FoodTech apps are very demanding in terms of architecture. They combine dynamic catalogs, real-time orders, maps, payments, loyalty programs, reviews, and support. At the same time, users expect everything to work instantly - even on older phones and with poor internet connections.
At dev.family, we’ve been developing mobile products for FoodTech and Retail for about 10 years and have built our own stack of solutions that helps launch apps quickly and reliably. Below, we explain the architecture of a typical FoodTech app, the technologies we use, and the mistakes that most often hinder scaling.
Why FoodTech Needs a Thoughtful Architecture
FoodTech has several characteristics that significantly complicate and increase the cost of development:
- Dynamic data: menus, promotions, and order statuses change every minute.
- High peak loads: tens of thousands of users during evening hours and holidays.
- Sensitivity to UX: a one-second delay can result in a lost order.
Without a clear architecture, the app quickly begins to “fall apart”: data becomes unsynchronized, the interface freezes, and adding new features becomes increasingly difficult. Therefore, a well-thought-out stack solves not only engineering but also business problems - it speeds up releases, reduces bugs, and simplifies scaling.
Core Modules of a FoodTech App and How We Build Them
Cart
We usually implement the cart using Zustand or Redux Toolkit. For storing data between sessions, we use MMKV (faster than AsyncStorage and non-blocking for the UI). Server synchronization is implemented via WebSocket or background requests; if the connection is lost, data is temporarily stored locally and uploaded later.
The main challenge is maintaining consistency between client and server. We solve this with strict state versioning and explicit events (add/update/remove), which go through full synchronization.
Response issues can occur, especially on older devices. Here, it is important to optimize the interface (e.g., FlashList for lists, component memoization). Sometimes it is better to sacrifice complex animations in favor of fast UI response to user actions.
Need help with cart synchronization? We can advise on how to make it stable
Need help with cart synchronization? We can advise on how to make it stable.
Authorization
The main scenario is phone number login. Ready-made tools exist, such as input masks (react-native-mask-input), country auto-detection, and helpers for proper keyboard handling.
For spam protection or automated registrations, captchas can be integrated. Solutions exist for Google reCAPTCHA and hCaptcha, for example. Additionally, Google, Apple, or Facebook login can be easily integrated.
Furthermore, you can easily integrate Google, Apple, or Facebook authentication.
For “Beerpoint” beer chain, phone numbers were used because the old loyalty program relied on them, and our task was to move offline users into the mobile app. This allowed identifying old customers who had plastic cards.
Mobile app for beverage and snacks saler
In delivery apps, the phone number is also needed for courier-client communication, so requesting it at the start is reasonable and also validates the user’s intent regarding the order.
Catalog
For lists and product cards, react-native-flash-list works well—a powerful alternative to standard components, even with hundreds of items.
Images are cached via react-native-fast-image for instant dish display and smooth scrolling.
Problems usually occur with large image loads or complex filters; without caching, the catalog freezes. Pagination, preloading, and skeleton screens should be planned for slow internet.
Is your catalog slow? We'll perform a quick audit and show you the bottleneck.
Max B. CEO
Maps
React Native supports all popular maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps, Yandex, Mapbox. Using react-native-maps or @rnmapbox/maps, almost all native functionality is available: markers, routes, zones, geolocation, geocoding.
For address autocompletion: Google Places API or Yandex Geocoder. Courier tracking updates via WebSocket with smooth marker movement.
Custom pins and clustering may cause rendering delays or disappearing elements without optimization. We solve this using optimized images and forced re-render control.
Improving User Experience: Efficient Image Loading Using Progressive Display
Permissions and update frequency should be managed carefully—too frequent location requests can affect performance.
We solved this by:
- Reducing coordinate updates to every 2-3 seconds
- Adding client-side marker interpolation
- Debouncing updates to avoid spamming minor changes
Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs often integrate with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
In React Native, react-native-wallet-manager allows adding bonus cards and coupons directly from the app.
John Dory. Multifunctional loyalty programme app for a large seafood retailer
That was covered in more detail in our article
Reviews
The reviews module usually includes text, photos, and ratings. All of this is implemented using standard React Native components without requiring native logic.
How do users reviews increase the retention and boost sales
How do users reviews increase the retention and boost sales
For handling photos, react-native-image-picker or expo-image-picker is convenient; for cropping and compression, react-native-image-crop-picker or react-native-compressor can be used.
