Cartwheel
Megan Dias
In a thriving city such as New York, entrepreneurs have reinvented the concept of “fast food,” capitalizing on New Yorkers’ desire for easy, on-the go eats. Trucks and pushcarts parked curbside offer everything from the tangy nutty flavors of Thailand’s chicken satay, to the cheesy breaded goodness of Italy’s Arancini balls, to crispy falafel from the streets of Egypt. Such offerings reflect the urban vitality that makes New York, New York.
Cartwheel is an application bringing people closer to mobile cuisine. It provides its users with an enhanced consumer experience by tackling pervasive issues within the industry. Formerly, food trucks and carts have been transient and difficult to locate, and have earned a reputation of lacking accountability and customer service. Additionally, 72% of vendors deal exclusively in cash and customers are made to endure long wait times. Cartwheel provides an all-in-one solution to the aforementioned problems.
Cartwheel fosters a culture of street-food connoisseurs. It is a strong advocate for food, urban culture and the community that surrounds it. The in-app “Cartwheel Community” allows users to share, exchange, and follow people they’ve connected with on their street food adventures. It also keeps the user constantly “in the know” about the latest news, events and happenings in global street fare. It is a platform for both discovery and for social interaction. Cartwheel stands to revolutionize the mobile food industry, bringing it into the 21st century with the help of technology, and to drive this communitarian movement around a shared love of street fare.