Emoji-Based Food Delivery

US-based start-up Fooji has launched a food delivery service that allows customers to tweet an emoji (a graphic symbol used in electronic messages and websites) of the type of dish they wish to order before the meal is delivered to them.

First-time customers need to create a profile on the Fooji website using their Twitter handle and input their delivery address and payment details. They can then view the full Fooji menu, which shows which items of food each emoji represents. For instance, the chicken drumstick might represent US fast-food chain Atomic Wings’ Buffalo Wings Combo Meal one week, and an alternative chicken dish from another eatery the next. Customers then tweet the emoji from their Twitter account to Fooji using the hashtag #gofooji and simply wait for their delivery.

The service is currently only available in New York, but plans are in place to roll it out across further US cities in the coming months.

The rise of the emoji is changing the ways in which brands connect with consumers, affording them the opportunity to add an emotive element to conversations. For more on this, see The Emoji Economy.

In a similar vein, US fast-food chain Taco Bell relaunched a popular menu item via photo-messaging app Snapchat, while UK-based Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca recently invited customers to try new dishes and leave feedback on social media using the hashtag #BetaEater. For more on these concepts, see Taco Bell Joins Snapchat and Wahaca’s Crowdsourced Dining.