Skip to content
Nichr
Consumer appsNew techTop 17% of today's analysed ideas

Searchable library for saved recipe videos

Build a niche search/organization layer for saved social video content, starting with a one-click Instagram Saved-data import so new users have a populated, searchable library on day one instead of an empty app. The wedge is recipe videos saved on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, sold as a cheap subscription to home cooks who save dozens of recipe videos they can never find again.

via Reddit
Original post

What to build

A mobile app for home cooks that lets them one-click import their Instagram Saved videos into a searchable recipe library, then add saves from TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, solving the 'I saved it and can never find it again' problem.

A recipe app founder got 0 signups from Meta ads but found real unmet demand: home cooks want a searchable library for recipe videos they've saved across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.

Demand

Home cooks who compulsively save recipe videos on social apps but can't search or organize them later are the target; paid ads failed to convert them, but the cold-start/import problem is the real blocker to solve.

  • r/SideProjectAnecdote

    Founder post: 'I spent money on Meta ads for my recipe app and got 0 signups. Here's what I changed instead of buying more ads.'

  • Original poster (recipe app founder)Anecdote

    Founder reports 0 signups from paid Meta ad spend and pivots to a product fix (Instagram Saved-data import) instead of more ad spend.

Stack

  • Instagram Graph API / Basic Display API
  • React Native or Expo
  • Supabase
  • OpenAI Vision or Whisper API (for parsing recipe video content)
  • Algolia or Postgres full-text search
  • RevenueCat

Solo + AI difficulty

Hardest part is reliable Instagram Saved-data import given Meta API/ToS limits; video content parsing (OCR/transcription) for search is moderate. MVP with manual-link-paste import and basic search is doable in 2-4 weeks with AI coding tools.

Entry threshold
A solo developer can build this with AI in weeks using existing data-export APIs and simple search/embedding matching; the hard part is distribution and onboarding, not engineering, and there is no capital or licensing barrier.
Window
6-12 months

Where to find first users

  • r/SideProject
  • r/castiron and cooking subreddits
  • TikTok/Instagram creator partnerships
  • Product Hunt launch

Competitors

Counter-signals & risks

  • A single founder's anecdote of 0 signups from one Meta ad campaign is a small, uncontrolled sample and may reflect poor targeting, creative, or budget rather than a structural flaw in paid acquisition for this category.

  • Building an Instagram Saved-data import depends on continued access to Instagram/Meta APIs or scraping, which carries platform policy, API rate-limit, and ToS risk that could disrupt the core onboarding feature.

  • Home cooks' willingness to pay a recurring subscription for a recipe-organization tool is unproven; free alternatives (native platform 'Saved' folders, Pinterest, notes apps) may satisfy most users' needs at no cost.

Original title: I spent money on Meta ads for my recipe app and got 0 signups. Here’s what I changed instead of buying more ads.

Related signals

  • Consumer apps#5

    AI concierge for ex-USSR ancestry records

    Wrap this open-source AI genealogy skill into a paid research assistant or concierge service for diaspora users tracing ancestors in former USSR territories - church books, civil records, deportation and repression archives, military records. Target Jewish, German-Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Baltic diaspora communities in the US, Israel and Germany who already pay independent genealogists for this kind of Cyrillic archive research.

    Demand
    9/10
    measured
    Buildability
    7/10
    est.
    Competition
    6/10
    est.
    via GitHub
    33 competitors
  • Consumer apps#10

    Phone-based debloat tool for Android TV devices

    Package a polished companion app that lets anyone debloat and clean up their Android TV, Fire TV or Google TV straight from their phone, no ADB, no sideloaded coding agent, no PC required. Target streaming-device power users and resellers of refurbished TV boxes who want a one-tap cleanup tool, selling as a small paid app or a one-time unlock on top of a free tier.

    Demand
    8/10
    measured
    Buildability
    8/10
    est.
    Competition
    8/10
    est.
    via GitHub
    11 competitor
  • Consumer apps#5

    Offline AI survival assistant for preppers

    Package a local, offline-running LLM (quantized, via llama.cpp or similar) with a curated survival and emergency knowledge base covering first aid, water purification, foraging, navigation, and off-grid repair, sold as a one-time-purchase app or preloaded device for preppers, campers, off-grid travelers, and disaster-preparedness buyers who need guidance with zero internet access.

    Demand
    10/10
    measured
    Buildability
    8/10
    est.
    Competition
    10/10
    est.
    via Hacker News
    0No named competitors
Searchable library for saved recipe videos — Nichr