The Authenticity of Food Review Platforms is Challenged
Checking online reviews and ratings before choosing a restaurant has become the standard operating procedure for most people. However, many food review platforms do not have a verification mechanism, and with an increasing number of establishments inviting customers to “wash” their reviews, the ratings may not necessarily reflect the customers’ actual dining experience. These seemingly genuine but fake reviews cannot assist users in making the best choices.
To address this issue, Fooday from Taiwan has decided to create the “most authentic” food review platform and community. They have combined blockchain technology and AI to improve users’ restaurant discovery experience and encourage more users to participate and write genuine reviews through a token economic model.
How does Fooday break the authenticity dilemma of reviews?
According to Fooday founder Kou Zhihan, Fooday uses a token model built with blockchain technology to turn reviews into a behavior with valuable rewards.
In simple terms, users can earn a certain amount of Fudos experience points by writing reviews or completing tasks such as creating business locations. The system will then automatically calculate and convert the earned Fudos into FOOD tokens. Users can use FOOD tokens to upgrade their Fooday built-in camera or withdraw them to the blockchain and convert them into other cryptocurrencies that can be used in the real world.
The conversion rate of Fudos to FOOD tokens is influenced by the user’s level, with higher levels enjoying better exchange rates.
The decision to adopt a “token” reward system is mainly related to a popular game called “STEPN,” which gained popularity in 2022. STEPN allows users to earn corresponding cryptocurrency rewards by running. As a running enthusiast, Kou Zhihan stated that this incentive model is very effective, as it motivates him to run consistently every day.
Kou Zhihan realized that a good token model can motivate users to participate continuously, which is essential for a food review platform. Such platforms require a large number of users to contribute content, and the reward mechanism makes users more willing to invest time in writing high-quality reviews.
After attracting user participation, how can “authenticity” be ensured?
Kou Zhihan explained that Fooday has introduced a GPS location verification mechanism to verify that users are actually “inside the restaurant”. In addition, when users write reviews, they need to use Fooday’s “Fooca camera” function to take photos, eliminating the possibility of uploading fake pictures.
Fooca camera itself is a non-fungible token (NFT), and only those who own Fooca can start taking photos and writing reviews. The amount of token rewards that can be accumulated varies depending on the camera’s level. As users, they can also buy and sell cameras in the marketplace, during which the platform will charge a transaction fee similar to the STEPN project.
After integrating these mechanisms, once numerous users join the Fooday ecosystem, restaurant brands will also have more willingness to cooperate with the platform for advanced marketing promotions. For example, designated restaurants can ask users to write reviews after dining, allowing users to earn additional points. These collaborations involve consumers paying for their own meals and ensure a win-win situation for users and restaurant brands by considering both the quality and quantity of reviews.
AI improves restaurant search efficiency
In addition to blockchain technology, Fooday is actively investing in the application of AI technology to make it easier for users to find restaurants that meet their needs. Kou Zhihan mentioned that the reviews for a single restaurant can be numerous, and each user may review different dishes. Therefore, when searching for a restaurant, users usually need to spend a lot of time sorting through a large number of reviews to find the information that suits their needs.
“AI technology allows me to quickly analyze a large amount of review content and provide users with more accurate restaurant recommendations,” explained Kou Zhihan. When a user wants to eat a specific dish, Fooday’s AI function can quickly filter out which restaurants offer that dish and how they are reviewed.
In addition, AI can analyze the key points in reviews and extract the most valuable information for users to quickly understand a restaurant’s characteristics. Currently, users have a certain number of free daily uses of the AI function, and after exceeding that limit, they can use FOOD tokens to access it.
Expanding token applications and the international market
There are various types of review platforms on the market, including the widely used Google, which has a broad market share. Alternatively, users can find a large number of restaurant reviews solely through Instagram or Xiaohongshu. Kou Zhihan admits that one of Fooday’s biggest challenges is changing user habits and getting them to transition from familiar old platforms to the new one.
However, Kou Zhihan believes that the fundamental solution lies in whether the product can truly address users’ pain points. “We hope to encourage users to actively share authentic reviews and improve their efficiency in searching for restaurants, so they can find suitable restaurants faster and more accurately. This is the key to attracting new users.” Currently, Fooday has approximately 50,000 monthly active users and is continuously growing.
Kou Zhihan hopes that this growth momentum will continue and strives to expand token applications and the international market. In the future, Fooday’s tokens will not only exist on the blockchain, but Kou Zhihan also hopes to integrate them with other platforms’ points systems, such as the App Store or Google Play points, giving users more choices for rewards.
In addition, Fooday has already started expanding its business to other countries and regions, such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Kou Zhihan emphasizes that blockchain knows no borders, meaning that the product can easily apply the same token economic model to different markets and allow users from more countries to experience the charm of a genuine food review community.