Foodspotting users may find that their stomachs rumble when they use the photo-heavy app to discover new dishes and restaurants. Starting today, they’ll be able to act on that rumbling with just a few taps (and without having to leave their home), because Foodspotting has added integration with GrubHub.
The partnership seems like a pretty natural fit — as GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney tells us, “connecting the #1 online ordering service with the #1 social food photo site is probably the most obvious partnership that we’ve ever done.” The integration comes through the Place Pages that Foodspotting introduced in version 3.5, which already offered access to Yelp (reviews), SinglePlatform (menus), and OpenTable (reservations). Now the Pages also have an “Order Now Via GrubHub” option, which takes you to a new mobile-friendly website where you can complete your order (and it doesn’t require a login).
When asked about how Foodspotting approaches these partnerships, co-founder and CEO Alexa Andrzejewski says:
“Our philosophy has always been, ‘Why reinvent the wheel?’ We want to be the best at what we do (helping people find and share great dishes) and work with others who are the best at what they do. We’ve been selective about who we partner with because user experience is important to us. For example, we chose ScoutMob over other local deal providers because you can simply tap a coupon and show the merchant — no in app purchase required. With GrubHub, it was the relaunch of their mobile website — which really streamlines the ordering experience — that prompted us to fast-track this integration.”
Andrzejewski also says that Foodspotting is part of the GrubHub affiliate program, so she hopes to make some money from the orders, but at the same time, “our primary focus at the moment is on creating a great experience for foodseekers by observing how they interact with these integrations.”
GrubHub is promising a $10 credit to the first 25 people to place orders through, so if this sounds tempting to you, you might want to hurry. The blog post announcing the integration mentions other features we might see in the future, such as dish-specific ordering.
Oh, and since we’re talking about Foodspotting, the company says it has now passed 3 million downloads and 2 million photos. It’s also conducting a general survey on foodseeking behaviors, and TechCrunch readers can participate here.