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Josh Abady, Man Greenstein and Rachel Abady

For folks with dietary restrictions searching for appropriate recipes on-line, discovering the appropriate ones is like manna from culinary — and swipe-and-click — heaven. A detailed-knit group of Jewish day college alums-turned-startup founders say they’ve the answer for this drawback and others with Manna Cooking, a brand new app that launched on the iOS app retailer on Tuesday. In a Zoom interview with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutchfrom their separate Brooklyn flats, Manna co-founders Josh and Rachel Abady — sporting matching Manna sweatshirts — shared an bold imaginative and prescient for his or her new startup, hoping to turn into one thing just like the Goodreads or Spotify of meals.

Day college connection: “The aim of Manna is to make meals simple for actual folks,” mentioned Josh Abady, the corporate’s CEO. His sister, Rachel Abady, is the chief advertising officer, and Josh’s childhood greatest buddy from Solomon Schechter of Westchester (now the Leffell College), Man Greenstein, is Manna’s chief know-how officer. The trio has spent the previous a number of months in an incubator program run by Interaction Ventures, a VC agency that has invested in profitable corporations together with Coinbase and Warby Parker. They raised $400,000 to launch the app, which they started engaged on in 2019, and so they intention to boost $3 million in a seed spherical within the spring.

Swipe proper: The principle interface of the app relies on courting apps like Tinder, with customers in a position to swipe by recipe playing cards as one does for potential romantic companions. “Folks love swiping on stuff. It’s enjoyable, it’s addictive. It’s like meals porn; even for those who’re not searching for one thing to really prepare dinner, you simply need to have a look at one thing that appears scrumptious,” mentioned Josh.“Half the battle with recipes is, like, ‘What the hell do I prepare dinner tonight?’ You want some stunning, passive inspiration.”

Household of foodies: For Rachel, 32, and Josh, 27, “meals was an enormous a part of our lives due to all of the Jewish holidays,” recalled Rachel. The household at all times had Shabbat dinner collectively, and in addition loved the thriving meals scene of their Manhattan neighborhood. “Outdoors our doorways on the Higher West Aspect, past Jews being robust in numbers, you will have each deli, each bodega, each restaurant you might probably need. And so it was identical to at all times integral [to us].”

Keep away: Manna customers can enter meals they’re allergic or delicate to or just need to keep away from, and people components will then be highlighted in recipes so customers know to keep away from them. Down the street, the app’s creators plan so as to add a characteristic to look by a particular kind of food plan or restriction — kosher, Keto, vegan, gluten-free, halal, and so on.

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