EatOkra
EatOkra is a free mobile app and web platform that helps consumers discover and support Black-owned restaurants across 35+ cities in the US, London, and Toronto, monetizing via restaurant service fees, brand sponsorships, and delivery integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What EatOkra does
EatOkra operates a mobile-first discovery platform for Black-owned restaurants, founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife co-founders Anthony Edwards (CEO/CTO) and Janique Edwards (COO) in Brooklyn. The core product is a free iOS/Android app, supplemented by a web platform at eatokra.com, listing 18,000+ Black-owned restaurants, eateries, and food trucks across 35+ cities in the US, London, and Toronto. The platform has accumulated 1M+ app downloads and connects 600K+ foodies, with 267K+ newsletter subscribers and 42.8K Instagram followers driving brand reach.
The underlying stack combines native mobile apps with a backend provided by Incentivio, deep links into six third-party delivery platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Seamless, Caviar, Postmates), an Apple Maps integration for curated guides, and a text-based AI assistant ('Wali') for restaurant queries. Supporting products include Okra Offers (a deal redemption program with Culture Credits loyalty rewards), The Roux editorial blog, curated City Guides and Collections, an Events platform, video series (Okra & Beats, 3C Chats), a Marketplace ('Shop the Culture') for Black-owned products, and the newly launched Culinary Creatives Awards and annual Culinary Creatives Conference.
EatOkra's business model is multi-stream: free listings for qualifying (≥50% Black-owned) restaurants with service fees on orders routed through the platform; a three-tier brand sponsorship program (Intro, Amplify, Partner) offering in-app, email (267K+ subscribers), social, and event-based placements; delivery partner fees on third-party orders; and marketplace/affiliate revenue from curated Black-owned products. Go-to-market combines product-led growth (free app downloads), community-led engagement (user reviews, collections, recommendations, events), and event-driven marketing (Culinary Creatives Conference, 3C Chats, Okra & Beats). The company has secured major brand partnerships including Apple (Developer Award 2021), Pepsi, Bacardi, Uber Eats, and a 2025 alliance with Green Book Global, and was recognized as a James Beard Foundation Impact Honoree in 2025.
EatOkra firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EatOkra
- Legal name
- EatOkra Inc.
- Website
- https://eatokra.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- EatOkra is a free mobile app and web platform that helps consumers discover and support Black-owned restaurants across 35+ cities in the US, London, and Toronto, monetizing via restaurant service fees, brand sponsorships, and delivery integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
EatOkra industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Restaurant Discovery Platform
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (7225)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Restaurant Meal Delivery Platforms & Aggregators (AFAIAMAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ethnic & International Online Food Marketplaces (AFAIAMAH), Restaurant Meal & Prepared Food Delivery (CRAFAFAB)
Keywords
Where EatOkra is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
EatOkra business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Service Fees from Featured Merchants: EatOkra charges Featured Merchants (Black-owned restaurants) service fees on orders placed through the Platform. Merchants must be at least 50% Black-owned to be listed. Fees may vary and are invoiced to merchants.
- Advertising and Sponsorship: EatOkra offers advertising packages to brands including in-app banner ads, newsletter highlights to 267K+ subscribers, Instagram posts and stories (42.8K followers), website ads, featured blog articles, and exclusive app placements. Sponsorship tiers include Intro (single channel), Amplify (multi-channel bundle), and Partner (title sponsorship with full brand integration).
- Delivery Partner Fees: Delivery Partners (UberEats, DoorDash, GrubHub, etc.) charge customers delivery fees on behalf of Featured Merchants. EatOkra may also charge customers additional fees including membership subscription fees and service fees at EatOkra's discretion.
- Marketplace Commerce: EatOkra operates a marketplace section ('Shop the Culture') featuring products from Black-owned brands including supplements, condiments, beverages, and food items. Products are sold through an external shop platform (collabs.shop).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free for consumers |
| Freemium | Others | Free listing for qualifying Black-owned restaurants |
| Subscription | Monthly | Intro Partnership (Single Channel) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Amplify Partnership (Multi-Channel Bundle) |
| Subscription | Quarterly | Partner Title Sponsorship |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels14 records
EatOkra product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EatOkra operates a mobile and web platform that helps diners discover Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, bars, and wineries across 35+ cities in the U.S., London, and Toronto. The platform combines a curated directory of 18,000+ businesses with editorial storytelling (The Roux blog), a deal and loyalty program (Okra Offers and Culture Credits), ordering integrations with major third-party delivery services, and signature cultural events such as the Culinary Creatives Conference and Culinary Creatives Awards.
Product overview
EatOkra is a platform-plus-content ecosystem for discovering and supporting Black-owned restaurants. The core product is the EatOkra mobile app (iOS/Android) which provides restaurant discovery, reviews, ordering integration with major delivery platforms, and location-based services. Supporting products include Okra Offers (a rewards and deals program where users earn Culture Credits), The Roux Blog (editorial content featuring chef profiles and cultural stories), City Guides (curated city and cuisine-type restaurant collections), and Collections (thematic restaurant groupings). The platform also encompasses an Events discovery feature, Marketplace for cultural products, video series including Okra & Beats and 3C Chats, the Culinary Creatives Awards program, and the annual Culinary Creatives Conference. International expansion includes Apple Maps guides integration and coverage of restaurants in London and Toronto alongside U.S. markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Okra Offers: Curated time-limited deals from Black-owned restaurants available exclusively through the EatOkra App, featuring fixed-amount discounts, BOGO offers, free items, and loyalty rewards.
