How Reisty is redefining culinary experience in Lagos, set for int‘l expansion

Apps are everywhere, in Google Play Store, Apple Store, you name it. Interestingly, they are easy to build these days. Anyone with average coding skills can create an app within days. But what apps are we seeing more in people’s phones and gadgets? If it is not gaming, fintech, movies, social media apps or the like, they are apps that seldom have anything to do with food or the food business.

While food is vital to the existence of people and nations, when it comes to digitising the processes and systems that lead to its appearance in the market and dining tables, it is not something most people find interesting or lucrative to invest in. Only a few people find passion in such endeavours, especially when it comes to leveraging creative and innovative ways of managing them through technology and strategy.

Victoria Abidoye, marketing manager at Reisty, a restaurant reservation app, is one of the few budding entrepreneurs in Lagos making inroads into the food technology business. But her story and career did not begin in the food sector. Like most Nigerians, she started her career in other businesses and gradually climbed her way into her current business endeavours.

“After I graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife, my goal was to get sucked up in the corporate world and grow up the corporate ladder,” she said.

Her first job, she further said, was as an administrative assistant at a real estate firm. The firm, she revealed, was struggling with sales, and a lot of people did not know the brand. At some point, she added, the company started experiencing pressure from all sides.

“And when a company experiences pressure, it is not only the bosses that are affected; everyone is. I saw a problem, and I started building an interest in marketing. I wanted the world to know the real estate firm and started proposing solutions I thought would work,” she said.

Abidoye stated that this interest led her to learn about the digital landscape from the lens of marketing, and ever since, her career has been centred on creating strategic cost-saving marketing efforts. She further stated that she has always been passionate about creating and executing campaigns for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) brands, and that she has a unique cost-saving approach to campaigns, putting the people first.

Before Reisty, she worked at an agency where she worked on various fintech, energy, and entertainment projects, creating marketing content and executing strategic campaigns.

Asked about her experience and connection in her line of work, she said, “With over four years of experience across the United Kingdom, Nigeria, the United States, and Canada, I have led strategic initiatives that delivered measurable results in digital and product marketing, SEO, CRM, partnerships, and product positioning resulting in over 40 per cent increase in social media growth within two months, and over 1000 user acquisition in the first year. I am passionate about leveraging marketing for sustainable impact.” 

Now at Reisty, serving as its marketing manager, Abidoye described the restaurant reservation app as a premium platform for discovering and securing tables at the city’s top restaurants, even going further to explain how the app is transforming dining through an unexpected formula.

Reisty, launched in January 2024, has grown to provide reservations to over 2000 active users. Spearheaded by its chief executive officer CEO, Kehinde Paul, and co-founder, Emmanuel, Reisty’s community-centric strategies, notably the coveted Red Envelope and vibrant Club Friends, Food and Opportunities (FFO), a club for foodies events, have propelled it beyond a mere utility into becoming an indispensable part of Lagos’s social and culinary fabric. Partnering with over 100 restaurants, Reisty has led three community-based events in recent times.

According to Abidoye, while Reisty’s core technology seamlessly powers reservations, waitlist management, and discovery for Lagos’s best restaurants, its true differentiation lies offline, always buzzing with energy.

“These are not generic gatherings. They are meticulously curated culinary experiences encompassing exclusive chef’s table previews, themed brunches at hotspot partners, or mixology workshops designed explicitly for the Reisty community,” she said.

 She further said that Lagosians crave authentic experiences beyond transactional dining, adding that Club FFO leverages restaurant partnerships to create unique, low-pressure spaces where their users connect over shared passions.

“Reisty, beyond reservations, facilitates memorable moments and relationships centred on Lagos’s incredible food scene. The strategy transformed users into ardent advocates, organically driving platform loyalty and growth far exceeding traditional marketing return on investment (ROI),” she added.

Abidoye stated that the Red Envelope campaign started as a social experiment. According to her, rather than relying on typical reward systems, Reisty began sending out beautifully crafted red envelopes containing surprise perks, exclusive invites, and occasional gifts.

“The Red Envelope was not a coupon blast. It was a hand-picked gesture of appreciation for our prospects. Its message was clear: ‘You are valued, and you belong at Lagos’s best tables.’”

Reisty’s marketing manager revealed that they combined the efficiency of advanced technology with the warmth of genuine hospitality in starting, growing, and sustaining the business.

“Reisty is not just about finding a table. It is about unlocking the best possible dining experience Lagos has to offer. The Club FFO events and the Red Envelope programmes are extensions of that philosophy, using technology to enable deeper connection and delight,” she said.

Victoria Abidoye, Reisty’s marketing manager, further revealed that, powered by technology, the firm is out for international expansion, starting from Lagos, a city renowned for its vibrant food scene.

“Reisty continues to push the narrative that community is everything, and it is setting a new standard, where booking a table is just the first step in a richer, more connected culinary journey,” she concluded.

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