Tap That App is a monthly segment where we feature an app our editors think is cool.
Few aspects of on-demand mobile commerce have changed our lives more than food delivery apps. With just the swipe of a finger, we can summon almost anything – from crisp Sexy Salad greens to Cantonese soup from Hoi Fan – to our doorstep within minutes.
Of course, for many of us living in China, operating delivery apps like Baidu Waimai has meant spending hours deciphering characters – until now.
With the recent launch of Mazing, a restaurant guide, delivery option and payment tool, this is the first English food delivery app in China that connects people with quality cuisine. Ordering in delicious meals from the comfort of your couch is, literally, a piece of cake (see ‘How to Get Fat Using Mazing’ and you’ll understand what we mean).
Want to see Mei Mei the cat in action? Check out Mazing's video above (VPN off)
This month, we sat down with cofounder Bram Van Ooijen and development director Kara Schroeder to learn more about the team behind Mazing, their talented cat and what’s in store for the app this year.
We’re all dying to know: how did you teach Mei Mei to use the app?
Bram: It was simple. Kara and the cat had a telepathic connection right away…
And why a cat?
Kara: We were talking about ways to market the app to foreigners, and I know people love animals and animal videos, so I thought we should get a cat and get the cat to use the app to show how easy it is.
Bram: And one of my friends had just started a video production company, so everything came together.
So what was the initial idea behind Mazing?
Bram: Mazing started from the food and beverage industry itself. We have four cofounders and three of us have owned food and beverage chains or have worked in the industry for many years. We had an idea to help restaurants find a way to do more with the online world – a world where people live on their phones. People buy their clothes on Taobao, people buy their TV on Jingdong, but what about food?
Now, we’re not the first ones doing this but we are the first to allow restaurants full control over their online presence, online promotion and the way they look. They can operate everything themselves – delivery fees, delivery zones, etc, – and they can do whatever they want online without us being their boss or their bullies or grabbing their money.
We want to build an online home for quality and licensed restaurants only, because we think the world is moving more and more – if not already – online, and the food and beverage industry is quite a traditional industry that’s trying to find ways to benefit more from mobile commerce but they don’t know how. So we built an app where restaurants can look beautiful online as they are because we only select quality, good restaurants that we think are worth it.
The (a)Mazing team
What’s in it for users?
Bram: In China, it’s very difficult to find reliable independent and professional advice regarding food. Dianping is fake – you can’t rely on it. If a restaurant pays it will be high in the ranking but if it doesn't, it won't be.
So the only way really to find out about the best places in town is to call a friend. There’s nothing wrong with that, but wouldn’t it be easier if there were something more Michelin-guide-style information out there that is at least more independent and professional? With Mazing, we are independent: we don’t receive any money and that way we can keep our independency and our professionalism.
We have been able to uncover so many unknown places, many of them online restaurants that people had never heard of. So from the user side, you find new places and can use an app with a beautiful interface. No other app in China presents food in this way.
Kara: You know what I’m really excited about? The fact that now, I can actually eat healthy without making an effort. Because I am not a healthy eater at all, but then I use Mazing and there are so many salad options it’s hard to not order something healthy because it looks so good! So now instead of me going ‘uh, I’m hungry’ and walking to McDonald’s, I can just order a salad and it’s there in 45-50 minutes. So easy.
We are cooperating with K2Fit now too so we have 44 restaurants on board with K2Fit-approved meals. Challengers get coupons through Mazing for discounts to those restaurants.
How many restaurants are featured on the app now?
Bram: There are 250 restaurants, and growing quickly, that you can order from all over the city. Every restaurant determines its own delivery area. Some deliver all over the city but most have their limits because they care about the quality of their food. Mazing pushes them to increase it as far as they can, so that we can serve more people, but ultimately it’s their responsibility.
Kara: We have many restaurants that can be ordered from in Zhujiang New Town and Taojin. We just added two restaurants in Panyu so now those residents have more options. The Brew Panyu just came online last week, as well as Lao Yang and we’re hoping to expand into other parts of Guangzhou to give more people more choices.
Kara demonstrates how to get fat using Mazing
Mazing has an ‘experience’ tab with amusing articles and recommendations for places to eat around town. Will that be a regular thing?
Kara: Yes – I try to come up with fun and interesting things that are going to make people laugh. I did one on how to get fat using Mazing, where we ordered a cupcake set from one of the restaurants on the app and basically I shoved the cupcakes in my face and Bram took photos of it. But it’s supposed to be funny.
Bram: If that needs explanation then we’ve done something wrong.
Kara: (Laughs) I want people to get as fat as possible… I also did one called ‘What’s in Those Balls’ and it’s all about Chinese meatballs and squid balls and things like that. So something funny.
Bram: But informative.
Kara: Yes, informative, funny, newsworthy and interesting. We want to give people information about where to eat or drink around the city so we have articles about Parc Central and a guide to great coffee shops. We have several articles to show our users what’s around their area. Soon we’ll be adding more features to make the guide easier to navigate and find more info.
Some have complained that some parts of the app are still in Chinese. Will that change?
Kara: Before I came on board, I had the app but deleted it because it was all in Chinese. But that’s what I’ve been working on in the past three months – developing the English side of the app, so I always tell people: some menus may look like they’re in Chinese only because there’s not enough space for the English translations to show up on the first page. If you click into it and click on the dishes, the majority of the menus have been translated into English. The only challenging part is inputting your address, because that has to be in Chinese for deliverymen, but the map is in English and it’s easy to scroll around to find your exact location.
What mobile payment options are available on Mazing?
Kara: Payments come out of your WeChat or Alipay, whichever one you choose.
Bram: We also recently launched Mazing Pay so now it’s possible to pay in restaurants with the app when dining out.
Mazing cofounder Bram looking hot for the camera
You two are the experts: when is the best time to order food?
Kara: I prefer to order around 10am for lunch but really, I order throughout the day. I love to eat! Really though, you can order all the time. Even the day or several days prior.
Bram: Anytime – you can order 24/7. There are places for early breakfast and coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and xiaoye. Some of them will accept your order at 6 o’clock in the morning.
Your most embarrassing experience having food delivered?
Kara: Oh god… I ordered something off of Mazing once and my security guard wouldn’t let them in through the gate, so I had to go down and pick it up. I only had on a long T-shirt (and no pants), so I was just going to run down really fast and come right back up, except I locked myself out…
So I was standing there in my ayi slippers and a T-shirt with no bra on, locked out of my apartment. Eventually I called my landlord and had him come open the door, but by then my food was cold.
Mazing is always up to something… what else is in store this year?
Bram: We have an exciting feature coming out soon… I can’t say much except, if Mazing and Pokemon Go had sex, we’re building that baby now.
Kara: We’re making a baby with the Mazing app.
Bram: We’re also planning to expand to Shanghai this month and Shenzhen early next year, so you can look forward to that!
Mazing app is available for both iOS and Android devices. To download the app, scan the QR code or contact 'itsamazingapp' on WeChat for more information.
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