The authenticity of content on food review platforms is being challenged. Before choosing a restaurant, it has become standard operating procedure for most people to check online reviews and ratings. However, many food review platforms lack a verification mechanism, and with more and more establishments inviting customers to “wash reviews,” the ratings may not necessarily reflect the actual dining experience. These seemingly genuine but fake content cannot assist users in making the best choices.
To address this, Fooday from Taiwan has decided to create the “most authentic” food review platform and community. They combine 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?
Fooday founder Guan Zi-han shared that Fooday uses a token model built on blockchain technology to turn reviews into a behavior with valuable rewards.
Simply put, by writing reviews or completing tasks such as creating business locations, users can earn a certain amount of Fudos experience points. The system will then automatically settle the earned Fudos and convert them into FOOD tokens. In addition to using FOOD to upgrade their own Fooday built-in camera, users can also withdraw it to the blockchain and convert it into other cryptocurrencies, which can be exchanged for real-world fiat currencies.
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 “tokens” as a reward for customers is mainly related to the popularity of the “earn while you exercise” game called STEPN, which became popular in 2022. STEPN allows users to earn corresponding cryptocurrencies by running. Guan Zi-han, who is a running enthusiast, stated that this incentive model is very effective. “Although I already had a running habit, sometimes I would interrupt it due to bad weather or laziness. However, after participating in STEPN, I consistently run every day because its reward mechanism gives me more motivation.”
Guan Zi-han realized that a good token model can motivate users to continue participating, which is essential for a food review platform as it requires a large number of user-contributed content, and the reward mechanism encourages users to invest more time in writing high-quality reviews.
After attracting user participation, how to ensure “authenticity”?
Guan Zi-han explained that Fooday has introduced a GPS positioning verification mechanism to ensure that users are actually “inside the restaurant.” In addition, whenever users write reviews, they need to use Fooday’s “Fooca camera” function to take photos, eliminating the possibility of uploading fake pictures.
The Fooca camera itself is an NFT (non-fungible token), and only those who have Fooca can start taking photos and writing reviews. Depending on the camera level, different amounts of token rewards can be accumulated. Users can also buy and sell cameras in the marketplace, where the platform will charge a service fee, similar to the STEPN project.
After integrating these mechanisms, once there are numerous users joining the Fooday ecosystem, restaurant brands will have more willingness to cooperate with the platform for advanced marketing promotions. For example, designated restaurants can offer additional points to users who dine there and write reviews. These collaborations are all based on consumers paying for their meals and considering both the quality and quantity of reviews, creating a win-win situation for users and restaurant brands.
AI improves restaurant search efficiency
In addition to blockchain technology, Fooday is also actively investing in AI technology to help users easily find restaurants that meet their needs. Guan Zi-han mentioned that the reviews for a restaurant can be numerous and each user may review different dishes, so when searching for a restaurant, it usually takes a lot of time to filter through a massive amount of reviews to find the relevant information.
“AI technology allows me to quickly analyze a large amount of review content and provide users with more accurate restaurant recommendations,” explained Guan Zi-han. When users want to eat a specific dish, Fooday’s AI feature can quickly filter out which restaurants offer that dish and how the reviews are.
Furthermore, AI can analyze key points in the reviews and extract the most valuable information for users to quickly understand the restaurant’s characteristics. Currently, users have a daily limit of free AI usage, and beyond that, they can use FOOD tokens to access the feature.
Expanding token applications and the international market
There are various types of review platforms in the market, including the widely used Google, which has a large market share, and platforms like Instagram and Xiaohongshu where users can find a large number of restaurant reviews. Guan Zi-han admitted that one of Fooday’s biggest challenges is changing user habits and getting users to transition from familiar old platforms to the new platform.
However, Guan Zi-han believes the fundamental solution lies in whether the product can truly address users’ pain points. “We want users to actively share authentic reviews and improve their restaurant search efficiency, allowing them to find suitable restaurants faster and more accurately. This is the key to attracting new users.” Currently, Fooday has about 50,000 monthly active users and continues to grow.
Guan Zi-han hopes to sustain this growth and actively expand token applications and the international market. In the future, Fooday’s tokens will not only exist on the blockchain, but Guan Zi-han also hopes to make them interoperable with point systems of other platforms, such as App Store or Google Play credits, giving users more options for rewards.
Additionally, Fooday has already begun expanding its business to other countries and regions such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Guan Zi-han emphasized that blockchain knows no borders, meaning 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.