When the social media site Beli first hit screens, it was designed to give frequent restaurant-goers a centralized platform, where they could to review and share meals. It represented a food-centric version of conventional travel or hospitality review sites like Yelp. To differentiate this offering from existing, established review platforms, the company’s founders promised that users could leverage its site to conduct more narrow, focused searches, because it would prompt reviewers to provide extremely detailed information, primarily about the quality of the food. Ambiance and service take on less importance but still inform the reviews.
It quickly attracted a unique community. The vast majority of its visitors and users are younger than 35 years of age, and Gen Z consumers represent the largest segment of consumers who have downloaded the app. To appeal to these users, the app explicitly is designed to encourage community and connections among people who share the deeply personal experience of enjoying food. Beli accounts provide the option of limiting views to friends, which means that reviewers tend to express more open and vulnerable opinions when leaving their comments.
As these communal elements increasingly became inherent to interactions on the Beli platform, some users began exploiting it as a sort of digital journal, in which they willingly share intimate, daily features of their lives. In parallel, other niche reviewing sites seem to be experiencing greater popularity, as in the examples of Letterboxd for movies, StoryGraph for books, or Strava for running. To participate in these dedicated, digital platforms, people need to engage in a specific activity of shared interest, whether by dining out on a meal, watching a movie, reading a book, or running a particular route.
Many such platforms have experienced astronomical growth, but Beli represents a particularly successful case. In less than five years, it has accumulated 75 million ratings—outpacing Yelp, with its 52 million restaurant reviews after more than two decades in existence.
Discussion Questions
- Perform a SWOT analysis of the Beli review platform’s strategic decision to target a specific, niche segment of users.
- What other niche activities or hobbies might benefit from a focused review platform?
Sources: Luke Fortney, “How Beli Ate Yelp,” The New York Times, September 15, 2025; Gia Orsino, Emily Schario, “These Apps Might Fix Your Brain Rot,” Boston.com, November 11, 2025, https://www.boston.com/community/the-b-side/these-apps-might-fix-your-brain-rot-strava-beli/; Kat Schuster, “Young Bay Area Diners Are Trading Yelp for This New Foodie App: Report,” Patch, August 5, 2025, https://patch.com/california/san-francisco/young-bay-area-diners-are-trading-yelp-new-foodie-app-report.