Munch On Me (YC S11) Is A Groupon For Food, Done Right | Hacker News Reader

Munch On Me (YC S11) Is A Groupon For Food, Done Right

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46 pointsjwang81520 comments

Interesting, but I wonder how merchants will put up with strong, Groupon-like demand for a single item. Also, this stood out for me:

"Banking on the fact that restaurants can’t take stellar pictures of their own food (food pics are a big deal), it sends out a professional photographer to get the job done."

Professional food photographers can make Wendys look delicious -- what happens when I pay for a delicious looking Kung Pao chicken on the web, and the restaurant delivers a more "everyday" experience, possibly made worse by the increased strain of preparing the same dish over and over again? I'd tend to feel a little ripped off by the site that sold me the deal, not necessarily the restaurant.

Bookmarked to check back in six months...

In restaurants, top sellers, specials, and comps usually go out the best, unless it's the last one in stock, or they're in the shit and they're rushing them out a la minute. The random dish that sells 3 times a week has more of a tendency to come out subpar. Places will probably weigh the marketing of these deals, and, if anything, they'll out better than an everyday item.

Agreed, also the ingredients used for the top sellers should be fresher since they are being consumed at a greater pace. This reminds me of how Krispy Kreme has one item that they are known for, the glazed donut, which brings in customers who they are able to sell milk, coffee, and other assorted donuts.

You have to wonder how saturated this market can get before it's just not viable anymore.

Considering the fact that 95% of consumer-buying is still done in stores, then there is a lot of room.

Yeah, I wonder that too.

On one hand, you can go wide (Groupon) or deep (Munch), but eventually it becomes saturated and commoditized.

How long before someone creates a self-service way to do this?

I won't hate on them for the press, I'm happy for them, but it feels more like a feature than a product.

But I think food is definitely something that can be siphoned off of Groupon.

It's like search was in 1998: there's always room for something new if it's better than what existed previously.

While I think it's a clever spin. I don't see why Groupon can't do the same in an instant if it proves to be effective. If that happens these guys just become another Groupon clone competing on lower rates for merchants.

This is structurally quite different from Groupon. Which means Groupon would have to change their model significantly to do it. Which means it's probably not among the most likely things they'd do.

Maybe I'm missing something. But I don't see what's so different other than the deals are generally more restrictive. Isn't that just part of the wording of the deal? Couldn't $10 for $20 worth of food just as easily be $1 for a $2 cup of coffee instead?

I even see a deal on Groupon Now which is $5 for a $9 sandwich. http://www.groupon.com/now/deals/5-for-9-at-nyc-bagel-deli-2...

That said, I fully agree it doesn't necessarily mean anything that Groupon can do it, too. There's plenty of room for competition.

Great question. The differences are subtle yet definitely worth noting.

To users, $20 worth of food doesn't tell them anything about what they're actually going to buy when they arrive at the venue, whereas $1 for a $2 cup of coffee specifies exactly what they'll get. You might also only spend $18.50 of your $20 credit and can't find something worth ~$1.50 to buy, which can leave a bad aftertaste for some people.

Also, this allows merchants to prepare much more effectively by overstocking on the items being featured. Or they could discount an already overstocked item just to get rid of it.

All in all, people visit restaurants for specific (signature) dishes, not for the restaurants themselves, so it all fits together.

The concept may turn out to be a game-changer: group/daily discounts.

I think Groupon is too generic; you could easily focus on verticals like food, hit the big pain spots for retailers and deliver a better fit than Groupon.

The reason Groupon won't counter is that takes them too far off their generic script. Plus the food focus means all the sales contacts are foodies, too.

A great idea, and deeper discounts too! $10 for $20 content is not nearly as appealing as "free donut today" (upsell on milk or 2nd donut).

The name seems a bit...canabalistic.

To me it evoked lesbianism..

I thought Grub With Us was a bad name, but this takes the cake.

I guess "Nibbleonmy____likearatdoescheese.com" was already taken.

Hey guys, I want some honest feedback on a project I abandoned about the same concept of local deals. Here is the url with some sample deals:

http://www.deel.co/deals/city/nassau

You know, I had the idea of posting all deals from big chains like cheesecake factory, longhorns, roadhouse, mortons, houstons, etc. in the sense that they post their weekly offers (like in print) and people get to know what to eat when they go there. Nothing for free, just a billboard.

People would use the service as a help when deciding where to eat everyday, and chains would benefit from their traffic (again, like in print). No stupid games like being a major of nowhere or silly prizes like one free beer on the 31st of february at 8am only.

I was going be the most happy user since I would be using it every day going for lunch with my coworkers, everytime the same question arises, where to go today? tgi fridays? ruby tuesdays?

To make the story short (too late, I guess) we ran out of runway (a very short runway indeed) and my cofounder and I decided to abandon the project for now, with the hope of someday pick it up again when better times came.

As I said, I love the idea. Groupon et all don't tell me what's new at panera bread or even mcdonalds and I really want to know (there is a real need)

Am I crazy? out of touch with reality? pipe dreaming? Or is that a project worth pursuing to its fullest? I learned a lot about geolocation and lots of stuff, can't deny that, but I dream on having my own business some day.

Advice?

Why would Munch On Me take publicity so early in the game when they don't even have the volume to defend against copycats?

There will always be copycats. We haven't found any yet, but I will assume that an identical copycat will have to start from scratch. As mentioned above, there is a small chance that Groupon or another clone will change its entire business model. Taking publicity when we're in 3 regions will not only help us gain momentum when we entire new markets, but also gain new traction in current markets.

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