You Might Not Have Heard Of VizEat

But you are about to...

VizEat, the European “social eating platform” that connects travelers and local hosts around authentic food experiences — such as dining in a local’s home, cooking classes, and food tours — has acquired EatWith, a similar startup headquartered in San Francisco.

What’s interesting is that EatWith had successfully raised a Series A led by Greystone Partners who seem to have a knack for finding food upstarts that are on the way to be a hit. Although EatWith founders left the company as soon as the deal was announced, their key team stays in place. EatWith has been partnering with TripAdvisor and CrunchBase to attract diners. 

Many question the safety, quality, food safety and opportunity for one to reserve a dinner in a strangers home, but VizEat claims more than 25,000 hosts across 130 countries, with localized versions of its app available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. They say that this acquisition makes it the leader to enable social eating experiences with locals and puts the startup at the forefront of the sharing economy within the food and travel sectors. 

As the world becomes a scarier place by the day, I just have to wonder how sustainable this model is. Yes there will always be the treks of the ultimate foodies searching for that divine meal that they can tell their friends about and rejoice. For others of us watching Anthony Bourdain might just do the trick.