Franki's app rewards you for posting video reviews of local restaurants

Franki is a video-based social discovery and review app that allows users to interact with a community of foodies, discover local restaurants, and create their own videos showcasing their favorite restaurants.

Franki recently went through a brand refresh that included the launch 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 to promote local businesses.

Additionally, this week Franki launched a new feature called “Adventures,” which is similar to scavenger hunts but involves finding nearby restaurants.

Founded in 2021, the company calls itself the “TikTok for restaurant reviews” and wants to move away from the typical written 5-star review. As users become more hesitant to trust the often fake online reviews that the FTC officially banned yesterday, consumers are turning to social media and short-form video apps for more authentic opinions.

Eugene Varriccho, CEO and co-founder, told TechCrunch: “Customers are [evolving]… They use Yelp and Google because it's easy, but our research shows that on average they go through three and a half different sources to find the right experience and make sure they don't make a mistake, and they go to two and a half different websites to book an experience. So it's quite inconvenient right now … They don't necessarily trust the sources.”

“Everyone we have spoken to in the market, on the Yelps and Googles of the world says: ‘Yes, we take the five-star reviews with a grain of salt because we don’t know [which] “Companies pay for it,” Varriccho added.

Franki's Social Club program is designed to reward loyal customers through a cashback system. This means that when customers make purchases, they receive a percentage of the amount spent as a cash reward, encouraging them to make repeat purchases.

Franki users link either their bank account or credit card through Plaid and earn rewards when they shop at local businesses they find on Franki, post videos, leave a review, and recommend restaurants to others in the app. The funds can be withdrawn from the in-app wallet feature.

When users eat at participating restaurants and activate a cashback offer, they earn 5% cashback based on their spend. Creators who share videos of their dining experiences earn an additional 1%. There are also referral bonuses for any purchases people make through the creator's content.

“One of the best examples we've seen is a user who posted a video in an ice cream shop that resulted in a $100 purchase, which is an insane amount of ice cream. So the company made a $500 purchase and the creator got a $10 commission for that,” explained co-founder and CPO Nick Bennet, adding, “On normal platforms, the company and creators would not have known where the customer came from, nor would they have received a reward for helping the company.”

Franki also integrates gamified elements, offering users different tasks to complete. For example, there are “Adventures” where users are asked to explore and discover similar places in their area, for example by visiting different cocktail bars.

There are also “gigs,” or challenges, that require users to submit a video review to be considered for cash prizes. Franki, for example, offers $5 to $50 to users who submit enticing 10-second walkthrough videos of themselves purchasing an “icy treat,” such as an ice cream cone, frozen lemonade, or milkshake.

Franki also offers “Level Up” bonuses to motivate users to keep using the app. This gives users additional benefits when they reach a new level in the Social Club program. The company explained that the most active members unlock “bigger and better” rewards as they advance to higher levels. There is also a referral bonus for friends who join the app: 10% cash back for a month and $10 when a friend makes their first purchase.

Some restaurant discovery apps already offer rewards programs, such as Mogl (which is shutting down at the end of this year) and InKind, but Franki believes the app stands out for its short-form video-based approach that rewards creators.

Franki is active in 30 U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Diego. The goal is to continue expanding in the U.S. starting this fall through 2025, and then enter international markets in two years. The overall goal is to become an all-in-one discovery app that expands to destinations, hotels, and other experiences.

“The goal is to have about 80 to 100 major destinations by 2026,” Bennet said.

The company secured a partnership with OpenTable last year that allows users to make reservations without leaving the app.

According to the company, Franki has paid out over $500,000 to developers on the platform. Revenue has 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 have a pretty ambitious goal… We believe we can achieve half a billion dollars in sales in five years,” Varriccho said.

Franki currently has around 25,000 monthly active users and over 5,000 restaurant listings. It is available for iOS and Android devices.