Startups are growing at an unprecedented rate in the Philippines. The country has welcomed numerous fintech startups and celebrated funding rounds for remittance, healthtech, and logistics startups.
However, when it comes to foodtech startups, the country may not have a similar problem faced by other countries in the region where food startups are part of its citizen’s daily lifestyles. The closest similarities the Philippines may have in terms of its need for accessible, one-tap-away food service is with Indonesia, where it shares complex archipelago and traffic nightmares.
In the food and tech area, it seems like the Philippines might take its sweet time as we uncover these six local food startups.
Good Meal Hunting
Described itself as “an online food marketplace for home-cooked meals”, Good Meal Hunting provides options of a freshly-made, hearty meal cooked in gourmet style.
According to its official website, the startup empowers its kitchen merchants to manage their own food business out of the comfort of their homes and fully handles the logistical and technical aspects of food business, from providing food containers to coordinating with delivery services.
According to an article by Rappler, the startup also provides caterings for company events and parties, all done with a mission to empower home cooks in the Philippines.
Also Read: These agritech startups might be the next big thing in the Philippines
LalaFood
In an article by Spot PH, LalaFood was considered a newcomer in the food startup scene, especially in the heavily-congested Philippines. LalaFood lets users track their meal delivery and guarantees delivery in 45 minutes or less with no minimum order required.
The concept of LalaFood is obviously nothing new, but its presence definitely boosts a variety of the online platform for food delivery in the country, aside from the market leaders GrabFood and FoodPanda.
Delivery Guy
Launched in 2018, Delivery Guy is what its name suggests, a Filipino-owned delivery app. The startup was co-founded by logistics-background Neil Castillo, and his wife Finina Marie Tugade-Castillo.
According to an article by Rappler, Delivery Guy promises a delivery time of 60 minutes or under, within a 3-kilometer radius. The service also features delivery tracking, including a delivery journal that informs users what stage of preparation their order is.
In an article by Rappler, Castillo said that their strategy for restaurant partnerships leans more toward careful curation rather than having thousands of restaurants onboard to ensure every merchant gets distributed and exposed.
Mangan.PH
According to its website, Mangan.PH is an online food delivery service app that caters to Pampanga, the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. It offers a guarantee of delivery time under 60 minutes.
Also Read: Food Runner makes a dash for the Philippines by acquiring City Delivery
Restograph
Unlike its fellow food startups, Restograph is a new Philippines-based business intelligence software platform that helps restaurant owners store and analyse their legacy and offline PoS (Point of Sales) data to create actionable insights to increase sales.
In an interview with e27, Brian Dimarucot, Co-founder of Restograph explained about the company: “Restograph grabs your PoS data, translates that into something useful and delivers it in such a way that it’s easy to understand.”
Booky
Booky was founded by an Englishman Ben Wintle, who created Booky when he and his girlfriend, a well-known Filipino model and actress Iza Calzado, encountered a problem to find restaurants fast due to the Philippines’ poor Internet service.
According to an article by Rappler, Booky allows users to search for restaurants even if they are not online. Wintle explained that it works just like the influence Contacts list on the phone.
Using the search bar, users can search for restaurants by location, restaurant name, or cuisine.
By allowing the app to access users’ location, users can also search for restaurants “nearby” with an offline phone, showcasing restaurants within at least 500 meters distance.
Targeting food lovers, the app allows users to report incorrect information and share details on Facebook. The app offers free and premium content, wherein users can sign up for paid service to get more deals.
Philippines’ food scene is definitely not the main tech sector for the country at the moment given how locals already are used to GrabFood, Foodpanda, and Honestbee rather than starting a local operation with more Filipino roots. This leaves a vacant spot for potential local startups focussing on the Philippines and its food scene.
With food delivery, restaurant booking, and restaurant management apps already available, it remains fascinating to watch the sector closely for the next innovation.
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Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash
The post Eating your way in the Philippines: These 6 food startups can kickstart your foodies journey in the country appeared first on e27.