TikTok-Inspired Dating App Snack Gets $3.5 Million in Funding

Dating app Snack is marketing itself to a new generation of daters and is building excitement with $3.5 million in funding, according to Tech Crunch.

The app is modeled after TikTok and Instagram, placing short form video as the centerpiece rather than profile pictures. Instead of swiping, each user has a feed they can scroll through to see what other users have posted. When you like a video, you are able to comment, and if two users like each other’s videos, then DMs open up for them to message over the app.

Snack was started by former Plenty of Fish executive Kimberly Kaplan, who was in charge of product, marketing and revenue at her old company. She noticed Gen Z users had different behaviors on dating apps. Instead of sticking around and swiping, they would connect with someone on a dating app and then move to social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram to message and interact with each other. She attributes this to younger daters wanting to be a bit more casual in their approach to online dating.

As she noticed the behavior, TikTok and short form video became increasingly popular with younger social media consumers looking for a more authentic way to express themselves. 

Snack is looking at monetizing its platform in the same way traditional dating apps do – with advertising and paid premium features and subscriptions. The company has only 10 employees but hopes to grow with the new funding. Kaplan notes that video content will be key in the dating app space going forward and hopes this will give the app a good start in the competitive market, specifically as daters move away from Tinder towards new platforms.

The app is also attracting more female daters, making it an interesting competitor to Bumble.

“The biggest challenge is going up against big players that have a lot of capital,” said Kaplan. “Starting out is hard and getting that initial foothold is hard. I fundamentally believe in our product and I see this open opportunity in the market. I very much believe someone will come in and usurp Tinder, and it’s going to be around video.”

Snack has received $3.5 million in funding, led by Kindred Ventures and Coelius Capital, with participation by Golden Ventures, Garage Capital, Panache Ventures and N49P.

The app is live in the Apple Store but not yet available in Google Play. Those interested can sign up on Snack’s website to be notified when it goes live in the Android store.