What Will I Learn?
Our immersion program is made up of sessions with leading companies operating at the forefront of major trends in the restaurant tech space such as:
Software as a Service
Cloud-based software packages, or software-as-a-service (SaaS), are radically changing the way our restaurants, bars and cafes are run. SaaS startups serving the hospitality industry include Partender, for fast bar inventory, PayMyTab, a cloud platform covering several aspects of the hospitality trade from loyalty programs to payments, and EventSorbet, a SaaS solution for restaurants to generate leads.
Mobile
Mobile apps and platforms continue to spread in the restaurant industry, covering a variety of functions. Bluecart, for example, is built to streamline and modernize the wholesale procurement process for buyers and sellers. Allset, meanwhile, is an app for pre-ordering, and pre-paying for, meals to avoid wait times in restaurants, while Qless is a remote queuing system that means customers no longer need to stand in lines to wait for a table.
E-commerce
E-commerce for dining is a big industry in itself and a major site of innovation. Startups in this space include ChefMealKits, where users can buy meal kits from their favorite restaurants or chefs, and Eat Club, which is aimed at companies, allowing them to have food delivered from local restaurants through a web or mobile device. White-label platforms for restaurants to create and manage their own online ordering and delivery systems are also seeing significant growth. Examples include ChowNow, an online ordering platform that provides restaurants with a way to offer online ordering to customers via either Facebook pages, branded mobile apps or existing websites.
Food Delivery
Going hand-in-hand with e-commerce are food delivery startups such as Coolbuck, an online restaurant delivering meals prepared in a central kitchen, and JoyRun, a peer-to-peer platform for community-based group deliveries. Doordash, meanwhile, which has raised some $2 billion in venture funding, provides on-demand food delivery from local restaurants.