Astraea

Helping small restaurants go digital in minutes with QR menus and commission-free WhatsApp orders.

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Astraea — Digital Menus Without Commissions

Inspiration

Astraea was inspired by a simple real-world problem.

In small towns, many restaurants and food businesses still rely on printed menus, phone calls, or WhatsApp photos to show their products. Most of them do not have websites, apps, or access to delivery platforms because onboarding is complex or commissions are too high.

After visiting local restaurants and talking directly with owners, it became clear that what they needed was not another delivery platform — but a simple tool to digitize their menu and share it easily with customers.

Astraea was born from that need.

What Astraea Does

Astraea is a multi-tenant SaaS platform that allows restaurants to:

  • Create a digital menu in minutes
  • Upload products with price, description, and category
  • Generate a QR code for customers
  • Share their menu via link
  • Let customers order directly through WhatsApp
  • Track menu views and product interactions
  • Mark products as available or sold out
  • Control restaurant open/closed status

The goal is to make digital presence accessible to small restaurants without commissions, complex setup, or technical knowledge.

How We Built It

Astraea was built as a modern web application using:

  • Next.js + React + TypeScript
  • Supabase (PostgreSQL + Storage)
  • Tailwind CSS UI
  • QR generation tools
  • WhatsApp deep linking
  • Multi-tenant database architecture

The system includes:

  • Admin dashboard for restaurants
  • Public menu pages
  • Marketplace-style menu browsing
  • Analytics tracking
  • QR-based access

The architecture ensures that each restaurant only accesses its own data securely.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges was building a system simple enough for non-technical restaurant owners while still being technically robust.

Other challenges included:

  • Designing a multi-tenant database safely
  • Handling image uploads efficiently
  • Building analytics without slowing the app
  • Creating a smooth mobile-first experience
  • Testing the system with real restaurants

Another challenge was validation — finding real businesses willing to try new technology in a small-town environment where digital adoption is still growing.

What We Learned

This project taught us that building software is not only about code — it's about understanding people and their workflows.

We learned:

  • Simplicity is more valuable than feature complexity
  • Real-world testing is essential
  • Small usability improvements matter a lot
  • Exposure and trust are key for adoption
  • Talking to users changes the product direction

Current Status

Astraea is currently in testing with a local restaurant that is preparing its menu for full digital use.

The platform is functional, production-ready, and continuously improving based on real feedback.

Vision

Astraea aims to make digital tools accessible to small food businesses everywhere.

Simple. Fair. Commission-free.

Digital menus powered by QR and WhatsApp.

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