The sharing economy has brought travelers easy access to affordable accommodations and shared rides and now, it's bringing people together through food.
VizEat, an app that connects travelers who want to share a local culinary experience, has grown exponentially since its launch in 2014 when it had 50 hosts. Now, the app connects travelers with more than 22,000 hosts around the world to share meals and learn about the culture.
Currently, VizEat operates in 110 countries and has more than 100,000 users worldwide.
The idea is simple: The VizEat app connects travelers with locals who offer to share authentic meals and immersive experiences with visitors.
However, it's more than just dining. People can connect for cooking classes, food tours and wine tastings as well.
Users praise VizEat for their experiences:
Matthew Kepnes author and founder of Nomadic Matt said about his VizEat experience: "I ended up spending the day with my VizEat host in Lyon, who showed me his neighborhood and ended up taking me to an underground hip hop Jazz show."
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The app gained even more notoriety when it was hailed as one of the top three apps by Apple in 2016.
Apple CEO Tim Cook contacted VizEat and asked if the company could arrange a lunch for him as well as other Apple execs. The lunch was also attended by VizEat's cofounder and CEO Jean-Michel Petit and took place in Paris' 16th Arrondissement.
The meal was a hit, and the app has been pretty unstoppable since then. The company has received generous funding and enjoys a range of partnerships. One of the most recent companies to join forces with VizEat is the Travel Corporation.
"For many holidaymakers, a VizEat food experience with locals is often the highlight of any trip. Because travelers don't have to radically change their travel habits to enjoy these great experiences, VizEat has partnered with a range of hospitality providers, harmoniously aligning itself with the tourism industry," said Petit.
Yet, it's the deeper connections that travelers are searching for and that VizEat provides that propel the app forward. In a world that is shopping for experiential travel, VizEat hits the mark.
It makes sense that an app such as this would gain such phenomenal traction. Travelers are very clearly seeking to get closer the culture and people that they are visiting as evidenced by the popularity of other apps and services that promote the sharing economy and the overall explosion of localized offerings around the globe.
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