AreaCacao Docs

The sidebar, the Create button, the user menu, notifications, and the recipe list, element by element.

The whole app is driven from a sidebar fixed on the left. Once you understand the sidebar, you know how to get around AreaCacao. Here is every piece, in the exact order it appears.

From top to bottom, the sidebar contains:

Header — the AreaCacao logo and a button to collapse or expand the sidebar.
Your account — your avatar with your initial and your name (they open the user menu) and, next to them, the notifications bell.
Create button — the shortcut to start something new.
Dashboard — your home screen.
FORMULATION — the block of formula, catalog, and costing tools.
SENSORY ANALYSIS — the shortcuts into the tasting module.
Operations — separated by a line, the entry point to the Operations panel.
Recipes — the list of your recipes, with a search box.

Dashboard

The first navigation item (house icon). It takes you to https://app.areacacao.com/dashboard.

FORMULATION section

Under the FORMULATION header you'll find, in this order:

Item	What it's for
My recipes	The full list of your recipes and their editor.
Filling formulator	Design fillings with AI (ganache, caramel, pâte de fruit, praline, truffle).
Chocolate formulator	Work out your chocolate's formula.
Import recipes	Digitize a photo, a PDF, or a spreadsheet of recipes.
Ingredients	The catalog with the technical data sheets.
Supplies	Packaging, labels, boxes, and other non-edible consumables.
Costs	The cost and profitability of each recipe.
Shared with me	Recipes other people have shared with you.

SENSORY ANALYSIS section

Under the SENSORY ANALYSIS header there are three shortcuts:

My evaluations — your tastings and studies.
Panelists — the people on your tasting panel.
New evaluation — opens the wizard to create a tasting, at the step where you choose the test type.

The module's other tools (training, protocols, attributes, batches, shelf life, sheets, and reports) open from the Sensory analysis hub. If your plan doesn't include the module, the header and shortcuts carry a Pro label, and clicking them opens an invitation to upgrade instead of the tool.

Operations

After those sections, separated by a divider line, comes Operations: the only way into the Operations panel, from which you navigate suppliers, purchases, inventory, production, and price tracking.

The Create button

Above the navigation there's 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? picker, 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 picker you get when you click New recipe in the My recipes list (/recipes). See Create a recipe.
New sensory evaluation — starts a new tasting.

When the sidebar is collapsed, the Create button becomes a round button with the + icon and opens the same menu.

Your avatar (a circle with your initial) and your name appear at the top of the sidebar, below the logo. 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).
Support — the form to contact the team (https://app.areacacao.com/support). See Contact support.
Log out — signs you out securely; you'll see a "Logging out" notice while it completes, and then you're back on the sign-in screen.

Your subscription isn't in this menu: you manage it in Settings → Subscription (https://app.areacacao.com/configurations?tab=subscription). See Subscription and billing.

The notifications bell

Next to your name there's a bell. If you have pending notices, 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 and, if there are unread notices, Mark all as read; each notice takes you to the screen where you can deal with it, and you can dismiss it. If nothing is pending, you'll see "All clear" with the subtitle "No pending alerts".

The Recipes list

At the bottom of the sidebar, the Recipes section shows your most recent recipes so you can open them in one click. If you have more than five, a search box appears with the hint text "Search recipes or products…" and, when there are more than fit, the View all recipes (n) link. 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 quotes).

The header button (the double arrow) collapses the sidebar into a narrow icon-only strip to give you more working space. In collapsed mode, each item shows its name in a tooltip on hover, and the Recipes list is hidden. Click again to expand it. AreaCacao remembers your preference. On some screens with a side analysis panel, the sidebar collapses on its own to make room; the button's tooltip tells you so.

On mobile

On small screens the sidebar is hidden. At the top you'll see a fixed header with the logo and a menu button ("Open menu"); tapping it slides in the panel with all the navigation. It closes on its own when you pick a destination, or with the "Close menu" button.

The interface

The sidebar