“There’s food at home.” The thought that crosses our minds right before we say yes to plans to eat out. It’s a part of being social.
Snackpass is a takeout order app that integrates being social with convenience. Nothing is new about an app lets you order and pick up from restaurants. What’s unique is that you can order with friends, see what restaurants your friends are ordering from, and see how many people have ordered a particular item on a menu. It’s kind of like Yelp, but easier to use.
Their focus right now is college campuses, which makes sense given the population is clustered together, eats together, and it’s a very social environment. I’m not sure how it takes off in major cities because you’re likely not living within a five mile radius of your friends. It looks like they’re targeting major cities like NYC, LA, SF, Chicago and Austin next based on job postings, which are all near college campuses.
For restaurants, it gives them visibility to orders and digitization of restaurant ordering by reaching more customers and turning them into regulars. There are two options currently depending on the restaurant’s goals. Snackpass charges an unspecified fee that is “nothing like the high fees that other 3rd party companies charge.” Shots fired at DoorDash and UberEats?? The app also gives the restaurants the ability to create their own rewards program.
The founder went to Yale and that’s where Snackpass first started. They received $21 million for their Series A with funding from Andreessen Horowitz and some other known names like rapper Nas and NFL player Larry Fitzgerald.
It’s a crowded market, but the nosy part in me is curious to see where my friends are eating at. Kind of like scrolling through your Venmo feed and seeing who paid who for what. Kind of like checking the Snapchat map to see where your friends are.
Welcome to 2021 where you need to see what people are up to at all times.