Kate Parker Zomato Interview

Kate Parker Zomato Interview

Zomato, the global restaurant search and discovery app that provides in-depth information for over 1.4 million restaurants globally. In an age of ever-increasing connectivity, where consumers expect access to information, peer engagement and services all at the touch of a button, Zomato brings Australia's restaurant industry to the forefront of this revolution. Elevating the restaurant review website into an integrated platform, Zomato combines expert, consumer, restaurant and social content in the palm of the diner's hand.

Zomato have kept the best of Urbanspoon's content whilst enhancing it with a host of new features that will shake up the way Australians dine, and deliver a host of new opportunities to restaurant owners. The new website and app blends the best of the old and the new by bringing in best practice for user-generated content and supplementing this with curated collections from Zomato's own -feet on the street' experts.

 

https://www.zomato.com/

 

Interview with Zomato Country Manager, Kate Parker

Question: What should we know about Zomato?

Kate Parker: Zomato is a restaurant search and discovery App and website that helps more than 85 million hungry diners discover great places to eat around them every month, providing in-depth information for over a million restaurants across 22 countries. We acquired Urbanspoon in Australia back in January this year and in June migrated its many loyal users over to the new platform. We're proud that Zomato keeps the best of Urbanspoon's rich user generated content whilst enhancing it with a host of new expert led content and interactive features that are changing the way Australia eats out.


Question: How do you hope to "shake up the way Australians dine out" with Zomato?

Kate Parker: Australia is a nation of discerning, engaged and adventurous foodies – with a world-class dining scene to match. Eating out is no longer about refueling or just enjoying the plate of food in front of you; it's an interactive and shared experience that begins before you step into the restaurant and continues after you've left. It's this exciting trend in Australian culture that Zomato responds to, providing a platform that not only enables foodies to find the best places to eat and drink around them but also enhances this experience so that dining out is now truly multi-dimensional.


Question: Can you talk about your role in facilitating the move of Zomato into Australia?

Kate Parker: Urbanspoon was a well-known and much loved part of the Australian food scene, so a key part of my role as Country Manager has been to not only manage the introduction of Zomato into Australia, but also ensuring the smooth integration and transition of Urbanspoon's content and loyal users onto the new platform. Zomato elevates what already existed into a whole new dining experience – and our search and discovery platform is just the start. We've recently launched online ordering in Melbourne, as well as a suite of products for restaurants to grow their businesses including customized apps and hyper-local advertising. There's lots more great products to come – both for our users and restaurants, so it's really exciting to be at the helm here in Australia.

Question: What's changed since Zomato replaced Urbanspoon?

Kate Parker: Zomato has kept the great content created by our Urbanspoon users and added Zomato content including detailed restaurant information, scanned menus and photos sourced by our feet-on-street teams across Australia. As well as checking in, reviewing and rating restaurants, users can create their own network of foodies for trusted recommendations. We've also brought in Curated Collections; lists of restaurants, bars and cafes collated by theme – think -Trending this Week', -Paleo Friendly', -Kickass Burgers'. George Colombaris even jumped on board recently to create us a collection of his favourite restaurants! There are also Leaderboards and Foodie Rankings that help recognise the most prolific contributors in a city, as well as a personalised Food Journey in the form of a timeline, which helps you keep track of all the places you eat, with chronologically sorted reviews, photos and check-ins.


Question: What's next for the Zomato app?

Kate Parker: It's all happening at Zomato at the moment, with lots more to come. Most recently, we launched online ordering in Melbourne which is really exciting. Foodies can now use the Zomato app or website to order from more than 400 restaurants across the city, which will grow to over a thousand in the coming weeks. An order can be completed in just one minute, from opening the app to confirming payment, and then diners can track their order and know exactly when their food is on its way. We plan to roll Zomato Order out in the other capital cities soon, as well as our own table reservations and being able to pay your restaurant bill on the app.


Question: How do you ensure Zomato keeps up with the trends (from donuts to cronuts to milkshakes and of course burgers)?

Kate Parker: We've got all bases covered with our local teams across the country. Our feet-on-the-street approach means that we are constantly scoping out the latest and greatest spots to share with our users, as well as connecting with top Australian food bloggers and foodies in each city. In addition, our team in the office are busily prowling the social sphere as well as monitoring and analyzing data generated by the app and online, to ensure Zomato is not only on the pulse when it comes to foodie trends but also re-inventing our products to deliver new experiences for our users.


Question: What do you see as the next big food craze?

Kate Parker: The most interesting trend at the moment is the re-invention of vegetarian. Gone are the days when 'real men don't eat meat" – places like Transformer and Smith and Daughter in Melbourne have flipped the traditional views of vegetarian food upside down and made them super cool.

Question: Currently what are the top restaurants in Australia's capital cities?

Kate Parker: At Zomato restaurants are rated by our users and collated by cities. At the moment the following restaurants are trending on the app and made up of a mixture of the newest hot spots as well as some old classics:

Sydney:
The Grounds of Alexandria Café
Mr. Wong
Sokyo Restaurant - The Darling at the Star

Melbourne:
The Hardware Société
Jinda Thai Restaurant
Chin Chin

Adelaide:
Nghi Ngan Quan (NNQ)
Mandoo Korean Dumplings
Bread & Bone Wood Grill

Brisbane:
Jamie's Italian
Shouk Café Wagaya

Perth:
Tuck Shop Café
Chu Bakery
The Old Crow


Question: How do you determine what is -Trending this Week'?

Kate Parker: The restaurants with the most page views appear on our -Trending this Week'.


Question: How does the 5-point rating scale system work?

Kate Parker: Urbanspoon users would have been familiar with the Like and Dislike voting system with a percentage score based on the number of people who have voted; these historical ratings have now moved to Zomato as 'Positive' and 'Negative'. All new review's are on a 5 point scale enabling users to be specific in their feedback, and more easily compare ratings between restaurants.


Interview by Brooke Hunter