In a world increasingly dominated by technology and convenience, planning a night out with friends or family should be just as effortless. This is precisely what Appetite, the revolutionary dining app, aims to accomplish. After successfully beta testing the app with 14,000 users, the startup is now making Appetite available to everyone in the United Kingdom, with ambitious expansion plans slated for Europe and the United States.
Founded in May 2023 by Toby Green, Appetite introduces an innovative solution to simplify the process of organizing dining experiences with your loved ones. The app provides an all-in-one platform for creating dining group chats, syncing calendars, voting on dining options, and securing reservations. What sets Appetite apart is its utilization of AI and word-of-mouth recommendations to offer personalized suggestions for restaurants and bars tailored to each user.
Toby Green, the visionary behind Appetite, shared the inspiration behind this groundbreaking app. “Appetite stemmed from the tedious process of arranging an evening out with my friends,” Green told TechCrunch. “The process felt fragmented, frustrating, and often outdated. Navigating from WhatsApp to coordinate schedules with friends, to Google for often unreliable restaurant reviews, and then to a booking site—only to discover the chosen restaurant is fully booked—creates a disjointed and frustrating user experience. We wanted to create an all-in-one platform where our users could get real-time, personalized suggestions of available spots, effortlessly coordinate plans with friends, and ultimately enjoy exceptional, hassle-free dining experiences.”
Key Features of Appetite:
- Feed and Recommendations: Appetite includes a feed where users can share and discover restaurant lists and recommendations from their friends, followers, and favorite creators. The “For You” page offers personalized restaurant suggestions based on user interactions and preferences.
- Group Planning: Appetite’s “Groups” feature allows users to create group chats to sync calendars, vote on dining options, and receive AI-generated recommendations for the entire group.
- AI Chatbot “Pierre Pomme”: The app includes an AI chatbot that learns from users’ tastes and preferences, providing personalized recommendations for restaurants and bars.
Appetite’s target demographic is young adults aged 25 to 34, as Green believes this age group represents food enthusiasts who regularly dine out and are open to culinary exploration. However, the startup is eyeing the 18-24 age group, known for being heavily influenced by content creators, especially those on TikTok. To resonate with this influential audience, Appetite plans to incorporate creator-generated video content into its platform.
Appetite’s growth received a boost in September when it closed a $2 million seed round from angel investors, including Sarah Maxwell, Jonathan Grad, Alok Oberoi, and Lisa Tchenguiz. The funding will be used to accelerate growth and expand the team to enhance marketing, product development, and strategic partnerships.
The Future of Appetite:
Looking ahead, Appetite has exciting plans to add additional features in the coming months. These include:
- Introducing a discord-style community feature for users to request and share recommendations, post reviews, and organize food-related events.
- Integrating video reviews into the platform through collaboration with content creators and influential foodies.
- Supporting content creators by offering exclusive in-app creator content, such as cocktail-making masterclasses, chef’s recipes, and personalized city guides.
- Implementing gamification to create a more engaging and interactive user experience, complete with various rewards and discounts based on user interactions with gamified features.
Appetite is set to revolutionize the way we plan dining experiences, making it easier, more personalized, and a lot more fun. With an expanding user base and exciting new features on the horizon, it’s a platform to watch as it continues to redefine the dining-out experience for everyone.
