Meal Kit E-Commerce Platform Development

Project Description — Meal Kit E-Commerce Platform (Web & Mobile App)
1. Overview

The project aims to design and develop a full-stack meal-kit e-commerce platform that allows customers to browse weekly menus, customize meal selections, and purchase pre-packed meal kits. The platform will consist of a responsive web application and mobile app (iOS/Android) with a shared backend infrastructure.

The system will support dynamic menu updates, user authentication, subscription management, payment processing, and order tracking.

2. Core Features
2.1 Weekly Menu Management

Admin panel to upload and manage weekly meal menus.

Each menu item includes:

Title, description

Nutrition info

Ingredients

Serving size

Preparation time

Price

Image gallery

Menus automatically expire and roll over weekly based on predefined scheduling.

2.2 Meal Kit Selection & Customization

Users can browse the weekly catalog.

Users select meals for each day of the week (1–7 days).

Option to filter meals by dietary preferences (vegan, gluten-free, low-calorie, etc.).

Real-time cart updates with meal quantities and pricing.

Ability to substitute ingredients (optional feature).

2.3 User Accounts & Profiles

Secure signup & login with JWT authentication.

Profile management (address, contact info, dietary preferences).

Order history & reorder functionality.

Subscription preferences (weekly, bi-weekly, one-time purchase).

2.4 Checkout & Payment

Integrated payment gateways (Stripe / PayPal).

Address validation & shipping method selection.

Automatic tax & delivery fee calculations.

Invoice generation and email confirmation after purchase.

2.5 Order Tracking & Notifications

Real-time order status updates (Received → Packed → Shipped → Delivered).

Push notifications (mobile) & email notifications (web).

Delivery ETA tracking integration (optional).

2.6 Admin Dashboard

Menu creation & scheduling interface.

Order management system.

Customer management & support tools.

Analytics dashboard (sales, top meals, user activity).

Inventory level alerts for ingredients.

3. System Architecture
3.1 Frontend

Web App:

React.js / Next.js for SSR and improved SEO.

Responsive UI with Tailwind CSS or Material UI.

Mobile App:

React Native / Flutter for cross-platform development.

Shared component structure with backend API.

3.2 Backend

Node.js (Express/NestJS) or Django/FastAPI based RESTful API.

Role-based authentication (Admin, Customer).

Automated cron jobs for weekly menu rotation.

3.3 Database

PostgreSQL/MySQL for relational data (users, orders, menus).

MongoDB (optional) for storing menu/recipe metadata.

Redis for caching frequently accessed menu items.

3.4 Cloud & Infrastructure

Hosted on AWS / Google Cloud / Azure.

Services:

EC2 or Cloud Run for backend

S3 or Cloud Storage for media assets

RDS or Cloud SQL for database

CDN for image optimization and faster delivery.

3.5 Security

SSL/TLS encryption

Input sanitization & rate limiting

Secure payment processing (PCI-DSS compliant via external provider)

Role-based access control (RBAC)

4. Additional Features (Optional Enhancements)

AI-based meal recommendation engine.

Subscription box builder with dynamic pricing.

Integration with warehouse systems for automated picking.

Coupon codes, loyalty points, referral system.

In-app chat support with chatbot integration.

5. Project Deliverables

Fully functional web application

Mobile app (iOS & Android)

Admin dashboard

API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger)

Deployment pipeline (CI/CD)

Testing suite (unit, integration, E2E) Show More