Franki is a social discovery and video-based review app that allows users to engage with the foodie community, discover local restaurants, and create their own videos showcasing their favorite restaurants.
Franki recently rebranded and introduced a new “Social Club” rewards program that rewards creators who post about their favorite restaurants and gives cash back when ordering food with a linked card. The new program aims to encourage more users to sign up and earn rewards, ultimately helping promote local businesses.
Additionally, Franchi launched a new feature this week called “Adventures,” which is similar to a treasure hunt game to find nearby restaurants.
Founded in 2021, the company calls itself the “TikTok for restaurant reviews” and aims to move away from the typical five-star review. As users grow hesitant to trust the often fake online reviews that the FTC formally banned yesterday, consumers are turning to social media and short-form video apps for more authentic opinions.
“Customers are [evolving]… People use Yelp and Google because they're easy to use, but our research shows that on average, they look at 3.5 different sources and visit 2.5 different sites to book an experience just to find the right experience and make sure they're not wrong, so right now it's really cumbersome… People don't necessarily trust the sources.”
“Everyone I’ve talked to in the market, everyone I’ve talked to on sites like Yelp and Google, they’ve said, ‘Yeah, I don’t really trust five-star reviews because I don’t know. [which] “Companies pay for it,” Varricchio added.
Image credit: Franki
Franki's Social Club program is designed to reward loyal customers through a cashback system, meaning that when customers make a purchase, they receive a percentage of the amount they spent as cash rewards, encouraging repeat purchases in the process.
Franki users can link a bank account or credit card through Plaid and earn rewards every time they shop at local businesses they discover on Franki, post videos, leave ratings or recommend restaurants to others on the app, which can then be withdrawn via the app's wallet feature.
When users dine at participating restaurants and activate a cashback offer, they get 5% cashback based on the amount spent. Creators who share videos of their dining experiences get an additional 1% cashback. Plus, there's a recommendation bonus for every purchase people make through a creator's content.
“One of the best examples we saw was a user inspiring an ice cream shop to spend $500 on ice cream, which is a crazy amount of money, so the store got a $500 purchase and the creator got $10 in compensation for that,” explained co-founder and CPO Nick Bennett, adding that “on a normal platform, neither the store nor the creator has any visibility into where their customer is coming from, and they couldn't get compensated for supporting the store.”
Franki also incorporates gaming elements, offering different tasks for users to complete – for example, “Adventure” encourages users to explore and discover similar spots in their area, including visiting different cocktail bars.
There are also challenges called “Gigs,” in which users must submit video reviews to win cash prizes. For example, Franchi is offering $5 to 50 users who submit a compelling 10-second walk-through video of themselves buying “Frosty Delight,” which includes an ice cream cone, frozen lemonade, or milkshake.
Image credit: Franki
Franki also offers “level-up” bonuses to incentivize users to continue using the app, giving extra perks to users who reach new levels in its social club program. The company says its most active members earn “bigger and better” rewards as they move up a level. There's also a referral bonus for friends who join the app, giving users 10% cashback for one month and $10 when they complete their first purchase.
Several restaurant discovery apps already offer rewards programs, including Mogl (which is shutting down later this year) and InKind, but Franki thinks his short-form video-based approach to rewarding creators stands out.
Image credit: Franki
Franki operates in 30 U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Diego. The company's goal is to expand more broadly across the U.S. starting this fall and into 2025, then into international markets within the next two years. The company's overall goal is to become an all-in-one discovery app, expanding to travel destinations, hotels and other experiences.
“Our goal is to grow to 80 to 100 major destinations by 2026,” Bennett said.
The company landed a partnership with OpenTable last year, allowing users to make reservations without leaving the app.
The company says it has paid out more than $500,000 to creators on its platform, with revenue doubling quarter-over-quarter and growing 30% month-over-month, and it is closing a seed funding round led by First Class Capital.
“We have pretty ambitious goals. We think we can be a $500 million revenue business within five years,” Varricchio said.
Franki currently has approximately 25,000 monthly active users and over 5,000 restaurant listings, and is available on iOS and Android devices.