GRAB INDIE EATS

When GrabFood's recommendation engine started to only prioritize big franchises, we launched a campaign to subvert the algorithm and spotlight local restaurants.

01/ THE CHALLENGE

Superapp Grab's food delivery service uses a recommendation algorithm to suggest restaurants to users. It works really well... for large, popular franchises, which had an unfair advantage because of their multiple locations and large volume of customers. Small, local businesses were having a hard time ranking and honestly, users weren't looking for them anymore.

02/ THE INSIGHT

Mainstream ain't that cool. There is a sense of joy and pride in discovering delicious food from lesser-known places.

THE IDEA

SHOW HOW GOING INDIE WITH FOOD CAN BE FUN, EXCITING, AND DELICIOUS.

02 / HACKING OUR OWN ALGORITHM

GRABFOOD

GRAB INDIE EATS

When GrabFood's recommendation engine started to only prioritize big franchises, we launched a campaign to subvert the algorithm and spotlight local restaurants.

01/ THE CHALLENGE

02/ THE INSIGHT

Mainstream ain't that cool. There is a sense of joy and pride in discovering delicious food from lesser-known places.

THE IDEA

SHOW HOW GOING INDIE WITH FOOD CAN BE FUN, EXCITING, AND DELICIOUS.

We flipped our own algorithm on its head by creating a new category called Indie Eats on the app and launched a campaign to support it, encouraging users to break the monotony of eating the same food over and over again by enjoying deliciousness from alternative restaurants. The benefits were two-fold. For our users, we could connect with them on a deeper level by showing how we were a proud supporter of local. For our merchant partners, we could provide them with much needed marketing support to improve their brand discoverability.