Burpple, a foodie app for the forgetful, launches for the iPhone

Updated: 8th May, 2012

Burpple, a mobile app that first made waves at DEMO Asia in Singapore, has launched for the iPhone.

No, it doesn’t make loud burping noises (although if you press the founders hard enough, they might do it for you).

Rather, it is a mobile-social food journal that finds your favorite food by letting you ‘reburp’ them from your friends, and record memorable dishes  in a visual journal you can refer to perpetually.

The app is similar to US-based FoodSpotting, but one main difference is the journal feature, which allows users to group their entries into categories, or ‘boxes’.

Another nifty feature is the ability to retrospectively add photos you have taken in the past. Once I do that, the relevant geotagged information and timestamp will be included in the entry.

So, if I have a photo of a gorgeous crème brûlée stored in my iPhone, I can add it to Burpple, which will tell me where and when I ate the dessert. That is provided if such information are tagged to the photo in the first place.

And did I mention the app is in hot pink too?

The Singapore-based company, funded by the government’s YES! Startup scheme, has been in beta for months.

Their initial user traction and downloads show promise. Within a month, 15 percent of registered users uploaded more than ten food moments, and 35 percent of those regulars have shared more than 50 food photos. That is similar to Instagram’s usage statistics at the same point in time, post-launch.

The app has been on iTunes for some weeks now. The encouraging download rate has been the result of Burpple’s slick user experience and concerted marketing push, which extended to way before the app was ready. Their “How to Order Kopi like a Pro” infographic went viral last year, garnering two million viewers.

More recently, they launched a Help Kopi Go Overseas campaign, a parody of the Help Alvin Get into School campaign. They have also announced a “mobile strategic partnership” with Chope, a restaurant reservation app.

Despite all their flamboyance, the road remains tough for Burpple. Many food discovery apps are already out in the market, although Asia is an untapped market. Aside from FoodSpotting, it faces competition from Yelp, SnapDish, and Forkly. In Singapore, there is Foodmento, an unreleased app.