The interface
The sidebar, the Create button, the user menu, notifications, and the recipe list, piece by piece.
The whole app is run from a fixed sidebar on the left. Once you understand this bar, you know how to move around AreaCacao. Here is every piece, in the exact order it appears.
The sidebar
From top to bottom, the bar contains:
- Header — the AreaCacao logo and a button to collapse or expand the bar.
- Your account — an avatar with your initial, your name, and the notifications bell.
- Create button — the shortcut to start something new.
- Dashboard — your home screen.
- FORMULATION — the block of formula and catalog tools.
- SENSORY ANALYSIS — the tasting module (a clickable header that opens the hub).
- Support — after the navigation sections, separated by a line.
- Recipes — the list of your recipes, with a search box, below Support.
Dashboard
The first item in the bar (house icon). It takes you to https://app.areacacao.com/dashboard.
FORMULATION section
Under the FORMULATION header, in this order:
| Item | What it's for |
|---|---|
| My recipes | The complete list of your recipes and their editor. |
| Filling formulator | Design fillings with AI (ganache, caramel, fruit jelly…). |
| Chocolate formulator | Calculate the formula for your chocolate. |
| Import recipes | Digitize a photo or PDF of a recipe. |
| Ingredients | The catalog with technical sheets. |
| Costs | The cost per gram and per batch of each recipe. |
SENSORY ANALYSIS section
The SENSORY ANALYSIS header is orange and clickable: it takes you to the module's hub (https://app.areacacao.com/sensory-analysis), where all tasting operations live. Under the header you have two shortcuts:
- Evaluations — your tastings and studies.
- Descriptive tasting — a shortcut that opens a new descriptive tasting directly at the samples step.
At the bottom of the section, the More in sensory link also opens the hub. On the Starter plan, these shortcuts show a PRO label and, when clicked, open an upgrade invitation instead of the tool.
Support
After the navigation sections, separated by a divider line, is Support: your help and contact channel. Right below it appears the Recipes list.
The Create button
Above the navigation there is a Create button (with a + icon on the left). Clicking it opens a menu with two options:
- New recipe — opens the What do you want to formulate? selector, with three ways to start: Recipe from scratch (a blank sheet you name and edit by hand), Filling formulator, and Chocolate formulator (both AI-assisted). It's the same selector that appears when you click New recipe in the My recipes list (
/recipes). See Create a recipe. - New sensory evaluation — starts a new tasting.
When the bar is collapsed, the Create button becomes a round button with the + icon and opens the same menu.
The user menu
Your avatar (a circle with your initial) and your name appear at the top of the bar. Clicking them opens the user menu, with your email in the header and these options:
- Settings — your profile and account settings (
https://app.areacacao.com/configurations). - Log out — signs you out securely; you'll see a "Logging out" notice while it completes and you'll return to the sign-in screen.
Depending on your account configuration, this menu may later include subscription management. Today that option doesn't appear yet.
The notifications bell
Next to your name there is a bell. If you have pending alerts, it shows a red counter (and "9+" when there are more than nine). When you open it you'll see the Notifications list with a View dashboard link; each alert takes you to the screen where you can resolve it. If there's nothing pending, you'll see "All clear" with the subtitle "No pending alerts".
The Recipes list
Below the navigation, the Recipes section shows your most recent recipes so you can open them with a single click. If you have more than five, a search box appears with the helper text "Search recipes or products…". While they load you'll see "Loading recipes…"; if you haven't created any yet, "No recipes yet."; and if a search finds nothing, No results for "your search" (with the query in quotation marks).
Collapse and expand the bar
The header button (the double arrow) collapses the bar to a narrow strip of icons only, to gain workspace. In collapsed mode, each item shows its name in a tooltip on hover, and the Recipes list is hidden. Click it again to expand. AreaCacao remembers your preference.
On mobile
On small screens the bar hides. At the top you'll see a fixed header with the logo and a menu button ("Open menu"); tapping it slides out the panel with all the navigation. It closes on its own when you pick a destination, or with the "Close menu" button.