Ventrickle

Ventrickle is a Singapore-based HealthTech startup taking on a challenge that most apps overlook: tracking nutrition accurately in a country where dining out is part of daily life. Hawker meals, food court staples, and local favourites are everywhere, but global nutrition apps simply can’t keep up. That’s where Ventrickle changes the game.

They’ve built Singapore’s first verified food database, which was developed in collaboration with nearly 4000 local eateries. It’s an exceptional achievement—turning everyday meals into precise, reliable data. No guesswork, no vague estimates—just real numbers from real dishes. This rich database powers personalised nutrition plans for any goal, whether it’s fat loss, muscle gain, or maintaining your health. With innovative features like AI photo logging, detailed dashboards, and progress tracking, Ventrickle makes staying healthy as local and accurate as the meals you love.

01. Limited access to verified nutrition data

Singaporeans often eat out, yet most nutrition apps offer only global, user-submitted, or generic data. Ventrickle needed a trusted, location-specific alternative to support its users truly.

02. No existing platform to build on

The team started from scratch, without a functional app or a defined product strategy. We needed to translate a big idea into a clear, achievable MVP.

03. Standing out in a crowded market

The nutrition app space is competitive, from MyFitnessPal to newer AI-powered tools like MacroFactor. Ventrickle’s edge would need to go beyond design — it had to be built on substance.

04. Balancing innovation with speed and cost-efficiency

With tight timelines and a startup budget, the solution had to be lean but scalable, fast to launch, yet flexible enough to evolve.

01. Discovery workshops and product strategy

We began with a series of Product Vision Workshops to prioritise core features, map out user journeys, and define the scope of a high-impact MVP. This allowed us to balance ambition with feasibility.

02. Flutter for cross-platform development

We used Flutter to deliver a consistent user experience across iOS and Android with a single codebase to keep development agile and cost-effective. This decision significantly reduced time to market while maintaining performance and native-like quality.

03. AI-powered food logging

We implemented a smart photo recognition feature powered by lightweight AI models. Users can snap a picture of their meal, and the app identifies the dish and matches it with the verified database. If a match isn’t found, the system queries a broader model—including OpenAI—to return the closest alternative, ensuring fast and intuitive logging.

04. Conversational AI for food recommendations

In addition to scanning, Ventrickle includes a built-in nutrition assistant. Users can chat with the AI to get meal recommendations based on dietary preferences and location, or ask for recipe ideas aligned with their goals. The assistant is trained to provide helpful advice, not just generic prompts.nt income.

05. Verified, local food database

We built the backend architecture to support Ventrickle’s core differentiator: a proprietary, manually verified database of Singaporean dishes. Each entry includes detailed calorie and macronutrient breakdowns and is directly linked to local restaurants. This unique dataset sets the foundation for credibility and long-term growth.

06. Custom nutrition plans with smart calorie trackinginvestment options

During onboarding, users provide personal details like age, weight, height, and fitness goals. The app calculates tailored daily calorie targets and adjusts them dynamically. We also introduced a “Rewind” feature, allowing users to redistribute extra calories over 10 days — a practical way to balance occasional indulgence with long-term consistency.

07. Visual dashboards and user-friendly logging

To keep users motivated, we added a visual dashboard featuring a cheerful curry puff mascot that reflects progress and consistency. Manual logging and custom meal creation were included for full control, especially when meals fall outside the standard database.

08. Lightweight admin panel for content control

Using Vaadin, we built a simple yet effective admin panel to manage food entries, recommendations, and user content. This gives the Ventrickle team flexibility without requiring constant technical support.

01. 3,000+ downloads in the first month

The app quickly gained traction, with over 3,000 installs across platforms in the first 30 days — strong early validation for a regional, niche solution.

02. High engagement and paid conversion

With over 200 paid subscriptions and Instagram posts reaching up to 20,000 views, Ventrickle turned visibility into action, organically growing a loyal user base.

03. 4.4+ app rating and 22-minute session times

Users aren’t just downloading — they’re staying engaged. The data points to strong retention and satisfaction with an average session time of 22 minutes and app ratings of 4.4 (Android) and 4.6 (iOS).

04. A defensible product foundation

Unlike apps that depend solely on AI, Ventrickle is grounded in verified, localised data. This combination of unique content and innovative technology offers a scalable, trustworthy product that can evolve without losing its core value.

05. Simplified taxation

The PIE structure reduces shareholder tax liabilities, maximising net investment returns.