Flavrs, a shoppable video app for foodies, launches a new takeout feature and AI-powered recommendations

Flavrs, an iOS app that lets foodies discover recipes and then shop for ingredients, is introducing a new takeout feature and AI-powered recommendation systems thanks to a custom integration with OpenAI. The app features a TikTok-like interface that displays videos from top chefs and creators. If you see a dish that you like, you can buy the ingredients to make it without leaving the app via an integration with Instacart.

Founded by YouTube’s former global head of creator marketing Alejandro Oropeza and former Google engineer François Chu, Flavrs launched in September 2022. The startup has raised $7 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Wellington Access Ventures and celebrity chefs.

With these new changes, Flavrs is moving beyond simply being an app that lets you discover shoppable recipes, to an app that also lets you discover food and then order it. If you come across a video from a restaurant and want to place a takeout order, Flavrs will send you to Uber Eats and other delivery providers to fulfill your order.

“Imagine watching all the best food videos and being able to shop for everything you see — ingredients, takeout, all of it,” Oropeza told TechCrunch. “That means getting the ingredients from Instacart, the takeout from Uber Eats and buying your favorite chef-approved pans, knives, etc., all in one place.”

As for the new AI-powered recommendation systems, the startup has launched a custom integration with OpenAI that will allow video content from creators on the app to be personalized to users across 30+ food categories, including cuisine, technique, allergens, complexity of preparation, dietary restrictions, cook time and more.

Oropeza explained that when creators upload their content onto the platform, they drag and drop their videos and then add their plain text recipes.

“Flavrs has an industry-first feature that takes these plain-text recipes and through our proprietary integration with OpenAI, turns them into ‘smart’ videos that can be shoppable, cookable and fully understood by our systems as food rather than just video — allowing the content to then be recommended to users in unique and personal ways,” Oropeza said. “This feature also makes creators’ lives easier. Instead of a creator spending hours tagging and filtering their own content, AI does it for them in a matter of seconds.”

Oropeza says that the custom integration takes what was previously just a bunch of text and turns it into personalized and engaging content that suits each viewer’s preferences.

Since launching from stealth last year, Flavrs’ user base has grown 80x, while the app’s community of creators has grown 8x in the past three months.

In terms of the future, Oropeza says Flavrs wants to connect high-quality food content to real-life experiences and commerce and “connect the world through food.”

“As things scale, our vision is to become the category-defining food content and commerce experience for the 500M+ people around the world who live to eat,” Oropeza said. “In doing so we will provide a platform for the best chefs, food content creators and local restaurants to connect with highly engaged audiences around the world in a mutually beneficial ecosystem.”