Former MenuLog execs raise $10M to shake up restaurant procurement industry
Macquarie Capital has backed tech start up FoodByUs in its latest funding round.
FoodByUs was founded in 2016 by ex-Menulog executives Gary Munitz and Tim Chandler, along with long-term associate Ben Lipschitz and aims to bring restaurant kitchens into the digital age.
Macquarie’s support puts $10 million into the start-up’s coffers as it shakes up restaurant food and drink ordering practices via an online marketplace.
FoodByUs’ annual sales have grown 600 per cent since 2019, a key plank in Macquarie’s interest.
Macquarie was attracted to the company’s rapid growth, having kept an eye on FoodByUs since investing $500,000 into it in 2016, when the fledgling company was trialling a home food delivery model.
Sales accelerated during lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne as restaurants, pubs, hotels and clubs looed to overhaul antiquated operations, reduce costs and adopt technology to service customers and stay afloat.
Not only did Macquarie participate in the latest funding round, New York-based F J Labs, which specialises in marketplace investing also invested.
FJ Labs recently invested in Australian inner-city supermarket chain Send, which promises 15-minute grocery deliveries.
“They speak our language and all the metrics they look at, we’re looking at, and they have a very deep portfolio of businesses we can also learn from,” Lipschitz said.
How does the FoodByUs work?
The company connects restaurants, cafes and caterers with hundreds of wholesale food and alcohol suppliers, while assisting them with cost reporting, digital issue resolution and invoicing via accounting software Xero.
“The room for error was huge before,” Lipschitz said.
“Restaurants were picking up the phone every night, or texting, or faxing, or even just leaving a message with a supplier at 11 o’clock at night hoping their order was received and was delivered the next day without too many issues.”
FoodByUs was born out of the MenuLog experience.
Menulog was sold which sold for $885 million in 2015 to British conglomerate Just Eat.
“We knew from MenuLog that users didn’t want to come on and see 50,000 different offerings, it was too overwhelming, so we kept numbers limited to just the procurement needs of restaurants,” Lipschitz said.
“When chefs start asking us why they couldn’t buy alcohol or something via our marketplace, we knew we were doing something right.”
Once the trio had signed up suppliers, they went on a roadshow around restaurants.
There was immediate uptake and now the marketplace boasts more than 1000 customers across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
FoodByUs aims to become a “one-stop shop” for hospitality procurement.
Irit Jackson, 17th November 2021
