Cookwala Ecosystem and Marketplace

Status: experimental profile. Not part of Cookwala Core. See CORE.md section 10 for what is normative today.

Cookwala is a protocol, not a store. It gives every participant in the food-to-table lifecycle a defined place, a standard way to be discovered, and a standard way to plug in their own requirements, flows and standards.

Schema: [market.schema.json](../schemas/market.schema.json) (Provider, Offer, OfferFeed, QuoteRequest, Quote). Examples: [examples/market/](../examples/market).

1. The lifecycle and where everyone fits #

 Sourcing ─► Planning ─► Buying ─► Storing ─► Prepping ─► Cooking ─► Serving ─► Leftovers ─► Feedback
   │            │           │          │          │           │           │            │            │
 farms,      recipe       grocers,   fridge/    robots,     robots,     restaurants, storage      reports,
 suppliers,  publishers,  butchers,  pantry     cookware,   appliances, caterers,    advice,      reviews,
 certifiers  chefs,       meal kits, makers,    knife/tool  energy      delivery     transform-   certifiers,
             nutrition-   delivery,  container  makers      providers,  services     ations       auditors
             ists, AI &   UCP/ACP    makers                 hub & AI
             advisor      merchants                         vendors
             vendors

Participant	Publishes	Consumes	Typical integration
Grocers / supermarkets / butchers / fishmongers / farms	Provider + OfferFeed: products mapped to `cw.ing` ids (+ GTIN), pack sizes, prices, availability, delivery areas, halal/organic credentials	QuoteRequests, OrderIntents (via UCP/ACP)	Offer feed + UCP/ACP checkout endpoint
Ingredient suppliers / wholesalers	Bulk offers, quotes for caterers and schools	QuoteRequests from `feed` plans	Quote endpoint
Restaurants / cloud kitchens / caterers	Ready meals mapped to `recipeIds`; their own (possibly private) recipe catalogs; capacity	Orders; Cookwala sessions to run their own robot kitchens	Offers + private catalog + hub
Meal-kit companies	Kits mapped to recipes (cook-it-yourself option in advice)	Kitchen capability matches	Offers with `recipeIds`
Robot makers / appliance makers	Products with capability manifests; conformance credentials; rental and service offers; vendor extensions and bindings	Recipes, sessions, advice, events	Executor/adapter + offers + `x-vendor` namespace
Cookware / container makers	Cookware items (capacity, material, induction, oven/freezer/microwave safety, robot-graspable handles)	Storage and planning needs	Offers with `cookware` objects
Chefs / recipe publishers / cooking schools	Catalogs (free, paid or private), recipe packs, classes	Execution reports (how their recipes perform on robots)	Catalog + offers (`recipe_pack`, `cooking_class`)
Nutritionists / dietitians	Policy packs, nutrition targets, flows	Client profiles (with consent)	Extensions + flows
Certifiers (halal, kosher, organic), auditors, labs	Verifiable Credentials for providers, products, recipes and devices	Audit data	`Credential.vc` (W3C VC)
Delivery services	Delivery offers, ETA events, `robot_receive` handoff	OrderIntents	UCP/ACP + events
Energy providers	Tariff/time-of-use data, energy plans	Kitchen energy use (opt-in)	Offers (`energy_plan`) + kitchen profile prices
Extension / AI model / hub vendors	Extensions, models, advisors, hubs (free or paid)	Hook calls	`extension.schema.json` + offers
Catalog hosts / marketplace operators	Hosted catalogs, registries, curated marketplaces	Provider feeds	Registry + discovery
Repair / maintenance services	Robot and appliance service offers	`device.fault` events (with consent)	Offers + A2A agent

2. How trade flows through the protocol #

Discovery: providers publish /.well-known/cookwala.json (roles include provider) with a link to their Provider document and offer feed. Registries list them. Hubs and advisors search offers by ingredientId, recipeIds, deviceClasses, area, credentials and price.
Planning uses offers: cook_from with allowShopping, feed and shopping_optimize read offers to price plans, compare cook vs meal kit vs ready meal, and build the cheapest basket that meets diet, halal and allergen credentials.
Quotes: for bigger needs (catering for 80, 5 kg halal lamb, a robot for an event), the hub broadcasts a QuoteRequest. It carries no personal data, just needs, area, date and budget. Providers answer with signed Quotes.
Checkout: happens in the provider's own system or through UCP/ACP. Payment authorization uses the provider's flow or AP2 mandates. Cookwala never carries card data or credentials. The hub records the OrderIntent → externalOrderRef.
Fulfillment: delivery events (cookwala.order.*), robot_receive handoff, and inventory updated automatically.
Feedback: opt-in execution reports and order outcomes build reputation (delivery reliability, product quality vs listing, recipe success on robots).

3. Fairness and neutrality rules #

Paid placement must be disclosed (offer.sponsored = true). Indexes must label it, and must not rank sponsored offers above safety- or constraint-failing alternatives.
Credentials are verified, not trusted: verified is set by the index or hub after checking the VC.
No lock-in: any marketplace operator can run on the protocol, and providers can list in many registries.
Privacy: QuoteRequests and offer searches don't include client profiles. Only an approved order shares delivery details with the chosen provider, through their checkout.
Dietary integrity: offers claiming halal/kosher/organic without a verifiable credential are labelled "unverified" and excluded when the active policy requires certification.

4. Bringing your own standards #

Participants often have standards of their own. Cookwala bridges them instead of replacing them:

Their standard	Bridge
GS1 GTIN / Digital Link	`offer.gtin`, `ingredient.gtin`; vocab entries can list GTIN examples
schema.org Recipe / Product / Offer	`cookwala convert --to/--from schema-org`; JSON-LD `@context`
Matter, Home Connect, SmartThings, vendor appliance APIs	Bindings + adapters (`bindings/`, `x-vendor`)
ROS 2, VDA 5050, Open-RMF	Executor/fleet adapters (INTEROP §3)
UCP, ACP, AP2	Commerce adapters (order.schema.json)
HACCP plans, ISO 22000, local food codes	Policy packs + CCPs; export of CCP logs
Halal/kosher certification schemes	Credentials + dietary policy packs
Internal company formats	`x-` fields + `fields` contributions; flows for their processes

Each participant declares the standards they follow in Provider.standards, so integrators know which bridges apply.

5. Business models the protocol supports (not requires) #

Free and open recipes (cookwala.ai public catalog).
Paid or private recipe catalogs (chefs, brands, restaurants).
Commercial extensions, AI models and hubs (with pricing).
Grocery, meal-kit, ready-meal and catering sales through providers' own checkouts.
Robot sales, rental and service; certification and auditing services.
Optional marketplace operators (including, possibly, cookwala.ai) running curated registries with clear disclosure rules.

The protocol itself, the reference index and the core knowledge stay free (see the licenses and the patent pledge).