Thailand based restaurant reservation application, eatigo, which claims to provide up to 50% discounts on food at its partner restaurants, has hit Indian shores. As a part of its expansion strategy, the Bangkok based startup reportedly signed an Asset Purchase Agreement in April and last month acquired Pune based online reservation platform, Ressy. Currently the app is available in Mumbai and Pune.
According to media reports, the startup is eyeing a valuation of $100 million post entering Philippines and Indian markets. The company had raised a total of $15.5 million post a Series B investment from TripAdvisor’s global restaurant reservation brand, TheFork last year in October.
Ressy, which was established in 2015, claims to be the first to introduce real-time discounts in the restaurant space in Pune and Mumbai and had had listed over 1,200 restaurants. The company had raised a total of $750,000 in two rounds of funding since 2015.
In India, eatigo, has listed 300 partner restaurants, where customers can get 10% discounts and a reservation in an off-peak hour may fetch the customer 50% discount on food. Currently the Indian market has seen reservation apps such as Zomato, Dine Out, Easy Diner, Zeat and GroupTable among a few other local players, the Thailand startup will be competing with these players and aims to become a worthy advesaty popularizing itself with the offers and discounts. Reportedly eatigo plans to partner 700-1000 restaurants in Mumbai and Pune by the end of the year.
“After successful launches in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, we’re excited to continue extending eatigo’s reach – this time moving out of Southeast Asia, where we’ve served over 5 million diners (and counting),” said Michael Cluzel, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, eatigo.
“We’re especially confident because our acquisition of Ressy’s operations definitely complements our existing business model. Ressy’s strong operations team, with its extensive knowledge of the local landscape, will open up a lot of new opportunities that will help us not only increase our visibility, but also expand our position as a strong market leader.”
Present in Hong-Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, the company boasts of having over 2000 restaurant partners where customers can avail its offers. According to the company, in India users will have access to discounts any time, any day, simply by making a reservation. The process does not require any form of payment upon booking.
Koustubh Rajepandhere, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ressy, said, “With an impressive track record of success in Southeast Asia, we are proud to work alongside a proven market leader like eatigo as they break into India. With an uptick of interest in dining out in the country, we look forward to providing a wealth of choices to meet the dining needs of our users.”