Uber Eats has unveiled a short-form video feed similar to TikTok to help restaurants showcase their dishes and reach wider audiences. The new feed is being tested in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto, and a worldwide rollout is planned, the company told TechCrunch.

According to Awaneesh Verma, Uber Eats’ Senior Director of Product, the feed aims to replicate the experience of dining at a restaurant by allowing users to see videos of food preparation that may inspire them to try new dishes.

“The early data shows people are much more confident trying new dishes and trying things that they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Verma told TechCrunch. “Even little things like being able to see texture and the details of what a portion size looks like or what’s in a dish have been really inspiring for our users.”

With a user-centric approach, the move sees Uber Eats joining numerous other popular apps like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Netflix that have introduced their own short-form video feeds following TikTok’s meteoric rise. 

The short-form videos, including the home screen, are visible in carousels across the Uber Eats app. Tapping a video preview launches a vertical feed of related content that users can swipe through, featuring only restaurants situated close enough for delivery. Uber Eats has clarified that the videos are not paid advertisements.

For restaurants, the feed provides an opportunity to directly reach customers as they decide what to order, leveraging the popularity of social media to discover new dining experiences. Many restaurants already have social accounts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to showcase their offerings through short videos.

Uber Eats has also revamped its Manager software with personalized growth recommendations to further support merchants, such as suggesting promotions or adding photos to listings. Per Verma, an entirely new restaurant manager app launching this summer aims to enable greater mobility and proactivity, alerting managers to operational issues or opportunities to boost sales through advertising.

The launch of the short video feed coincides with Uber Eats’s announcement on Monday that it had exceeded 1 million merchants globally across 11,000 cities on six continents, according to TechCrunch.