- “All-in-one” restaurant management platform TouchBistro has raised CAD$150 million ($110 million) in growth financing for its cloud-based offering.
- New capital comes from global investment firm Francisco Partners.
- TouchBistro will add to its product offerings and services as well as its “strategic acquisitions” with the new funding.
Why it matters:
TouchBistro’s nine-figure round is notable given restaurant tech’s current struggle to raise capital.
In 2021, in-store retail and restaurant tech was the fourth most-funded agrifoodtech category. But labor and supply chain issues, not to mention the larger tech downturn, have led to cuts, layoffs and closures. More than ever, restaurant tech startups have to convince investors of the long-term value of their offerings.
The so-called “all-in-one” restaurant management setup has a number of elements giving it long-term viability.
For example, TouchBistro’s cloud-based system began as a point-of-sale (POS) system before the company added kitchen display systems, payment processing, reservations and marketing features. Put together, all of these tools form a kind of one-stop-shop for managing both the front and back of house in restaurants.
Systems like these promise a more simplified management process that can cut costs, increase profitability and improve the customer experience. They also provide valuable data on everything from customer information to how much inventory a kitchen uses each day.
SpotOn, a POS platform with additional features, scooped up $300 million earlier this year. The category’s undisputed leader, Toast, went public in 2021 and its stock currently performs better than any other publicly traded restaurant tech company.
TouchBistro currently serves around 16,000 restaurants across 100 countries; more than half of these are in the US. The new funding will fuel further growth in North America and beyond.
Meanwhile, the global restaurant management software market size is forecasted to reach $14.7 billion by 2030.
