Franki is a social discovery and video-based review app where users can interact with a community of foodies, discover local dining spots and create their own videos showing off their favorite restaurants.
Franki recently underwent a brand refresh, which included the introduction of a new “Social Club” rewards program. This program rewards creators for posting about their favorite restaurants by allowing them to earn cash back when they order 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, Franki launched a new feature this week called “Adventures,” which are similar to scavenger hunts but for finding nearby restaurants.
Launched in 2021, the company calls itself the “TikTok for restaurant reviews” and aims to move away from the typical written five-star review. As users become more hesitant about trusting often fake reviews online, which the FTC officially banned yesterday, consumers are turning to social media and short-form video apps for more authentic opinions.
Eugene Varricchio, CEO and co-founder, told TechCrunch, “Customers are [evolving]… They use Yelp and Google because they’re easy, but our research says that, on average, to find the right experience and be sure they don’t make a mistake, they’re looking at three and a half different sources, and they’re going to two and a half different sites to book an experience, so it’s quite cumbersome at the moment…They don’t necessarily trust the sources.”
“Everybody that we’ve spoken to in the marketplace, at the Yelps and the Googles of the world says, ‘Yeah, we take the five-star reviews with a grain of salt because we don’t know [which] businesses pay for those,’” Varricchio added.
Franki’s Social Club program is designed to reward loyal customers through a cash-back system. This means that when customers make purchases, they receive a percentage of the amount spent as cash rewards, encouraging repeat spending in the process.
Franki users link either their bank account or credit card through Plaid and start earning rewards whenever they shop at local businesses they find on Franki, post videos, give a rating and recommend restaurants to others on the app. The money can be taken out of the in-app wallet feature.
When users dine at participating restaurants and activate a cash-back offer, they get 5% cash back based on their spending. Creators who share videos of their dining experiences earn an additional 1%. Plus, there are recommendation bonuses for all purchases people make through the creator’s content.
“One of the best examples we’ve seen is a user who posted a video at an ice cream shop that drove a purchase of $500, which is an insane amount of ice cream. And so the business got a $500 purchase, and the creator got a $10 kickback for doing so,” co-founder and CPO Nick Bennett explained, adding that “on normal platforms, the business and the creators wouldn’t have known where the customer came from or be rewarded for helping the business.”
Franki also incorporates gamified elements, offering different tasks users can complete. For instance, there are “Adventures,” where users are encouraged to explore and discover similar local spots in their area, such as going to several different cocktail bars.
There are also “Gigs,” or challenges where users must submit a video review to be considered for cash prizes. For instance, Franki offers $5 to 50 users who submit enticing 10-second walk-through videos of them buying a “frosty delight,” such as an ice cream cone, frozen lemonade or a milkshake.
Franki also offers “Level Up” bonuses to motivate users to continue using the app, which gives users additional benefits when they reach a new tier in the Social Club program. The company explained that the most active members unlock “bigger and better” rewards as they progress to higher levels. There’s also a referral bonus for friends joining the app: 10% cash back for a month and $10 when a friend completes their first purchase.
A few restaurant discovery apps already offer rewards programs, such as Mogl (which is shutting down later this year) and InKind. However, Franki believes it stands out for its short-form video-based approach that rewards creators.
Franki operates in 30 U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Diego, among others. Its target is to expand more broadly across the U.S. beginning this fall and into 2025, and then roll out to international markets in two years. Its overall goal is to become an all-in-one discovery app, expanding to travel destinations, hotels and other experiences.
“The aim is to have around 80 to 100 major travel destinations in 2026,” Bennett said.
The company secured an OpenTable partnership last year, allowing users to make reservations without leaving the app.
According to the company, Franki has paid out over $500,000 to creators on the platform. Revenue doubled quarter over quarter and is growing 30% month over month. In addition, Franki is in the process of closing its seed funding round, led by First Class Capital.
“We’ve got a fairly ambitious target… We think we can be a half-a-billion-dollar revenue business in five years,” Varricchio said.
Franki currently has around 25,000 monthly active users and over 5,000 restaurant listings. It’s available on iOS and Android devices.
