PromoChef — Press Kit

📌 The pitch in one sentence

PromoChef turns real weekly European supermarket promotions into personalised smart meal plans, with an "Anti-Waste" mode that cooks with what's left in your fridge.

📊 Key figures

👤 The founder — Frédéric Curto

Frédéric Curto, age 53, retail supermarket floor employee for 5 years, codes PromoChef in his spare time. Based in Belgium.

The trigger

Frédéric meets customers on special diets (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, high-protein) every day who cut themselves off from foods simply because they lack recipe ideas. He also witnesses how the absence of meal planning inflates household grocery bills by 30-50%.

In 2026, he codes PromoChef to solve both problems at once: smart meal-planning + budget optimisation + diet adaptation.

🛠 The product — How it works

1. Postal-code localisation

The user enters their postal code → PromoChef shows ONLY the promotions from supermarkets in their zone (Colruyt, Carrefour, Lidl, Aldi, Delhaize, Rewe, Albert Heijn, Mercadona, etc. depending on the country).

2. AI menu generation

The AI (Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5) generates a 7-day menu combining active promotions with the user's diet. Strict guardrails: no invented recipes, no off-promo ingredients, portions verified by hard-coded culinary rules.

3. Optimised shopping list

The list is grouped by store + aisle, with total cost calculated. Exportable to WhatsApp in 1 tap (Premium).

4. "Anti-Waste" mode 🥬

The user photo-scans what's left in the fridge → PromoChef generates a REAL recipe with ONLY those ingredients. No more "we need to buy stuff before we can cook".

🎯 What makes PromoChef unique

• REAL data — no mocks. Promotions are parsed from official weekly PDF flyers of each chain.
• No ads, no sponsors — store ranking is neutral. Users see the CHEAPEST store in their zone first.
• 28 native languages — no auto Google Translate. Each language is verified and proofread.
• 5 personalized diets — Classic, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, High-protein. Allergies and intolerances are automatically respected.
• GDPR-first — zero ad tracking, compliant cookie banner, data stored in Europe (MongoDB Atlas Frankfurt).

📝 5 ready-to-use editorial angles

❓ Press FAQ

When does PromoChef launch?

Public launch planned for August-October 2026. Beta version currently tested on waitlist (88+ signups).

How much does the app cost?

15 days free trial, then €9.99/month or €69.99/year (2 months free). Referral bonus: €5 off for each friend invited.

In which countries is PromoChef available?

32 European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Which supermarkets does it support?

Each country has its own chains: Colruyt, Delhaize, Aldi, Lidl, Carrefour (Belgium); Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Auchan, Intermarché, Lidl (France); Rewe, Edeka, Aldi, Lidl (Germany); Mercadona, DIA, Carrefour (Spain); etc.

How does the AI ensure recipe quality?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (Anthropic) generates recipes WITH hard-coded guardrails: blocking off-promo ingredients, verifying portions, excluding impossible culinary combinations.

Does PromoChef work offline?

Yes — generated menus and shopping lists are cached locally for in-store use without a network connection.