- Okra & Beats
- The Roux
- Culinary Creatives Awards
- Culture Credits
- Culinary Creatives Conference
Quantifiable outcome
- 600K+ foodies connected to Black-owned restaurants
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use EatOkra
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
EatOkra technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
EatOkra partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Green Book GlobalcoreEatOkra and Green Book Global, the first Black travel review mobile app, announced a collaboration to add over 2,500 Black-owned restaurants into Green Book Global's Driving While Black Road Trip Planner. This partnership expands visibility for Black-owned restaurants in the travel and dining space.
- ApplecorePartnership established in 2021 as part of EatOkra's growth phase. Includes Apple Developer Award recognition and Apple Maps integration for expert restaurant guides.
- Uber EatscoreDelivery partner integration allowing users to order from listed restaurants through the Uber Eats platform. Partnership established in 2021.
- PepsimajorBrand partnership and sponsorship established in 2021. Pepsi Dig In is featured as a trusted brand sponsor on the EatOkra advertising page.
- BacardimajorBrand sponsorship partnership established in 2021 as part of EatOkra's expansion with major consumer brands.
- ezCaterminorFeatured as a trusted brand sponsor on EatOkra's advertising page, providing corporate catering solutions to EatOkra's business audience.
- IncentiviocoreSoftware provider for the EatOkra platform. Account information including name and phone number may be shared with Incentivio. Incentivio is a separate platform owned by a different entity from EatOkra.
- DoorDashcoreThird-party delivery partner integration allowing users to order from listed restaurants through the DoorDash platform.
- GrubHubcoreThird-party delivery partner integration allowing users to order from listed restaurants through the GrubHub platform.
- SeamlesscoreThird-party delivery partner integration allowing users to order from listed restaurants through the Seamless platform.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
EatOkra competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Infatuation: The Infatuation is a restaurant discovery and review platform with curated city guides and editorial content, similar to EatOkra's City Guides and The Roux blog. Both monetize via editorial and brand partnerships rather than primarily via transaction fees.
- Resy: Resy is a restaurant reservation and discovery platform acquired by American Express. Like EatOkra, it offers curated collections, city guides, and restaurant pages with direct ordering/reservation integrations.
- Green Book Global: Green Book Global is the first Black travel review mobile app and a direct strategic partner of EatOkra (2,500+ Black-owned restaurants integrated). Both serve the same audience of conscious Black travelers and diners seeking culturally relevant listings.
Broad incumbents
- Yelp: Yelp is the largest consumer-facing restaurant discovery and review platform in the US. While EatOkra focuses on a curated Black-owned vertical, both compete for the same diner intent and offer reviews, photos, and ordering integrations.
- Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is a global travel and restaurant discovery platform with reviews, rankings, and booking integrations. It overlaps with EatOkra's international expansion thesis (London, Toronto) at a much larger scale.
- OpenTable: OpenTable is the largest restaurant reservation marketplace and includes restaurant profiles, reviews, and curated lists. It competes with EatOkra for both diner attention and restaurant marketing budgets.
- Eater:
- Google Maps: Google Maps is the default restaurant discovery surface for most consumers globally and now offers curated guides that compete directly with EatOkra's Apple Maps guides feature. It dwarfs EatOkra in user reach but lacks EatOkra's cultural specialization.
- Apple Maps: Apple Maps both partners with and competes against EatOkra via its curated Guides feature. While EatOkra contributes expert guides to Apple Maps, Apple also offers a much broader restaurant discovery surface that can substitute for EatOkra's directory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
EatOkra social profiles
Digital presenceEatOkra financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EatOkra leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
EatOkra funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
EatOkra M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about EatOkra
What does EatOkra do?
EatOkra operates a mobile and web platform that helps diners discover Black-owned restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, bars, and wineries across 35+ cities in the U.S., London, and Toronto. The platform combines a curated directory of 18,000+ businesses with editorial storytelling (The Roux blog), a deal and loyalty program (Okra Offers and Culture Credits), ordering integrations with major third-party delivery services, and signature cultural events such as the Culinary Creatives Conference and Culinary Creatives Awards.
Is EatOkra a public or private company?
EatOkra is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was EatOkra founded?
EatOkra was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is EatOkra based?
EatOkra is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does EatOkra make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Service Fees from Featured Merchants are the primary driver. The others are advertising and Sponsorship, delivery Partner Fees and marketplace Commerce.
Who are EatOkra's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Infatuation, Resy and Green Book Global. Broad incumbents are Yelp, Tripadvisor, OpenTable, Eater, Google Maps and Apple Maps.
Does EatOkra have an API?
No public API is recorded for EatOkra.
What industry is EatOkra in?
EatOkra's product category is Restaurant Discovery Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAIAMAA, Restaurant Meal Delivery Platforms & Aggregators, with a secondary code of AFAIAMAH, Ethnic & International Online Food Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 7225 and its SIC code is 5810.