InfoEdge (the company behind Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com and 99acres.com) has announced plans to invest INR 4.7 Cr in Foodiebay, an online food and restaurant service.
Foodiebay (read our review when the site was launched) earlier collated reviews from various sources (like Times food guide, HT etc) and the site’s claim to fame has been the scanned restaurant menus. Two years later, the site has evolved into a popular destination for NCR region (has presence in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore & Kolkata as well) and significant sources of revenues include advertising and rev-sharing deals with restaurants.
Restaurant directory business monetization
The irony of local search business is that close to 80% of search is for F&B category (Food & Beverages), while the money is in the tail category, i.e. of services like courier, plumbers etc etc. Monetizing a lifestyle portal ain’t easy and one of the first things Foodiebay team plans to do with funding is to hire sales team.
Post funding, Foodiebay plans to expand into other cities like Hyderabad very soon.
Recommended Read: Facts & Myths in Indian Local Search Space [Insights from an Insider]
