Off-peak restaurant booking startup Eatigo raises series A funding

Eatigo’s Michael Cluzel

Eatigo, a restaurant booking startup with a twist, announced today it raised “several” millions of dollars in series A funding from strategic investors.

The company didn’t say who the investors are, only that they will be able to help Eatigo cement its position in existing markets Thailand and Singapore, and expand into new ones.

Launched in 2014, Eatigo is a site and app that allows people to make restaurant bookings and get discounts of as much as 50 percent. But unlike usual deals sites, Eatigo sends discounted customers to restaurants during off-peak hours such as before or after the lunchtime or dinner rush.

Users also don’t need to make any payments or get any coupons. Instead, they make a simple booking and then pay at the restaurant in the normal way, along with the discount they’ve nabbed by using the site or app.

Million diners

The model seems to work as the company has been recording a 25 percent month-on-month growth in reservations since the start of the year, and has seated over a million diners to date. It has a revenue run rate of over US$1 million per annum.

“The business model has been proven by now so it’s ready for scaling​. We will be actively and significantly expanding our regional footprint under the scope of this funding round,” founder Michael Cluzel tells Tech in Asia.

Specifically, Cluzel says US$1 million of the money will go to offline brand building.

Eatigo has more than 400 restaurants in its network, and it’s adding about 15 to 20 per week, according to Cluzel.

The startup is an alumnus of our Arena contest at Tech in Asia Singapore 2015, where the Eatigo team secured second place.