TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal

TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal

By Semicomma

TasteBuddy is a customizable tasting journal for food and beverage enthusiasts to log personal notes on iOS.

The App DNA

What makes this app unique?

Users need a flexible logging system that adapts to specific hobbies, such as scotch or coffee, rather than forcing a rigid, pre-defined structure.

For Food and beverage enthusiasts who require a highly flexible, user-defined system for tracking personal tasting notes.

What does it look like?

Key features

Customizable Tasting Attributesedge

Users define specific data fields and attributes for each category, allowing for tailored logging structures.

Slider-based Scoringstandard

Visual slider interface for rapid input of tasting ratings and quality scores.

Home Screen Dashboardstandard

Displays top-rated items and category summaries directly on the app landing screen.

How much does it cost?

freemiumFree version with limited functionalityFull version via in-app purchase

Freemium model gates unlimited entries and categories behind a single in-app purchase.

Velocity

Dormant developmentperformanceShow more...

TasteBuddy has been inactive for 1,785 days, indicating the project is no longer receiving development support. The last recorded update focused exclusively on resolving stability issues and data persistence bugs. There is no evidence of ongoing maintenance or new feature development.

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Who built it?

Semicomma

1 app tracked · Food & Drink

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User Sentiment

What do users think recently?

Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate highly flexible cataloging features allow users to track diverse personal interests like scotch and coffee.

How are ratings & reviews evolving?

App Store
4.21 · 14

What users say, by theme

What Users Love
  • Highly flexible cataloging features allow users to track diverse personal interests like scotch and coffee
What Frustrates Users
  • Broken in-app purchase flow prevents users from upgrading to the full version after reaching limits
+ 1 more theme

10 of 10 recent reviews analyzed · moderate confidence · Mixed overall

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Unlock 1 more frustration theme, each backed by review evidence.

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Competition

Competitive landscape for TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal

How's the Food & Drink market?

TasteBuddy serves a specialized niche in the Food & Drink category, maintaining a 4.2-star rating across 14 reviews. The lack of updates since 2021 signals a stagnant position that limits growth potential against more active competitors.

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The rivals identified

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The Analyst's Read

Key takeaways for TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal

Where is it heading?

The market for tasting journals is shifting toward active, cloud-synced platforms that offer social sharing and regular content updates. TasteBuddy remains in maintenance mode, and its inability to facilitate basic upgrades will likely accelerate churn as users seek more reliable, supported alternatives.

  • The broken in-app purchase flow prevents users from upgrading, which directly compresses potential revenue and drives negative sentiment.
  • A five-year development gap signals that the app is in maintenance mode, making it increasingly difficult to retain users who expect modern feature updates.

The SWOT

Core Strengths
  • Customizable logging schema allows users to track diverse personal interests without rigid structure
Critical Frictions 2 weaknesses inside
Growth Levers
  • Implementing a functional support link would address the primary user frustration and enable conversion
Market Threats 1 threat identified

Next best moves

1 Invest · 1 Maintain

Repair the in-app purchase flow because users report the button is unresponsive → unlock revenue conversion

+ 1 more prioritized move

The counter-intuitive read

The app's five-year silence is its greatest asset for a specific user segment…

Read the full take

Since the last report: The competitive narrative shifted to frame the app's five-year development silence as a potential asset for users seeking static, reliable software. While the core product remains unchanged and dormant, the SWOT analysis and PM action items now explicitly prioritize the revenue-blocking purchase failure over all other development tasks.

Bottom line

TasteBuddy provides a unique, flexible logging mechanism that retains core users, but the broken purchase flow and lack of support are actively suppressing revenue. Repairing the upgrade path would unlock the conversion potential currently trapped by technical failure.

Unlock 2 critical frictions, 1 market threat, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.

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FAQ

Is TasteBuddy suitable for tracking non-food items?
Yes, TasteBuddy is designed to be highly customizable, allowing users to define their own categories and attributes for any type of item they wish to track.
Does TasteBuddy offer a free version?
Yes, TasteBuddy offers a free version that allows users to try the functionality, with a single in-app purchase available to unlock unlimited categories and entries.
Are there known issues with the full version upgrade?
Yes, recent user reviews report that the in-app purchase button is unresponsive, which prevents users from successfully upgrading to the full version.

Sources

  1. [1] App Store, source

Report last updated

Disclosure: Independent intel to help mobile builders succeed.

AI-powered analysis with automated quality gates, built from publicly available sources. Marlvel.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal, its developer, the app publisher, Apple, or Google Play. All trademarks, logos, and screenshots referenced remain the property of their respective owners.

What's new

The competitive narrative shifted to frame the app's five-year development silence as a potential asset for users seeking static, reliable software. While the core product remains unchanged and dormant, the SWOT analysis and PM action items now explicitly prioritize the revenue-blocking purchase failure over all other development tasks.

shifted

Strategic Positioning Pivot

added

New Competitive Threat

shifted

Refined SWOT Weakness

Cite this report

Marlvel.ai. “TasteBuddy - Tasting Journal Intelligence Report.” Updated Aug 29, 2026. https://marlvel.ai/apps/tastebuddy-tasting-journal

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