Dishare

Almost everyone encounters the same problem when ordering out - what restaurant should you try and what do you even order? Typically, you end up wasting a ton of time endlessly scrolling through all of the options or even end up eating from the same places every time. Wouldn't it be great if your smartphone would only show you the dishes you can actually eat based on your diet, allergies and previous history? 

You can spice your eating experience up with Dishare! Like a Spotify for food, Dishare learns to know your taste and preferences then eliminates all the noise you'd never order and shows you the best options selected for your unique taste. The app redefines the way people choose what and where to eat, exposes them to new experiences based on their “FoodPrint”, and helps them learn about healthy and sustainable food. Dishare aims to shorten and ease the decision-making process about what and where to eat, make a connection with a dining experience, and motivate people to try new restaurants and dishes - whether they are ordering in or dining out.

Challenge

One of Dishare’s features is an activity feed where you can like and comment on other’s posts that have a similar FoodPrint as you. This is great because it allows you to engage with other users by commenting or letting them know you liked their post. That is only possible if you are able to view the likes and comments that have already been made. One of the challenges the team came across was getting the likes and posts to update properly every time the page was refreshed. The reason this was a challenge is because the software used to build the app did not support Stream.IO - an app integration that powers everything that makes up a sophisticated activity feed experience, like seeing updated likes/comments.

Solution

Building an application typically takes two developers to create different codes for the two separate platforms - IOS and Android. The software used to build Dishare on, called Flutter, was different. Flutter is an open-source software development kit by Google that allows for multi-platform application development from a single code. Like any software, Flutter has its limitations - one of them being the ability to support the integration that allows for a seamless activity feed experience (Stream.IO). This was also the first time the NineTwoThree worked with Flutter.

The team got very familiar with Flutter and overcame the challenge by successfully building custom code that gave Flutter the ability to support Stream.Io. This solution allowed the activity feed to function, ensuring the likes/comments updated properly. 

Impact 

Our combined experience allowed us to build an exceptional app that satisfies food-lovers craving to explore their local food scene in an easy and personalized way. In turn, another positive outcome is that restaurants will obtain new customers that they would otherwise lose out on due to decision fatigue. As Spotify does for music, Vivino for wine, Dishare does for food. This app truly connects people through food, creating a more close-knit community that benefits both people and restaurants. Works on Android and IOS.