but trying to share the same budget. Without real-time visibility into what the other person was adding, we'd constantly overspend.

I'd find myself jumping between different store websites with a notepad, comparing prices and tracking macros manually. It was incredibly inefficient and still didn't solve our coordination issues.

I looked for an app that could solve this problem—something that would let us collaborate on grocery lists in real-time while automatically tracking prices and nutrition info. When I couldn't find one, I decided to build it myself.

The Journey

Building Plateful started as a personal project to fix our household grocery management. I wanted something that would make it simple for couples, families, and roommates to shop together effectively, even when they weren't physically together.

As I shared early versions with friends facing similar challenges, their enthusiastic feedback convinced me that this tool could help many more people beyond just my own family.

What began as a solution to our budget overruns has evolved into an app that's helping households everywhere shop smarter, eat healthier, and collaborate better on something we all do: grocery shopping.

Let's Connect

I'd love to hear how Plateful is working for you, what features you'd like to see, or any issues you encounter. This app grows through your feedback and suggestions.

Reach out anytime via email or find me on social media.

Happy shopping!

Elias Reyes