Restaurant Tech: 12 Nordic Startups Changing the Restaurant Industry

The restaurant industry is worth about $3 trillion according to Technomic, and nearly $800 billion of that is in the U.S. alone.

Tech is now entering the restaurant industry in a major way. Research by Deloitte shows that restaurant owners who invest in digital solutions can increase dining frequency, loyalty and sales, and in another study, 95% of restaurant owners agree that technology improves business efficiency.

It’s no wonder then that investors have poured $2.5 Bn in startups that are innovating in the restaurant space (since 2012).

But looking at the size of the industry, that is less than 0.1% of the global industry value invested in new technologies. That’s a sign that there is plenty of room for new innovations and opportunities.

Some notable exits in the space are seating management tool Nowait that was acquired by Yelp for $40M, and restaurant POS system Revel that was acquired by a private equity firm for $580M.

“We will see increased demand for innovative products as restaurant technology shifts from early adopters to the early majority”

Brook Stevens from tech-form Toast predicts that the demand for innovative products will increase as the technology adoption lifecycle is shifting in the restaurant industry. If this is true then we've only seen the beginning of “Restaurant Tech”.

Startups

Tech companies are innovating in every aspect of the restaurant industry. Everything from Payments to Delivery to Food Waste Management.

Here are 12 Restaurant Tech startups in Sweden:

Karma

• Karma is on a mission to fight food waste.
• The Karma marketplace allows restaurants (and grocery stores, hotels etc.) to sell food that would otherwise be wasted to a reduced price under a certain time limit.
• Karma has raised more than $16M from Kinnevik among others.

Onlinepizza

• Onlinepizza was one of the first online food delivery companies in Sweden.
• Acquired by Delivery Hero in 2012.
• The company’s founders are some of the most active angel investors in the Nordics today.

TVM

• TVM is Sweden’s largest digital network of Sports Bars.
• With interactive TV screens and a B2B marketplace, TVM improves communication and productivity between bars, brands and guests.
• The company aims to be the worlds largest digital platform for restaurants..

Future Ordering

• Future Ordering has developed a cloud-based solution for online ordering via the web, mobile and kiosks.
• The platform applies Machine Learning to help optimize the operation of cafés and restaurants.
• The company recently raised $2.5M to expand and double its team of 13 people.

Happy Order

• Happy Order has developed a platform that allows restaurant customers to order and pay via an app.
• The company offers a white-label solution for restaurants that want to enable digital ordering in real time.

Soundtrack Your Brand

• Soundtrack Your Brand helps restaurants, bars and retail locations play the right music at the right time.
• A study that the company conducted together with HUI Research showed that the right music could help increase sales and improve the overall experience for customers.
• Soundtrack Your Brand has raised $39M from Balderton, Northzone and others.

Leeroy

• Leeroy offers a platform that helps restaurants run their business with data and strengthen relationships with guests.
• The company has customers such as Urban Deli, Pizza Hut and Holy Greens.
• The company has raised over $7M from Zenith, Collector and others.

Caspeco

• Caspeco has developed one of the most widely used tech platforms for restaurants in Sweden.
• Products include POS system, booking, staffing and analysis.
• Customers include Skansen, Stureplansgrupen and O’Learys.

FreshX

• FreshX is digitizing the food and supply industry with an inventory ordering system for restaurants.
• The platform allows restaurants to manage all their orders to all their suppliers in one single application.
• Leading restaurants are suppliers such as Café Opera and Martin & Servera are using the platform.

iZettle

• iZettle offers a service-centric point of sale for several industries, including the food and beverage industry.
• For more advanced features iZettle offers a pro package for restaurants that includes table and product management in addition to the payment platform.
• iZettle was acquired by Paypal for $2.2Bn in 2018.

GetCompliant

• GetCompliant helps over 14,000 co-workers daily in restaurants, retail, and coffee shops handle tasks and checklists for smooth operations.
• Their digital operations-manual saves time and increases control for multi-site businesses.
• With the app, managers and employees can easily keep track of important tasks secure compliance.

Planday

• Planday is a leading online employee scheduling platform.
• A recent Techcrunch article states that the company is growing 250% annually and is serving users in 39 countries.
• Planday has raised over $60M from Creandum, SEB Private Equity and others.

Smart Restaurang

Smart Restaurang is a platform that gathers several software and hardware solutions for restaurants in a single point of access. Restaurants can get all the hardware they need to operate their business, complete with pre-installed software. This offers convenience for any restaurant-manager since they get one source for customer support for all services.

8 of the 12 companies mentioned in this article — like iZettle and Planday — are already part of the Smart Restaurang platform.

Smart Restaurang is powered by Universal Avenue, a tech company in Stockholm that has helped more than 25,000 businesses with tech adoption and digitization.

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