FreshGuide.com Acquired; Eyes Expansion in 34 Markets

FreshGuide.com, which includes the BookFresh.com scheduling service, has been acquired by Sugar Inc., a diversified media company that includes a TV network and programming aimed at women, as well as ShopStyle, a “social shopping service.”

FreshGuide.com founder Ryan Donahue says the acquisition will enable the company to expand beyond its four existing markets — San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Seattle. Thirty additional cities are slated to launch over the next 18 months in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Australia, where it will leverage operations of the new parent company.

Donahue, an eBay vet, had previously raised $1.5 million for BookFresh from NBC Universal, Baseline Ventures, Hatch Ventures, Ron Conway and others. BookFresh has been positioned as “The OpenTable for everything else.”

The 10-person team launched FreshGuide in January to jump on the Groupon-like daily offer bandwagon. FreshGuide, like Groupon, targets a women-oriented audience and focuses on beauty, health and fitness, dining and travel getaways.