The main risks are related to media handling and uploading images to the server. On low-end devices, it’s important not to keep photos in RAM, as this can cause crashes. This issue can be minimized by pre-compressing files and limiting the number of images uploaded at once.
It is also recommended to handle reviews in offline mode: store data temporarily on the device and automatically send it when the network connection is restored.
Malpa Games. Customer feedback management software for a mobile games publisher
During testing, we encountered scenarios where the queue could become very large, causing the screen to lag. We solved this by displaying only the first 10 reviews, with the rest loaded as the user scrolled.
If the server went down or the network was lost, we retried sending with an increasing interval (from 10 seconds up to 1 minute). As a result, users could always leave reviews - even offline - without losing any data.
User Support
There are two options:
- Custom chat: Full control over logic and data. Implemented via WebSocket or backend API. UI built using standard RN components. Can include message statuses, attachments, and push notifications.
- Prebuilt solution: Faster to implement. Examples: stream-chat-react-native, Sendbird, Firebase. Covers 90% of typical tasks.
With native chats, the main problem is performance with a large number of messages and media files. With ready-made SDKs, the limitations are customization and paid pricing plans. We usually choose the approach based on the project's load and budget.
Push Notifications
For iOS and Android, native services are used: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) and Apple Push Notification Service (APNs). In RN, they can be connected using @react-native-firebase/messaging or notifee. They support background notification handling, custom icons, click actions, and deep links.
For centralized campaign management, external platforms such as OneSigma, Braze, or Firebase Cloud Messaging Console can be integrated.
AI Features
The react-native-ai library allows you to run AI models directly on the device or with minimal latency using built-in or lightweight models, which reduces cloud dependency and improves responsiveness.
Use cases in FoodTech apps:
- Review translation: Translate reviews not in the app’s main language on-device without network requests.
- Smart search: Supports embeddings and semantic search, allowing users to search by meaning, not exact words. Can implement chat-style search as a personal assistant.
On low-end devices, on-device processing may introduce delays. Cloud models require fallback logic for offline scenarios and must comply with GDPR and local laws, especially when handling reviews containing personal information.
How to customize the consent cookie banner to comply with GDPR, Google Consent Mode, and country-specific laws
This directly impacts retention and conversion: users find it easier to navigate the menu and quickly find what suits them. Essentially, AI search acts as a personal assistant inside the app, which increases trust and loyalty to the service.
If you are unsure whether such a feature will resonate with your users, you can always test it with lightweight assistants, for example, in WhatsApp. We built one during our company's fall hackathon. It can be used freely without involving developers.
You can read more about it here
Have doubts about the architecture? We can assess the risks and propose optimizations
Max B. CEO
Common Mistakes Affecting Project Scaling and User Experience
The most common scenario is a project that initially used an out-of-the-box solution. Later, as it grew, it became clear that the “boxed” solution was too limited, and you can’t go far with just “quick fixes.” The next step is custom development. Here, it is important to accept that these costs are inevitable when scaling.
Another scenario: the project was initially handled by specialists without FoodTech experience. They didn’t know about the “hidden pitfalls” that often go unnoticed at the MVP stage but start causing problems as the product grows. They come back for revisions. In some cases, it may even be easier to rewrite the project from scratch than to try to save a “sinking” system.
5 Ways to Kill a Foodtech App Before Users Even Fall in Love With It
We have compiled the key mistakes we regularly encounter and are sharing them here:
1. Lack of State Versioning
When multiple devices send cart or order updates simultaneously, the server often receives outdated data. This leads to “ghost items,” incorrect totals, and payment errors. Without versioning, client and server state constantly diverge, making every new feature unstable.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
Desync is one of the main sources of lost orders, especially under high load.
2. Inconsistent Library Set
A common problem is when developers in the same project choose different libraries for the same task without following a unified strategy. This results in:
- duplicated logic in multiple places,
- increased app size,
- painful and risky dependency updates.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
After six months, such a project is almost impossible to maintain without risking breaking existing functionality.
3. No Image and Data Caching
The dish catalog or product feed are the heaviest screens, especially in apps with a large assortment. If images load without caching or optimization, low-end devices experience:
- freezes,
- long render times,
- app crashes.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
Every extra lag in the catalog reduces conversion from viewing a dish to placing an order.
