According to Jordan Wexler, CEO of SmartGuy.com and the newly formed FindingFood.com, "The food industry is enormous...in 2012, almost 2 trillion was spent annually on food by US consumers alone - that's 10% of the gross national product (GNP). You can imagine the total spent worldwide, as well as the number of people this industry keeps employed."FindingFood.com is aiming at creating a massive community of food lovers globally. Having already assembled a team of "Finding Food Ambassadors" in over 100 cities globally before the website is even live, Wexler aims at quickly positioning local leadership to help catapult the website forward.
"Sure, consumers will love using the site to find great meals and recipes in their area or even areas they are traveling to, but creating a force of millions of people allows us to help direct the future...
there are many people who feel they do not have a voice...people unhappy with the conditions of food in their area, or the food industry itself. There are also those over 100 years old who not only love their food, but attribute it for their longevity and want to tell the world. Although they might find it hard to be heard singularly, they will be heard via FindingFood.com collectively."
Wexler is no novice at building companies, having founded 3 large internet powerhouses over the last 20 years. You can quickly note the passion in his voice when he talks about the importance of food,
"Everyone needs food, it sustains life. It goes into our body and fuels us - good food can help us live longer, live better, and bring joy to our lives. Poor quality food is bad for our health, shortens our lives, can cause depression and might lead to future complications that we are not even aware of yet!"
Wexler continues, "discovering new tastes can be exciting! Imagine making some of the most popular dishes internationally at your home, such as: Ackee and Saltfish from Jamaica, Coo-Coo and flying fish from Barbados, Bulgogi from Korea, Kibbeh from Lebanon/Syria, Goulash from Hungary, Winer Schnitzel (my favorite) from Austria, Pot-au-Feu from France, Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding from England and of course...authentic Irish Stew with a recipe from Ireland!"
Rumor has it that Wexler is also in contact some of the larger shipping companies to innovate ways to be able to transport unique foods and spices globally to assist members in creating wildly unique dishes.
Having had an opportunity to get a "sneek peak" of the site before it goes live in January, I must say it is impressive. I went through the website and the mobile apps, all designed to be simple to use, exciting to look at, powerful in its ability to find and share meals and recipes worldwide, but created to also be a scalable food community - I can see that is an important aspect in his creation.
Although the the website won't be released until January 2014, they have created a pre-launch facebook group that already has over 5,000 members excited to get started adding meal pics, adding recipes, and communicating with others. Those in the facebook group will get to try it out first.
"Do you know where Lusaka, Zambia is? I didn't until I started this effort. I myself have spoken with amazing people from Tanzania, Australia, Canada, Thailand, France, Uganda, China, Argentina and numerous other countries who have already shared with me recipes and pictures of amazing meals that they have created. I can't wait to try them...but more than that, I am creating communities of people with similar interests that transcends global limits - so that someone from Kansas City, MO can compare great barbeque with someone from Buenos Aires, Argentina...or somone with a gluten intolerance can connect with hundreds of others worldwide and share unique meals and recipes they never thought of...where vegans can discover dishes only heard of in remote parts of Africa, and so on."
Whether you love food or not, keep an eye on FindingFood.com - it will certainly change the future. To join their Facebook group, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FindingFood/
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