Secret Food Tours
About the Company
Secret Food Tours offers unique culinary experiences by providing guided walking tours centered on local food and drink. Tours are led by passionate locals, combining culture, storytelling, and the best gastronomic experiences in each city.
The most popular tour, the Paris Food Tour, immerses participants in French cuisine, featuring chocolates, macarons, traditional cheeses, wine, and a stroll through the iconic Montmartre area. The company has since expanded its portfolio to include cities across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
Operating as the largest food tour company globally, Secret Food Tours emphasizes customer satisfaction and high-quality service. The company thrives on building partnerships with local restaurants and food vendors, ensuring authenticity and variety.
Idea Behind Company
Nico Jacquart, a French entrepreneur, co-founded Secret Food Tours with Oliver Levene after noticing friends often sought advice on where to eat in cities like Paris and London. Their realization turned into a business idea: creating food tours to share authentic culinary experiences.
To test the concept, Jacquart built a basic website and advertised a Paris food tour on Google. The first ticket sold within hours, validating the idea and encouraging further investment. This early success highlighted the market potential for curated food tours.
Jacquart’s background in online marketing and gaming proved invaluable, equipping him with the skills to scale the business effectively. Together with Levene, he created a model that could be replicated across cities, prioritizing local culture and culinary delights.
Creating the Company
After validating the idea, Jacquart refined the company’s offerings by building a visually appealing website, optimizing the booking process, and creating engaging food tours. He personally scouted local eateries, food shops, and cultural sites, designing tours that offered memorable and cohesive experiences.
The inaugural tour in Paris underwent constant iteration to ensure excellence. Jacquart’s hands-on involvement as the first tour guide helped shape the company’s standards and customer-focused approach. Feedback played a key role in refining the tour and expanding the model.
As the business grew, Jacquart applied lessons learned from Paris to other cities. By tailoring each tour to local tastes and stories, Secret Food Tours set itself apart as a unique cultural and culinary experience provider.
Launching the Business
The launch began with Jacquart taking on the role of the first tour guide to save costs and understand the operational side of the business. Marketing efforts were concentrated online, using Google Ads and focusing on building an excellent reputation through customer reviews on platforms like Tripadvisor.
Success in Paris and London paved the way for launching in Rome, marking the company’s first expansion to a city where neither founder was based. This tested the scalability of the model, emphasizing the importance of hiring skilled city managers to develop and oversee tours.
City Managers became instrumental in ensuring smooth operations. They built relationships with local partners, hired and trained guides, and managed logistics, enabling consistent quality across all locations.
Earnings
Secret Food Tours generates $10K/month and has expanded to more than 80 tours across 50 cities globally. Its growth rate has been 100% year-over-year, cementing its position as a leader in food tourism.
Bookings primarily come through the company’s website, supplemented by partnerships with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Viator and GetYourGuide. Jacquart leverages his online marketing expertise to optimize advertising and maintain a steady customer base.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted operations, the company adapted by developing virtual tours and improving digital infrastructure. With a resilient business model and a growing portfolio, Secret Food Tours is poised for continued success as tourism rebounds.
