Paris-based #FoodTech startup ZenChef has raised €6 Million from key investors, the company announced today. The news, which comes while ZenChef is in the middle of TechStar’s German-based Metro program, will see them add Metro AG, Germany’s largest retail chain, & Edenred, pioneers in the “restaurant check” space, both of which should provide ZenChef with access to key potential customers.
ZenChef already counts 2,500 restaurants as customers of its solution, which allows restaurants to bring their menus online; however, CEO & Co-Founder Xavier Zeitoun says that, despite being the European leader, that’s nowhere near enough.
There are 500,000 independent restaurant owners in Europe, and ZenChef thinks it can tap 25,000 of them (that’s 10x what they are touching now) by 2018. Growth & retention have been strong for ZenChef, and with their rebranding (death to the 1001—- name trend! Long live Zen—-!) they should be in a much better position to push forth a local brand even in international markets – something Zeitoun says he learned from Metro AG in the past few months.
#FoodTech has gotten investors excited; however, most are throwing money at last-mile delivery startups: Deliveroo, Postmates, TakeEatEasy,Foodora. They are single-handedly responsable for the increased number of bikers in Paris, as far as I can tell – but I digress. The delivery market is going to be capital intensive, with heavy churn for all those who can’t provide the necessary volume to justify a restaurant’s partnership – meanwhile, #FoodTech startups like ZenChef that not only provide a digital experience to restaurants for their customers, but also can directly track the impact it has on their online reservations & orders.