Yesterday, Oxford Dictionary announced that their word of the year was 'Face with Tears of Joy.’ Which, isn't actually a word at all. It's an emoji.
As emojis have morphed into a universal form of communication that transcends linguistic borders, NYC startup Fooji is willing to bet the icons have the power to convey a craving.
Fooji is an emoji food delivery service, where you can order a meal simply by sending the company an emoji.
There is an excess of digital food delivery services to navigate through, so Fooji differentiates itself as as a food discovery engine. Aimed at foodies with experimental palettes, the company works like this: A hungry customer texts or tweets at Fooji with a food emoji (pizza, fries, hamburger, ramen etc.) to indicate what type of cuisine he/she wants. The company then finds a 4- or 5- star restaurant in the area and chooses a meal for the customer. For a flat fee of $15 per emoji, the meal is delivered in 30-45 minutes.
Fooji launched this past June, and was founded by Gregg Morton and Erik Zamudio. Shortly after launching, the startup formed a partnership with GrubHub to leverage their robust restaurant network. The company has patented the ability to order food using the emoji character set, but doesn’t plan on stopping there.
While you can currently use Fooji to order a cookie from Insomnia or a sandwich from Melt Shop, the company is looking to expand to alcohol delivery and beyond.
“Fooji was the proof of concept in using emojis as a form of commerce,” said Morton, CEO and cofounder of Fooji.
“People can express themselves through emojis and tie that to a brand, and that’s what our technology provides, so with that we’re hoping to expand into other verticals in the future.”
The company is now partnering with Minibar, and will soon be able to bring you beer and wine on demand. The company is also gaining traction by working with brands as a marketing service. Most recently, Fooji partnered with Verizon Wireless to provide customers with free hamburgers and fries (ordered through the corresponding emojis) as part of a marketing campaign.
Fooji is currently available in New York City, San Francisco and Chicago. According to Morton, New Yorkers overuse the Bento Box emoji, whereas Bay area residents are more pizza and hamburger types. In 2016, the company is planning on growing to offer its service to GrubHub’s nationwide network of restaurants. Fooji is also hoping to become a presence on college campuses, where late night snacking will provide a ripe market.
