Today we’d like to introduce you to Anisha Holla.
Hi Anisha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/innovation/foodify-anisha-holla-influencer/
My passion for restaurants started in high school when I would spend hours researching local restaurants to visit in my free time. But it turned into a profession when—in 2021–I was recruited by the Dallas Observer as a food writer, getting paid to travel across Dallas and write local restaurant reviews. And quite unintentionally, it turned into something even bigger when I started my own Instagram account to post local restaurant videos, which started as a humble hobby but has now grown to one of Dallas’s largest food influencer accounts.
But over 7 years of trying over 1,200 restaurants across Dallas for work, it didn’t take me long to learn that small restaurants are destined to fail.
It’s a disturbing trend in the restaurant industry. 80% of small restaurants shut down within 5 years, while big restaurant chains only continue to grow. Small restaurant failure makes up a $1.4T problem in the U.S., which causes the loss of over 2.1M jobs every year.
Nothing hurt more than meeting these passionate restaurant owners with great food, amazing concepts, and big dreams, only to watch them shut down their doors within a year simply because they don’t know how to bring their restaurant the attention it needs. And that’s exactly what kept happening. Time and time again, I would see these amazing restaurants shut down simply because people didn’t know they existed.
I wanted to change that. So, I started doing some research, and I found that the restaurant industry is undergoing a major shift. The top 2 platforms for restaurant discovery have shifted–in the last year–from Google and Yelp to Instagram and TikTok, which are now the go-to platforms for restaurant discovery for over 81% of diners, especially in younger generations. So, it got me thinking about how I could leverage the power of social media to help these restaurants with really great food—but not enough attention—succeed.
And that’s where Foodify was born.
We’re the first company in the world to use a data-driven algorithm to connect restaurants–who need more local awareness–to influencers–who already get millions of views on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Upon signing up for a subscription, restaurants are basically just matched with a different local food influencer every month.
I just started this 8 months ago. I’m still a student at university, so it’s honestly just been wild how incredibly successful it’s been. So far, for just the Dallas restaurant partners we have, we’ve generated 180 viral posts, amassed 56 billion social media impressions, and achieved an average 150% lift in sales across clients.
It’s a modern, revolutionized way to get small restaurants the awareness they need.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the biggest obstacle I’ve faced so far is just being able to educate restaurant owners that this actually works.
It takes a lot of education, especially with restaurant owners that have never used influencers as a part of their marketing strategy. But once they start on Foodify’s service, it’s actually so rewarding to see how happy restaurant owners are. Just the other day, one of the owners I’m helping called me on the phone—in tears—because a couple of our videos for him went viral, and he had a lone outside his door when he never had one before. Once they see how well this influencer model works, restaurants are just so pleasantly surprised.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
FoodiFy is the modern-day dating app for restaurants and social media influencers.
Our AI-driven matchmaking connects small restaurants—who want more local attention—with Dallas influencers—who are already getting millions of views on their accounts. Restaurant owners simply create an account, specify audience preferences, and they’ll be matched with local food influencers who can post about them on social media. Our plans start as low as $500 a month, which is a very low price for the quality of influencers we have in our network. We streamline all the influencer vetting, scheduling, negotiating, etc., so that all the restaurant has to do is host the influencer each month and see sales grow from there.
While influencer marketing is still a very new concept in the restaurant space, Foodify has taken off—even faster than I imagined. In just 8 months, we’ve generated 180 viral posts, amassed 56 billion social media impressions, and seen an average 150% lift in sales for our restaurant clients. We’ve helped struggling restaurant owners stay afloat, and empty dining rooms form overnight lines. We’re spearheading a revolution in restaurant marketing.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Interested restaurants can check out more information at foodifyapp.com and book a free consultation to see whether we’ll be able to accept them as a client. We’re getting an overwhelming number of requests from Dallas restaurants and having to be selective about the restaurant partners we accept at this stage just because we’re so new and want to help out restaurants that have something super unique and exciting that they’re offering. But as we scale, I’m confident that our bandwidth will grow, and so will the pool of restaurant clients we’re able to help.
Pricing:
- $500 – starter influencer plan
- $700 – gold influencer plan
- $1000 – customizable influencer plan
- $2500 – full influencer and social media management
Contact Info:
- Website: Foodifyapp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodifyapp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foodify-app/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@foodify_us
