Restaurant e-booking platform Dineout acquires Delhi-based Binge Digital

Times Group-owned Dineout Services, the company that owns and operates online restaurant reservation website Dineout, has acquired Binge Digital, a Delhi-based foodtech platform that helps restaurants increase ticket size with the help of analytics and video menus.

The acquisition comes as a strategic move in line with Dineout’s latest product announcement Dine-In, according to a statement issued by the company. Dine-In is a digital menu that enables variable and dynamic pricing for restaurants using data analytics and artificial intelligence, allowing customers to view digital menus with images directly on their phone and place orders with just a tap.

It is also integrated with the point of sale system enabling restaurants to identify customers, their ordering patterns and suggest food & drinks recommendations, the statement said.

“As a restaurant technology solutions platform, we are constantly working towards innovating and evolving our portfolio of services. We are happy and excited to announce the acquisition of Binge Digital, which through its cutting edge technology, will enable us to bolster our product portfolio, especially the newly launched digital menu product Dine-In. With a proven record of their services for their partners through their video menus, this integration will add an edge to our product. We will start offering this product eventually across all the cities we are present in over the next few months. We are committed to delivering significant synergies in a thoughtful manner, consistent with our shared goals for the business, and the benefit to the restaurant industry at large,” said Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & co-founder, Dineout.

This is Dineout’s fourth acquisition after inResto, Gourmet Passport, and Torqus.

Dineout was founded in 2012 by school-friends turned entrepreneurs Mehrotra, Vivek Kapoor, Sahil Jain and Nikhil Bakshi. In 2014, it was acquired by online nightlife and restaurant guide TimesCity, a part of Times Internet (TIL).

Dineout enables users to discover restaurants in their city, reserve a table in advance, avail F&B (food & beverage) industry offers including 1+1 across food, drink & buffets through gourmet passport, as well as earn cashback on every restaurant bill payment via its integrated payment option Dineout Pay. The company claims it has a presence across 17 cities with plans to expand to 20 by the end of this year.

The founding members of Binge, Naman Jain, Prakhar Agarwal and Preksha Singla, will join the Dineout team.

Binge is currently operational at 90 outlets across New Delhi offering online video content, marketing and a pre-order system with brands like Café Delhi Heights, Ek Bar (Olive Bars), Local and Vault Café (Big fish ventures).

“We believe in creating cutting-edge technology to connect restaurant businesses and customers in ways that will revolutionise the restaurant industry. The same commitment was echoed by Dineout team and we are happy to be a part of India’s largest dining out and technology solutions platform. Our digital video menu showcase has helped our partner brands increase the sales of their lowest selling product by 25%. Our integration with Dine-In will be a revolutionary step in the food industry which will offer a pleasing experience to consumers and will help restaurants up their game,” said Agarwal.