Nutrilens

My Role: Co-Founder

Technologies

Project Overview

Nutrilens was a concept of an augmented reality (AR) shopping assistant designed to revolutionize grocery shopping by making it more informed, efficient, and health-conscious. The idea was simple: by pointing a smartphone camera at a product or an entire grocery aisle, Nutrilens would instantly provide comprehensive insights about sustainability, nutritional content, allergens, and dietary compatibility. The core innovation was a fully visual layout using an intuitive color-coded system to help consumers make quick, data-driven decisions.

My Role

As a co-founder, I was deeply involved in every aspect of the project, from business model development and market research to product development and marketing. I worked closely with my team to validate our concept through initial prototypes and consumer testing.

Challenges

Developing Nutrilens presented several technical and business challenges:

• Data availability and accuracy: Many grocery products did not have complete nutritional or allergen data available in public databases.
• Real-time performance: Ensuring that the AR and product recognition worked smoothly without latency was a significant challenge.
• User experience: The UI needed to be intuitive, especially given that AR-based navigation can sometimes feel overwhelming.
• Internet connectivity: Many grocery stores had poor reception, limiting real-time API calls.
• Business model: Identifying a sustainable revenue model proved difficult. We explored partnerships with food companies, premium subscriptions, and advertising but faced challenges in monetization.

Achievements

• First-place winner at the H_ventures pitch competition in Frankfurt, outperforming 13 other teams.
• Successfully built and tested a prototype demonstrating real-time AR shopping assistance.
• Received positive investor feedback but decided to put the project on hold due to profitability concerns.

Current Status

Despite the promising initial reception, we ultimately decided to put Nutrilens on hold. While the concept was well-received and technologically feasible, the lack of a clear monetization strategy made it difficult to pursue further. The project remains a passion project, and we continue to explore potential applications in related fields.