London foodie startup Grub Club acquired by VizEat and rebranded EatWith in social dining startup deal
An app for finding pop-ups and super clubs to eat at across London has been acquired by a larger rival.
The UK's Grub Club, founded by food friends Olivia Sibony and Siddarth Vijayakumar in 2013, has been snapped up by VizEat for an undisclosed sum.
VizEat operates in 130 countries and is backed by several millions of pounds of venture capital cash. It last year snapped up EatWith, a similar platform in the US backed by Silicon Valley's Greylock Partners.
VizEat and Grub Club together will combine and rebrand under the EatWith name with Vijayakumar becoming managing director of EatWIth UK.
"At Grub Club we are proud to have revolutionised and ultimately dominated the experiential market in the UK, bringing together hundreds of chefs in in venues all over London," he said.
"We believe that joining forces with Eatwith is a natural union of values, and will turbo-charge our mission to bring world-class experiences to diners in one of the world’s most cutting-edge culinary capitals.”
Grub Club connects hundreds of chefs who want to put on dining events with quirky locations across the capital where they can be hosted, such as a Tube train and the St Pancras Clock Tower. Users can then find fun places to eat, like an Airbnb but for dining experiences.
“London is not only one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, it's also a trendsetting capital," said VizEat co-founder and chief executive Jean-Michel Petit.
"London was one of the first cities to experiment with supper clubs, and it has remained a staple in social dining experiences amongst Londoners. With Grub Club leading the supper club charge, it was a natural fit for us to acquire a company that resonates with our values. We’re looking forward to expanding this offering even more, and also welcoming Siddarth to the wider Eatwith team.”