Why We Led the Series B for Snackpass

by Jeff Fluhr & Bryan Rosenblatt

We are delighted to lead the $70 million Series B for Snackpass, the order-ahead app that’s going viral on college campuses.

Unlike other consumer marketplaces that focus on delivery (Doordash, UberEats, etc.), Snackpass is used primarily for take-out. Snackpass has achieved the holy grail — a transactional commerce product that is social, viral, and fun. Its marketplace has strong network effects and a compelling value proposition for both consumers and restaurants. Together, these ingredients are driving exponential growth. And they’re just getting started.

When we first met Kevin Tan two years ago, we were impressed with the team’s early traction on several college campuses. We were also excited about the team’s key insight that they could amplify their app’s success by making it social and fun. After all, eating is inherently a social experience — just check out Instagram! The team’s decision to launch the business on college campuses is genius — one thing we all learned from Facebook and Snapchat is that college students will spread an app virally when they love it.

This creates a gifting karma within the app that drives a positive emotional connection, which in turn drives loyalty and viral growth.

Since that time, we’ve watched Kevin, Jamie and the rest of the Snackpass team roll with the COVID punches and emerge even stronger as the recovery tailwinds pick up steam. Over the past few months, even though many students had not yet returned to college campuses, Snackpass saw accelerating growth. When colleges are back in session in the fall and the majority of students are back on campus, we expect Snackpass will have even more significant tailwinds that will further propel the business forward.

The app’s stickiness comes from its social fabric, which makes the experience fun and viral. Instead of a boring transactional product, Snackpass gives users the ability to connect with friends, give them food as gifts, and see a feed of their activity. This creates a gifting karma within the app that drives a positive emotional connection, which in turn drives loyalty and viral growth.

Instead of trying to block the relationship between a restaurant and its customers, Snackpass gives restaurants CRM tools to supercharge their marketing to consumers.

Another part of Snackpass’ winning formula is its restaurant-friendly approach. They charge a much lower fee than the delivery-focused players, which means restaurants keep more money from every transaction. This is especially important as restaurants try to regain their footing after a brutal year of the pandemic. Instead of trying to block the relationship between a restaurant and its customers, Snackpass gives restaurants CRM tools to supercharge their marketing to consumers. Taken together, these practices lead to a mutually beneficial relationship with restaurants.

Congrats to Kevin, Jamie and the rest of the team. And welcome to the Craft family! We’re honored to join you on this journey.