4. Premature Optimization
Sometimes developers try to anticipate everything: implementing universal abstractions, complicating the business logic layer, designing the architecture “for the next 10 years.” While this is intended to create a scalable project, in practice it leads to the opposite effect:
- the project progresses slowly,
- developing small features becomes harder than it should be,
- onboarding new team members takes longer,
- the architecture becomes less flexible, as each part is tightly coupled with others.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
In FoodTech, this is especially risky: the market changes fast, and the product must remain adaptable. It’s much better to build the architecture iteratively, adapting to real tasks rather than hypothetical scenarios that may never occur.
5. Lack of Offline Logic
Users often place orders on the go: in the subway, elevator, or between Wi-Fi points. If the app cannot handle temporary network loss, and you have no well-thought-out scenarios:
- the cart may “reset,”
- reviews won’t be submitted,
- orders won’t go through.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
Any of these errors is not just a lost customer—it’s a blow to your reputation. You’ve likely been frustrated yourself when a fully loaded cart ended up empty, or when you thought your order was about to arrive but it wasn’t even processed.
Read about building offline-first apps in our article.
6. Ignoring Map Limits and Behavior
Google Maps, Yandex, and Mapbox behave differently. They differ in:
- render speed,
- clustering quality,
- customization limits.
Without understanding these differences, marker jitter, map freezes, and increased battery consumption appear.
⛔️ Why it’s critical
Courier tracking is a key user experience point. If the map lags, trust in the entire service drops.
Sizl: How we became the tech partner for the Chicago-based Dark Kitchen Network
Read about how to implement this properly in our Sizl case study - a courier app
How We Build Architecture at dev.family
1. Modular Architecture
Each functional block (cart, catalog, reviews, map, chat) exists independently. It has:
- its own data,
- its own dependencies,
- its own integration points.
🔑 Benefit to the product
You can change one module without affecting the others - for example, replacing the chat with an SDK or rewriting the catalog to meet new requirements.
2. Clear Integration for Each Module
We define in advance how each module communicates with the outside world:
- via API,
- via SDK,
- via WebSocket,
- via local storage.
🔑 Benefit to the product
Predictable behavior and easy scaling. Any developer can quickly understand where and how data lives.
3. Simple Business Logic
The interface may change often: promotions, special offers, new designs. But business logic (e.g., cart operations or discount calculation) must remain unchanged and independent of the UI.
🔑 Benefit to the product
Flexibility in redesigns and A/B testing, as well as more stable app behavior.
4. Offline-First Solution
Each module is designed with two states:
- Online — works via API/WebSocket,
- Offline — saves data locally, queues it, and sends when the network is available.
🔑 Benefit to the product
Orders, reviews, and other operations are never lost.
5. Data Lifecycle Management
We define in advance:
- what is stored locally,
- what updates on every login,
- what is cached,
- what is loaded on demand.
We use MMKV, FlashList, FastImage, local queues, and background sync.
🔑 Benefit to the product
The app runs fast, and data behavior is predictable.
6. Space for Future AI Features
AI modules are becoming standard in FoodTech: personal recommendations, semantic search, review translation, chat assistants. They are not essential at project launch but we leave room in the architecture to integrate them easily as the product grows.
How to implement Al in your business - A Complete Guide
🔑 Benefit to the product
The app can evolve without painful rework or technical debt.
7. Strong Focus on UX Performance
We optimize:
- image loading,
- list rendering,
- animations,
- maps.
We use memoization, debouncing, caching, lazy loading, and optimized components.
🔑 Benefit to the product
Smooth interface → more user actions → higher order conversion → higher LTV.
8. Proven Engineering Templates
We reuse solutions that are proven to work:
- cart synchronization patterns,
- review handling patterns,
- catalog templates,
- ready-made push notification modules,
- WebSocket schemas.
🔑 Benefit to the product
Faster launch (lower development costs), fewer bugs, and a stable foundation for growth.
What the Product Team Gains
- Transparent, predictable structure
- Ability to quickly add new features (AI search, referral systems, etc.)
- Fewer production bugs thanks to unified patterns
- Faster releases using dev.family reusable templates
Conclusion
A good FoodTech app starts with architecture, not design. React Native allows fast launches, but real stability comes only from well-thought-out modules, correct state management, caching, offline logic, and controlled synchronization.
At dev.family, we have built an architectural approach combining engineering rigor, stability, and flexibility for business goals. This foundation makes the product predictable to maintain, fast to develop, and understandable for the entire team.
If you are planning a new app or want to protect your current project from technical debt, we can help determine which architectural solutions suit your product best.
