Eat App wants a bite of India’s restaurant reservation business with an aquistion and Swiggy partnership

The Dubai-based restaurant reservation platform, Eat App, is eyeing significant growth in India, fueled by fresh funding, an acquisition, and a collaboration with Swiggy. The startup has successfully raised $10 million in an extended Series B funding round, led by PSG Equity, via its portfolio company Zenchef SAS. This recent investment surpasses the initial Series B fundraising of $6 million achieved in 2022, bringing Eat App’s total funding to over $23 million. With over a decade of experience, Eat App has established its presence in more than 92 countries, serving upwards of 5,000 restaurants and generating an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $12 million. However, in the past year, the company has strategically focused on India, where it has expanded its portfolio to include over 2,000 restaurants. Reports indicate that India's food service market is projected to exceed $85 billion by 2028, with dine-in services comprising more than half of that revenue. As restaurants grapple with managing reservations from various platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, and EazyDiner, Eat App is looking to streamline operations. The startup has recently acquired ReserveGo, a competitor founded by Vijayan Parthasarathy in 2022, which previously catered to over 1,000 restaurants. Parthasarathy, a veteran in the restaurant reservation space, was also behind the Inrestro platform that was sold to Dineout in 2015. In a bid to enhance its offerings, Eat App has partnered with Swiggy, which was recently listed on Indian stock exchanges. This collaboration aims to market Eat App's solutions to restaurants, collectively dubbed GroMax for India, which includes promotional tools for platforms like Meta and Swiggy, along with reservation management services. Although Swiggy does not influence product development, its sales team contributes insights on desirable features for the Indian market. Nezar Kadhem, CEO of Eat App, expressed optimism about replicating the technological advancements the company implemented in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, particularly in Dubai, to meet the needs of Indian restaurateurs. He acknowledged the potential within the Indian market and the necessity for restaurants to efficiently manage reservations from multiple sources. Despite the promising landscape, Eat App faces competition from both international players like Seven Rooms, TableCheck, and OpenTable, as well as local solutions like PetPooja and Posist. Furthermore, some restaurants may rely heavily on walk-in customers, making them hesitant to adopt aggregation software. Industry experts have noted that simply offering reservation aggregation may not be enough to attract restaurant owners, and Eat App must demonstrate the tangible benefits of its comprehensive growth solutions.