If you've been feeling lonely for the past few years, you're not alone. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, about half of U.S. adults reported feeling lonely, according to a 2023 report from the U.S. Surgeon General. The report warns that loneliness and isolation can lead to physical effects, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.
A new app called Buffet aims to address the loneliness epidemic by helping users meet new people by quickly matching people and places to meet (Think Tinder + OpenTable). This app is designed to remove the barriers and hassles that come with meeting new people and finding places to hang out. Buffet aims to help users meet like-minded people, whether they're looking for new friends, romantic partners, or gym buddies.
At launch, the buffet will be available in Los Angeles, with plans to expand to additional cities later this year, starting with New York City.
The app is the brainchild of Buffet CEO Rich Hacking and Chief Operating Officer Sean Emery. Before starting Buffet, the pair worked as financial analysts and came up with the idea for the app during a business trip to Dubai.
“We started looking at this idea and thought there might be something there,” Hacking told TechCrunch. “We saw an epidemic of loneliness and realized the market needed something new. Over the past decade, there was a lack of innovation from the big incumbents. There was clearly a lack of disruption there. We had an important opportunity to invite, so we put one foot in front of the other and watched the buffet build.”
To start the buffet, users enter five items that interest them, such as biking, horseback riding, or reading. The app then asks a series of five questions to better understand your personality and what kind of places and people you're interested in.
Image credit: Buffet
Buffet's algorithm then pairs users. If you're interested, you can send invitations to your matches. Matched pairs can send messages to each other via the app and decide on a date and time to meet. The buffet is designed so that most conversations and each other can take place face-to-face. Buffet encourages people to go beyond chat boxes and digital communication and actually meet up in the real world.
If there is a match, but the meeting location suggested by the app is not a good fit, users can choose from a list of other locations that may be more interesting. Additionally, if a user is not interested in their match, they can refresh and match with someone else.
Buffet's target audience is 18- to 25-year-olds, who are most affected by the loneliness epidemic. The app also wants to target young professionals in their late to early 30s. Hacking believes that if Buffet can beat the average 25-year-old female pro, she can beat anyone.
“The app will be free to use for the time being,” Hacking said. “We want to gain user support. We want to build trust, but right now, reading the market, people are frustrated with any paywall.”
When it comes to the app's business model, Buffet leverages advertising. The company plans to build an in-app community forum where local businesses can advertise directly to users and promote happy hours and other discounts.
The app is currently only available on iOS, but the company plans to release an Android app in the future as well.