diff --git a/src/Meezi.Infrastructure/Data/PlatformDataSeeder.cs b/src/Meezi.Infrastructure/Data/PlatformDataSeeder.cs
index a22bde2..a2ecb1e 100644
--- a/src/Meezi.Infrastructure/Data/PlatformDataSeeder.cs
+++ b/src/Meezi.Infrastructure/Data/PlatformDataSeeder.cs
@@ -29,15 +29,24 @@ public static class PlatformDataSeeder
         // fresh deploy. Idempotent. Phone is overridable via "Seed:SystemAdminPhone".
         await EnsureOwnerAdminAsync(db, config, logger);
 
-        // Production-safe: give cafés without a map pin an approximate location
-        // from their city, so the public map lights up. Idempotent (fills nulls).
-        await BackfillCafeLocationsAsync(db, logger);
+        // Best-effort, NON-FATAL seeding. These steps populate convenience data
+        // (map pins, plan/feature catalog) and must never crash-loop the API on
+        // boot — a failure is logged and startup continues so the service serves.
+        try
+        {
+            // Give cafés without a map pin an approximate location from their
+            // city so the public map lights up. Idempotent (fills nulls).
+            await BackfillCafeLocationsAsync(db, logger);
 
-        // Subscription plans + feature flags are platform config the admin panel
-        // reads in every environment. Idempotent: adds any rows that are missing
-        // (so prod, which only had the Free plan, gets Pro/Business/Enterprise).
-        await SeedPlansAsync(db, logger);
-        await SeedFeaturesAsync(db, logger);
+            // Subscription plans + feature flags the admin panel reads in every
+            // environment. Idempotent: adds any tiers/keys that are missing.
+            await SeedPlansAsync(db, logger);
+            await SeedFeaturesAsync(db, logger);
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            logger.LogError(ex, "Non-fatal platform seeding step failed; continuing startup");
+        }
 
         if (!env.IsDevelopment())
         {
@@ -425,7 +434,12 @@ public static class PlatformDataSeeder
         // Tier (not Id) carries the unique constraint, so dedupe on Tier — an
         // existing Free plan may have a different Id, and inserting another
         // Free-tier row would violate IX_PlatformPlanDefinitions_Tier.
-        var existingTiers = (await db.PlatformPlanDefinitions.Select(p => p.Tier).ToListAsync())
+        // IgnoreQueryFilters: a SOFT-DELETED plan still occupies its Tier in the
+        // unique index, so it must be counted or the insert collides on boot.
+        var existingTiers = (await db.PlatformPlanDefinitions
+                .IgnoreQueryFilters()
+                .Select(p => p.Tier)
+                .ToListAsync())
             .ToHashSet();
         var missing = plans.Where(p => !existingTiers.Contains(p.Tier)).ToArray();
         if (missing.Length == 0) return;
@@ -463,7 +477,11 @@ public static class PlatformDataSeeder
         };
 
         // Key carries the unique constraint, so dedupe on Key (not Id).
-        var existingKeys = (await db.PlatformFeatures.Select(f => f.Key).ToListAsync())
+        // IgnoreQueryFilters so a soft-deleted feature's Key is still counted.
+        var existingKeys = (await db.PlatformFeatures
+                .IgnoreQueryFilters()
+                .Select(f => f.Key)
+                .ToListAsync())
             .ToHashSet(StringComparer.Ordinal);
         var missing = features.Where(f => !existingKeys.Contains(f.Key)).ToArray();
         if (missing.Length == 0) return;