Today, a new food delivery startup launched in Chicago.
, an app that offers a curated selection of specially-selected dishes from some of Chicago’s top restaurants (think Beatrix and Oak + Char), plans to streamline food selection and delivery for hungry Chicagoland foodies, with the promise to deliver quality meals in 30 minutes or less.
Hold up, readers. If you’ve got that eerily creeping, ever-familiar déjà vu feeling, you're probably not alone.
Nip enters a crowded, iron kitchen of food-delivery players in Chicago — all of whom hope to emerge as the app of choice among consumers.
You’ve got titans like
, Amazon, Groupon, Postmates, Blue Apron, and uberEATS battling it out for top billing, with smaller (but still threatening) startups launching and expanding in the city seemingly every day, scooping up a portion of the market with their own respective spins on the convenient, scrumptious food delivery. Chicago’s
Still, Nip founder Francisco Cantor said there’s untapped opportunity for success in the industry — in large part due to new innovation in tech.
“Even though it feels crowded, there are many ways to make foodies' lives better,” Cantor said. “There is space for many companies to come, and foodies will appeal to different services, depending on their needs.”
To be sure, Cantor said Nip is trying to differentiate itself from its competitors. It’s got a simple, two-tap ordering process and averages a 23-minute delivery time. And its hyper-targeted approach could prove favorable with foodies who want restaurant-quality dishes instead of the lukewarm, bedraggled meals delivered by some services.
Cantor said there’s value for restaurants, too. For example, because of their focus on quality and emphasis on partnering with select restaurants, Nip helps protect a brand reputation by facilitating excellent customer experiences.
And Nip is easy enough to use: after downloading the app on iOS or Android, location-based tech will pick up on your location and recommend the best dishes near you. Then, users swipe through a menu (which includes restaurant and dish name, dietary information, customer rating, and price) until they settle on a dish of their liking and submit their order.
Nip’s niche approach to food delivery isn’t without an impressive resume. Cantor and co. have been accepted into a few competitive accelerator programs, including Chicago Booth’s New Venture Challenge and the Polsky Accelerator Program (the latter of which armed the Nip team with seed funding, office space, and mentorship).
Delivery will be available beginning tonight at 6 p.m. in River North and the Loop, with expansion to Streeterville underway shortly. Nip is also working to partner with other restaurants.
Cantor said the company will raise capital by the end of the quarter.
Images via Nip.
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