Chennai gets Foodwall, a social networking platform for food

This latest food tech startup news by The Hindu reports on Chennai getting a home-grown social networking platform for food enthusiasts called Foodwall.

Chennai has now got a home-grown social networking platform for food enthusiasts. Called Foodwall, the platform will help consumers to engage in anything and everything pertaining to food. “One big problem typically all of us face is where do we go out to eat, to experiment is always an apprehension... whether the place is good or not. There are no structured platforms for food recommendations. And that is where we come in,” Saravan Krishna M., founder and CEO of Foodwall said.

The idea of starting this platform was conceived in 2018 and that was the time Saravan had met his friend from school, Amogh Arunkumar, and within a few months, he roped him into the team as co-founder and Chief Customer Officer. “We both went to Chettinad Vidyashram and know each other’s strengths. Also, Amogh is a former restauranteur and he keeps the user at the heart of the app and ensures that their experience is very good,” Mr. Krishna, who is an alumnus of College of Engineering Guindy and IIM-Bangalore, said.

Foodwall, which is currently available on iOS and Android, already has over 700 users since its inception on June 12. The founders intend to reach over one lakh users over the next 100 days. The startup, which currently focuses on the Chennai market, is planning to expand its footprint to other major cities in India and by the end of this year wants to foray into the United States market. To a query on why the U.S., Mr. Krishna said, “The U.S. is the heart of social networks... and when we want to go global we want the U.S. to be the first place.” Apart from the U.S., the startup also is also evaluating other global markets.

When asked why such a platform is needed when the internet is flooded with suggestions and reviews on food, Mr. Krishna said that most of the platforms are skewed towards restaurants. “Their first customer is the restaurant and for us our first customer is the user,” he noted and further added, “Like how LinkedIn is for professionals, Foodwall is for food lovers.”

The startup which is completely boot-strapped is looking to raise funds for its expansion plans, enhancing technology and marketing.