Building Soulka from Scratch

What if cooking could just be about cooking?

no measuring, no grocery runs, no hunting
for the right utensils and definitely no cleaning up after

You just walk in cook your favorite meal & enjoy it!

That’s where Soulka comes in.

Understanding the problem in depth

Studies show

Recent studies indicate a growing awareness among Indian consumers regarding food quality, safety, and traceability.

IMARC Group

India’s population of young professionals and migrants live in shared accommodations, PGs, and small rental units with limited cooking infrastructure.

Sattva

Urban housing reports lack of functional kitchens due to space constraints significantly influence food consumption behaviour in urban households.

Sattva

Farmer dissatisfaction with traditional mandi systems due to price instability, low transparency, delayed payments, and middlemen dependence.

e-Nam Punjab Study

Understanding the Existing Gaps

Introducing Soulka

Users can book a slot through our app, choose a recipe and select the number of people.
When they arrive, everything is ready for them pre-measured ingredients, spices, and utensils.
They simply cook, enjoy the process, and eat the meal they’ve made.

All ingredients are directly sourced from farmers and are completely organic.
This hands on experience helps people understand the real taste and value of organic food,
building trust in what they consume.

Soulka is designed as a two-storey space:

The ground floor is an organic mart where customers
can explore and buy ingredients.
The first floor is the cooking experience area where
users prepare their meals.

How Soulka got its name

Soulka’s Visual Identity

Introducing Soulka's App

Features in Details

Onboarding

Since Soulka introduces a new concept,
the experience begins with a short
onboarding flow. The goal is to help first-time users
quickly understand the platform and
start confidently.

Explore

Home screen helps users easily explore what the
platform offers.
Users can view ongoing offers, followed by an
option to choose a main ingredient. The feed
then displays recipes made using that ingredient,
with filters available to refine results.

Navigation Bar

The navigation bar includes Home, Book a Slot,
Manage Booking, and Soucial.
In Book a Slot, users select the date, time, number of
people, and the dish they want to cook.
Manage Booking lets users view, modify, or cancel
bookings.
While Soucial is a community space to share dishes
and discover supper clubs.

Supper Club

You can host a supper club at Soulka through
Book a Slot. Select who you are cooking for,
choose the date, time, number of people, and
the recipe.
After selecting the recipe, review the
ingredients, add any additional items if needed,
and then proceed to confirm the booking.

Manage Bookings

Through Manage Bookings, users can view all
their upcoming and past bookings in one
place. They can easily edit booking details or
cancel if needed.

Soucial

Soucial is a community space for food lovers where
users can share posts about what they cooked at
Soulka. It allows them to connect with other users,
discover dishes made by the community, and
stay updated about supper clubs being organized.

Check Out

Once the user finishes cooking, they can check out
through the app by accessing their ongoing session.
The checkout process requires the user to capture a
photo of the dish as confirmation. After submitting
the photo, the session is completed and the user is
successfully checked out from the kitchen.

What we Learned

Designing for an unfamiliar concept

As we explored the idea deeper, the concept initially became
more confusing. However, that process helped us question
assumptions and refine the problem.

Trusting each other's strengths

Working as a group taught us to rely on each other's capabilities
and individual strengths, which helped us deliver stronger
outcomes.

Aligning UX with business needs

The project helped me understand how design decisions must
balance user experience with business goals to create a product
that is both useful and sustainable.

Balancing user needs with operational logic

Designing flows such as booking, ingredient selection, and checkout
required considering both user convenience and the operational
realities of running a shared kitchen.