Hungry for Mobile

Mar 17, 2014

Foodler targets personalization in crowded food ordering services field

Taryn Plumb, Special to the Journal

Considering the web- and app-focused world we live in, the idea of picking up a phone, potentially getting a busy signal or waiting on hold, then placing an order, seems almost archaic.

And while there are numerous online restaurant ordering services – including through the establishments themselves – Boston-based Foodler is aiming to differentiate itself through variety and personalization. Founded in 2004, the company connects users with 13,000 restaurants in 3,370 cities across the country (and, as was most recently added, Vancouver).

“The original idea was to reduce the friction of the transactions – no busy signals, no confusion,” said CEO and co-founder Christian Dumontet. But, he said of the platform: “It learns. The more you use it, the better the recommendations are.”

Users access Foodler through its website, or free iOS or Android apps. After entering a city, they've given a list of restaurants that offer delivery and takeout; they can then browse menus, click on selections, and send an order directly to the restaurant, which receives it via web console, email, fax, text message or a point-of-sale system.

Users also have access to restaurant ratings and satisfaction indexes, and, as they continue to order through Foodler, algorithms analyze their cost, cuisine and location preferences to offer recommendations and “best bets.” With each order, they also earn points that can eventually be used for gift cards or merchandise.

The platform also allows establishments to run special promotions just for Foodler users.

Restaurants, for their part, “don't have to spend as much time processing an order,” said Dumontet. “They get a fully formed order, so they can focus on what they do best, which is make the food.”

Boston's Black Jack Pasta is a longtime partner, with 30,000 orders placed through Foodler to date.

On an average night, according to owner Jack Rozza, they'll handle roughly 100 deliveries through Foodler, coming from Brookline, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, Allston, Brighton, and beyond.

“We knew we'd be opening the door to so many more customers,” said Rozza. “They make my life easier. Because of Foodler, I have done really well in business, instead of just surviving.”

With 48 employees, Foodler derives its revenue from commissions on each order. Although Dumontet declined to release revenue figures or user numbers, he noted that the iOS app continues to grow 40 percent, month-over-month.

Looking ahead, Dumontet explained, Foodler is focusing on geographic expansion and the introduction of new features, such as a group ordering function that allows for check-splitting.

Recently, the company brought on Michael Vosseller, formerly of Kayak.com, as their director of mobile development. In his short time there so far, he has “defined a road map of our next six months of software development,” Dumontet explained.

In February, Foodler also partnered with the mobile payment app LevelUp. The two companies had several overlapping merchants, according to Nick Herbold, a LevelUp developer advocate, and the partnership allows the latter's 1.5 million users to order online and access rewards programs that were previously only available through in-store transactions.

LevelUp had been looking at a number of food delivery services, but was particularly interested in Foodler, Herbold said, because “they have an eye towards mobile. They're approaching this from the mobile side of the equation.”

Original story link.

© 2014 American City Business Journals