ezCater Raises $150M
ezCater has raised a $150 million Series D-1 investment round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and GIC. ezCater will use the funds to continue its global expansion of its catering marketplace and software platform for restaurant operators. The funding round brings ezCater’s total funding to $320 million.
Catering is Different
Catering is a $60+ billion industry in the U.S. alone and is growing 50% faster than the overall restaurant industry, according to Technomic. Restaurants require different menus, operations, and technology to manage their catering business. ezCater’s fully integrated catering marketplace and software platform is uniquely designed to help restaurants of all sizes get more incremental catering orders and manage their entire catering operations. Today, more than 60,000 restaurants and caterers, from local independent restaurants to national chains like Jersey Mike’s Subs, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, partner with ezCater.
“ezCater keeps evolving to meet the needs of the catering industry,” said Jennifer Sanders, Senior National Catering Manager at Schlotzsky’s. “The number of new orders they send us keeps growing, and so does the value in our partnership.”
Catering is also different for the catering buyers. Their orders are for business meetings and other events that are high-stakes and tightly scheduled. They cannot entrust their orders to any party that does not offer sophisticated technology, concierge-class customer service, and broad selection. Business people from organizations of all sizes rely on ezCater’s online ordering platform and award-winning customer service for reliable catering.
Global Expansion
ezCater has grown rapidly for the past 8 years. In July 2018, ezCater expanded globally by acquiring GoCater, a Paris-based online catering platform. In March 2019, they acquired MonkeySoft Solution Inc. (MSI), an enterprise software, training, and insights company dedicated to helping restaurant operators increase off-premises sales and profits. The current D-1 raise will help the company expand global operations and continue to extend its industry-leading software platform.