Show HN: Validated Daily SaaS Ideas

💡 Idea: FoodSafeTemps

Digital HACCP logbook for small food businesses: record fridge/freezer temperatures, receive alerts, generate compliance reports.

Platform: web and mobile app

Why it's a good idea?

Problem & current solutions:

• Small restaurants, cafes and food trucks are legally required to keep HACCP / temperature logs. Most still do this on paper. If logs are missing or out-of-date they risk fines or losing their food licence.
• A search for “digital HACCP logbook” and “food safety temperature monitoring app” returns dozens of SaaS products: Safe Food Pro, Zip HACCP ($59.99/location/mo), Jolt, TraqFood, FoodDocs, Eziops, etc. Competitive landscape proves people pay for this, but also shows there's still room for a simpler / cheaper / niche-focused play (e.g. only temperature + reports instead of broad check-list suites).

Evidence of demand in communities:

• r/foodservice thread discussing EziOps: multiple commenters ask for cheaper, easier alternatives and share their own hacks (Google Sheets + Bluetooth probe). Other Reddit searches for “digital food safety” and “Safe Food Pro” reveal similar discussions about price and complexity. People are actively looking, asking for recommendations, and comparing vendors.
• On industry forums (IFSQN, restaurantowner.com) owners repeatedly ask how to automate fridge/freezer logs; threads have dozens of replies.

Keyword research:

• temperature monitoring system: 880 searches/mo, difficulty 0
• wifi temperature and humidity sensor: 720/mo, difficulty 24
• haccp plan example: 720/mo, difficulty 7
• haccp software: 320/mo, difficulty 0

Related long-tails (digital food safety management system 170/mo, diff 13; wireless temperature monitoring system 390/mo, diff 8) add extra organic surface.

Commercial intent:

• High CPCs on many keywords (e.g. restaurant temperature monitoring CPC $68.86) indicate advertisers spend money to acquire these users.
• Existing vendors’ public pricing ($30–$100 /location/mo) shows clear willingness to pay.

Market gaps surfaced in community threads:

• Too expensive for very small operators with 1–2 fridges.
• Complicated UI; owners just want enter temps, get alerts, print report for inspector.
• Hardware lock-in; many solutions only work with proprietary probes. A BYO-sensor or manual-entry-first approach is asked for.

Takeaways:

• ✅ People are actively searching (> 500 monthly search volume keywords with low difficulty) and discussing the pain online.
• ✅ There is proven willingness to pay (existing SaaS with $ per-location pricing).
• ✅ Competitive space, but still complaints about price/complexity create room for an indie, niche-focused product (fridge/freezer logs + alerts + PDF report, under $20/mo with optional cheap Bluetooth probe kit)

Risks:

• Hardware component (sensors) adds support complexity.
• Need to differentiate clearly from established brands.
• Regulatory requirements differ by country; must localise report templates.

Overall assessment: demand exists, search volume & difficulty meet the stated thresholds, and paying competitors validate revenue potential. Idea is worth pursuing with a tight, low-cost niche angle and rapid validation with the communities already asking for it.