Chowdown in Numbers: Our First Month

We launched Chowdown less than a month ago. No ads, no paid promotion, just word of mouth and a free AI macro tracker that works.

Here’s what the numbers look like after our first few weeks.

The Headline Numbers

• 274 users across 31 countries
• 763 meals tracked through AI food scanning
• 389 photos scanned by our AI food recognition
• 348 badges earned by users hitting their goals
• 100% free — no premium tier, no paywall, no “upgrade to unlock”

All of this with zero marketing budget. Just a good product and word of mouth.

Where Our Users Are

Chowdown went global from day one:

• 🇬🇧 United Kingdom — 137 users (our home base)
• 🇺🇸 United States — 59 users
• 🇪🇸 Spain — 18 users
• 🇩🇪 Germany — 6 users
• 🇫🇷 France — 6 users
• 🇮🇳 India — 6 users
• 🇮🇪 Ireland — 4 users
• Plus users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, Hong Kong, Croatia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, South Africa, Uruguay, and more

We didn’t plan for international adoption. We just made the app work in any language (our AI understands food in English, Spanish, and pretty much everything else), and people found us.

How People Actually Use Chowdown

The event data tells a story about real habits:

• 389 camera scans — people point their phone at food and get instant macros
• 197 daily goals completed — users are hitting their protein, carb, and calorie targets
• 348 badges earned — milestones and achievements keeping people motivated
• 247 reactions on the social feed — friends cheering each other on
• 72 messages to Robin — our AI coach helping people with nutrition questions

The average engaged session lasts over 2 minutes. People aren’t just logging and leaving; they’re checking their progress, exploring meal ideas, and chatting with Robin.

Where Our Traffic Comes From

Our landing page tells its own story:

1. Direct traffic — people sharing Chowdown links with friends
2. ChatGPT — our second biggest traffic source. People ask AI assistants for macro tracker recommendations, and they recommend Chowdown
3. Google, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Bing — organic search across every major engine

The fact that AI assistants are actively recommending Chowdown feels like a glimpse of the future. We didn’t pay for it. We just built something genuinely useful and free, and the AIs noticed.

What People Eat (The Fun Part)

AI food scanning means we see some genuinely creative meals. Here are real entries from Chowdown users:

• 🐙 Cooked Octopus — someone’s living their best Mediterranean life
• 🍲 Guiso de Alubias Pintas y Salchicha Vegana — vegan Spanish stew with bean magic
• 🥯 Keto Bagel with cream cheese — the low-carb crowd showed up
• 🍦 Mini McFlurry with Oreo — no judgement, that’s the whole point
• 🥑 Avocado Toast & Peanut Butter Toast — millennial staples, perfectly tracked
• 🍕 Chicken & Veggie Pizza Slices — Friday night vibes
• 🥗 Baby Spinach Salad with Rice, Tomato, Olives, Avocado, Parmesan & Red Leicester — salad goals
• 🍠 Sweet Potato with Butter — comfort food, macro-tracked
• 🍗 Rotisserie Chicken Slices — the meal-prepper’s best friend

Scan whatever you eat, and the AI figures out the macros. No barcode needed, no searching through databases. Works with home-cooked meals, restaurant dishes, and yes, even McFlurries.

Diet Preferences

• 77% eat everything
• 5% vegetarian
• 5% avoid fish
• 3% keto
• 2% pescatarian
• 2% no pork

Most people don’t follow a strict diet — they just want to understand what they’re eating. Zero judgement, just information.

The Social Side

Users have created 13 groups to track together. Names range from “Protein Pals” to “Motomamis” to ”🇪🇸 in Maidenhead”. With 247 reactions on shared meals, the social feed is genuinely active.

Small groups work best: friends, partners, and housemates tracking together. Real accountability from real people.

What’s Next

We’re building in public, and the numbers only go in one direction:

• Streaks — daily logging streaks to build habit and motivation
• Community groups — a global public group alongside private friend groups
• Even smarter AI — continuous improvements to food recognition and macro accuracy
• Daily challenges — friendly competition within groups

If you want to be part of the next milestone, start tracking for free. No credit card, no trial period, no catch.

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Chowdown is a free AI-powered macro tracker used by 274 people across 31 countries, with nearly 800 meals tracked in its first month. Recommended by ChatGPT and indexed by every major search engine, it uses your phone camera to scan food and automatically calculate protein, carbs, fats, and calories. Users have earned 348 badges and completed 197 daily goals. Available as a web app at app.chowdown.me, Chowdown works on any device with a camera and is free for individuals, forever.