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An app that compares prices and delivery times of different food delivery apps is preparing to launch at Syracuse University. 

MealMe, which has been on the Apple app store for over a year, integrates all major food delivery apps and smaller local delivery apps into one platform, said Matthew Bouchner, president of MealMe. The app now has over 70,000 users and is working with an accelerator program called TechStars to reach even more. 

“Whenever you order food, you probably go to DoorDash and then Uber Eats and then Postmates to try to find the best deal — but we do that for you,” Bouchner said. 

Users can search for restaurants, see menus and place orders through the app. MealMe has a larger restaurant database than any single app because it integrates all food delivery apps into one platform, Bouchner said. Users save an average of $5 when using the app, he said. 

MealMe does not charge users for any additional fees though they have the option to leave a ‘MealMe tip’ after placing their order, Bouchner said. 

While the app is already up and running in Syracuse and across the country, the staff at MealMe wants to form relationships with colleges and universities elsewhere, too. They began their work with colleges and universities at George Washington University in January where they had their first “hard launch.”

Now, MealMe team plans to meet with several student organizations at SU and learn about their favorite restaurants so they can target students with deals at popular restaurants near SU, Bouchner said.

“Although we are live, technically, we want to form relationships with individuals at every university and do a hard launch at every school so that people know about MealMe,” he said.

Bouchner also plans to send MealMe merchandise to some student organizations, he said. 

While the app employs several student interns in both its engineering and marketing teams, it has not formally launched a campus representative program. Bouchner said he is looking into launching one in the future. 

MealMe began as a food-focused social networking app, where users could post pictures and then either order take out or make a reservation at the restaurant that was pictured, he said. Bouchner realized that users wanted to know which delivery services worked with each restaurant, so he launched a search feature where users could search for delivery services within the app.

After adding a feature where users could compare prices among delivery services, MealMe went viral on Reddit. But Bouchner said the app was still too focused on being a social networking app. 

After pivoting to become “the search engine for food,” the app’s current tagline, the app then launched, attracting more than 2,000 users in its first month. 

By launching at SU, they hope to further expand their database of users.

“If you are hungry, I know it is your first reaction to pull up Uber Eats or DoorDash or whatever you’re preferred one is,” Bouchner said. “But if you make it your first reaction to pull up MealMe, then you will save money every time you order.”

Published on February 14, 2021 at 11:09 pm

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu