TikTok To Deliver Meals Based On Its Most Viral Foods From Over 1,000 Kitchens
Image via TikTok Kitchen
Ever wished you could try the delectable dishes you see on TikTok without having to make them yourself? Well, the social media platform has partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts and Grubhub to turn your dreams into reality with TikTok Kitchen.
Bloomberg first reported that delivery-only restaurants will pop up across the US early next year, offering the most viral foods seen on the app. At the moment, it’s estimated TikTok will launch 300 restaurants, with deliveries beginning in March. By the end of the year, the number of locations could swell to over 1,000.
According to TechCrunch, the first menu will feature the app’s most popular creations, including baked feta pasta, smashburgers, corn ribs, and pasta chips. In fact, the baked feta dish was the most-searched dish of the year on Google after it exploded in popularity on TikTok.
Every quarter, the menu will be changed to reflect new dishes that have gone viral, though it remains to be seen if any dishes will be turned into permanent choices on the menu.
TikTok told TechCrunch that earnings from the sales will go towards the creators who went viral with the dishes, though Mashable noted that it may not be such a straightforward process when it comes to identifying the brains behind the recipes.
For example, the baked feta pasta had first gained popularity on an Instagram post from a Finnish blogger, but was then brought over to TikTok by users @feelgoodfoodie and @grilledcheesesocial, where it went viral. In such cases, it’s unclear how the app would determine who gets the credit and payout.
At the moment, TikTok says that, for certain dishes, the money will go directly to the individual creator, whereas for others, the proceeds could go into the app’s creator fund instead.
“Proceeds from TikTok Kitchen sales will go to both support the creators who inspired the menu item and to encourage and assist other creators to express themselves on the platform in keeping with TikTok’s mission to inspire creativity and bring joy to its users,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
While the idea behind TikTok Kitchen seems pretty ingenious (who wouldn’t want to have the world’s most talked-about foods delivered right to their doorstep?) it could potentially get muddied when it comes to compensating the dishes’ original creators. Fingers crossed we won’t see multiple names vying for credit of the same dish once the service launches.
[via TechCrunch and Mashable, cover image via TikTok Kitchen]
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