VIENTIANE: The Yoosay Foodie Fest 2026 opened at Kokkok Mega Mall on November 9, marking the official launch of Yoosay - Discovery and Rewards, a mobile app designed to connect diners with restaurants through cashless payments and rewards.
The opening ceremony was attended by officials from departments and centres of the Ministry of Technology and Communications, representatives of companies, associations and organisations, sponsors and restaurant partners.
The ceremony began with a contemporary dance performance by Fang Lao. Officials from the ministry then joined Yoosay co-founder and Managing Director Thanyalat Chaleunsouk in cracking an egg to declare the festival officially open.
The egg, the starting point of many dishes, symbolises new life and the innovation being launched.
The app was developed by Foodie Lao Sole Co., Ltd.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Thanyalat recalled how Yoosay began in 2020 as a small food review page, run as a side project with friends while she was growing an online food ordering business in Laos.
“Throughout my years of working with restaurant owners, I have always heard the same two questions: How do I get new customers? And how do I get them to come back?” Thanyalat said.
“So we built one app that does both: it brings in new customers and turns them into regulars.”
Through the app, diners complete missions, discover new restaurants and collect Yoopoints to use as discounts, while restaurants can run campaigns to reward their regular customers, such as birthday promotions or a weekly Membership Day.
The page later became a mobile app for discovering restaurants and places. At the end of 2024, she stepped away from her other work to build a Lao platform that connects customers with restaurants' sales systems, which took about two years to develop.
At the festival, visitors can order from partner restaurants and pay through the app. The app notifies them when their food is ready, and order numbers are shown on queue screens around the venue.
The festival is sponsored by Kokkok Mega Mall (Platinum), Heineken (Gold), and August Living Haus and Best Telecom (Silver).
Yoosay Foodie Fest 2026 runs at Kokkok Mega Mall from Monday, November 9, until Friday, November 13, from 10am to 10pm daily.
The programme includes live cooking demonstrations, panel talks with food business leaders, an eating competition, blindfolded food guessing and live music from well-known singers every evening.
The Yoosay - Discovery and Rewards app is available on Google Play and the App Store. - Vientiane Times/ANN
