Prepp allows users to locate nearby restaurants, browse through full menus, place their orders and pay for their food, whether they are dining in or taking out.
Zoom Dining cofounder and chief executive officer Eda Tan said the idea for Prepp came from when she once dined out with friends, and found it frustrating waiting in line, getting the waiter’s attention, and even paying the bill.
“It pretty much ruined our mood for the night and we thought this situation could definitely be improved,” she told Digital News Asia via email.
“We wanted a dining experience that was free from all kinds of service delays — not only for diners but restaurants as well,” she added.
And for the restaurants, Prepp improves the service flow by allowing them to focus on preparing and serving diners their meals, according to Tan.
“A lot of time is saved from taking orders and settling bills. This allows restaurant operators to provide better service to their customers,” she declared.
Aiming for 50 restaurants by end-2016
Founded in November 2015, Prepp now has 17 restaurants on board in Klang Valley areas like Bangsar and Damansara.
Tan said the startup hopes to have at least 50 restaurants listed by the end of 2016.
“As of now, our app is only available on the iOS platform and we are working to roll out the Android version soon to reach more users,” she said, adding that the company has five people on its team.
Prepp’s monthly growth rate is 25 per cent in terms of user base, she claimed.
“Our business model is that we charge restaurants that list on our platform a monthly fee,” she added, without giving specifics.
Prepp has been self-funded so far, with Tan and her cofounder Felix Chong having pumped in RM100,000.
The company is seeking to raise between RM750,000 and RM1 million for its Series A round, she added.
Win-win for restaurants and diners
When asked what sets it apart from other similar apps, Tan claimed that Prepp is the only platform that allows dining-in payments with the display of the restaurant’s full menu.
“Once you arrive, you’re served within five minutes,” she added, saying this is based on the average of all such transactions that Prepp has had so far.
She argued that the typical reservation platform does not guarantee the customer’s arrival, claiming that she has seen that 60 per cent of the time, customers are either late or do not show up at all.
“As for discount sites, restaurants find it difficult to maintain profitability when constantly having to offer promotions that only attract bargain-hunters.
“These customers usually don’t return unless there is a promotion.
“But for us, we want to create an environment that is win-win for both merchants and customers,” she declared. — Digital News Asia
*This article first appeared here.
