Fresh from London listing, PH-born resto discount hunter begins massive expansion

A Philippine-born food technology startup that wants restaurant diners to scout for meal discounts during off-peak hours is looking at aggressive expansion here and abroad after its recent public debut.

BigDish, which raised £2.2 million (P152 million) last week on the London Stock Exchange, will partner with hundreds of restaurants in the Philippines while ramping up operations in the United Kingdom, Joost Boer, company co-founder and CEO, said in an e-mail.

The company, which launched in Manila in October 2016, also has operations in Jakarta and Hong Kong.

“How we see it, restaurant reservation apps are still scratching the surface of the surface in Asia and there is a massive blue ocean opportunity which we are looking to tap,” Boer said.

BigDish, whose app is available on iOS and Android, operates what is known as a yield-management platform, a pricing strategy that has been widely used by the airline and hotel industries.

Companies like BigDish are bringing this model to restaurants who want to entice customers to dine at their establishments during off-peak hours. Discounts can range from 10 percent to as much as 50 percent, according to BigDish.

“By the end of 2018, we look to partner with a total of 400 partners [in the Philippines]. Our aim is to add a great offering of big restaurant groups as well as independents,” Boer said. Current partners include IHOP, California Pizza Kitchen and Motorino.

The company did not reveal specific figures on usage, however, Boer noted it has been growing 20 percent every month over the last year.