There is something really hot happening right now in Dubai. It is called Bite Club and you definitely want to be part of it if you are a foodie, like trying new places and meeting new people. We interviewed Marc Blacha, the man that started this brilliant concept.
Marc knows very well how to promote a venue. He has been promoting bars and nightclubs for years already but is now making his know-how, network and services available exclusively to restaurants. As a result, in almost no time, Bite Club has gone viral. Having started the project in September 2017, Marc seems confident that Bite Club will take the U.A.E. by storm this year.
THE INTERVIEW: MARC BLACHA FROM BITE CLUB
Hi Marc,
Tell us what is the Bite Club?
Bite Club can best be described as a food-centered social club. We are an evergrowing group of Dubai residents who like to eat out, network and socialize very frequently. We do so at food tastings and other food-related events in restaurants around town.
How did you come to this idea?
Having made a living as an event organizer and nightlife promoter since 2010, I started becoming less and less passionate about what I did over the past few years. I think a combination of me growing older and growing tired of the nightlife industry, in general, meant that I started enjoying dinners, more than I do parties.
One day I thought to myself “if I can bring X amount of business and customers to a bar or a club, why wouldn’t I be able to do the same for restaurants?” We have over 10,000 restaurants in Dubai, yet, compared to nightlife, there are surprisingly few individuals making an effort to promote these wonderful venues. So I started visualizing a new and different lifestyle, in which my events would take place in restaurants, rather than clubs, and I would no longer have to work late nights to pay my rent. This idea compelled me and that is how Bite Club began to take shape.
How many members does the club have already?
What started as a small group of my personal friends and their friends, has now grown into a community of 600+ people. We host events (almost) every day now and typically 50-100 of our members show up per event.
How can people join?
It’s so easy. You contact me or our event managers Kai or Ranjeeta on WhatsApp, we add you to one of our Bite Club chat groups, and you start receiving daily invitations to our events. You can then pick and choose which ones you want to attend. We serve you free food at all of them!
Click this link if you want to join.
Marc WhatsApp: +971 55 590 5915
Kai WhatsApp: +44 7949071262
WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE
How does it work for restaurants? What do they get in return?
A lot! First and foremost, an incredible atmosphere. When 100 social, outgoing people walk into the same place, at more or less the same time, it greatly enhances the ambiance at the chosen establishment.
As our members enjoy the food they are being served, they take pictures and share the experience with their followers on Facebook, Instagram, etc. This gives the restaurant unparalleled, organic social media marketing. The extra footfall obviously leads to a substantial increase in, especially, beverage sales (all drinks are chargeable).
Last but not least, we retrieve honest feedback from our guests after each event. Valuable information which is compiled in a feedback report and sent to the venue for them to have a better understanding of what they are good at and what they could be doing better.
Do the restaurants repeat?
Yes. Our clients are generally happy with the service we provide, and we have visited most of the hotels and restaurants we work with on more than one occasion. We are now in the process of introducing a Bite Club Benefit Card which, through food and beverage discounts, will drive repeat business to our partnering venues.
What are your future plans for Bite Club? Where would you want to see it?
Everywhere! We have proven that the concept works in Dubai. If it can work here, it can work in any cosmopolitan city in the world. London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, you name it. The plan is to go global.
Thanks Marc!
Stay tuned as Dubai Fashion News and Bite Club will have some venues together that you cannot miss.
In the meantime, check and follow them on social media!
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