Lunchbox Raises $50M Series B Funding
Lunchbox, a collection of modern and creative online ordering solutions for enterprise restaurant chains and ghost kitchens, today announced the closing of a $50 million Series B funding round led by Coatue with participation from existing investors Primary and 645 Ventures as well as executives from DoorDash, Sweetgreen, and &pizza.
Since announcing their Series A in October 2020, Lunchbox has saved restaurants over $35 million that would have otherwise gone to third-party ordering platforms. Restaurants including Bareburger, Clean Juice, Fuku, Little Sesame, Sticky's Finger Joint, and Tacombi use Lunchbox's technology. This announcement comes on the heels of Lunchbox's acquisition of Spread, an online marketplace that connects restaurants with diners. Lunchbox has also created a first-of-its-kind digital food hall with C3 that allows restaurant groups to create an experience where guests can order from multiple brands in one cart.
The new funds will accelerate product research and development to meet an increased demand for brand-first restaurant technology. The company currently offers a suite of products including: web and app ordering, loyalty programs, channel marketing, and Lunchbox Studio. In late 2021, Lunchbox unveiled new products built for ghost and virtual kitchens. This new funding will also be used to bring on top-tier talent to elevate across departments.
Tech Investments Heat Up
It’s worth noting that 2021 was a year marked by big investments in restaurant technology. Recent headlines include: Paradox, a conversational recruiting platform, announced a $200M Series C investment. Union, a hospitality engagement platform, raised $22M in December. Plus,. Plate IQ raised $160M. Drone delivery company Flytrex raised $40M in its latest funding round.
High profile IPOs and acquisitions in the restaurant tech space included: SpotOn acquisition of Dolce Software, and the digital and mobile commerce platform Appetize. HungerRush’s acquisition of Menufy. On the M&A front, FAT Brands bought Fazoli's for $130M. On the vendor side, Punchh was acquired by ParTechnology and Restaurant365 Bought Compeat. First Watch filed to go public, and Toast filed for an $100M IPO. Online ordering company Olo held its IPO in March.
In conjunction with the funding, Lunchbox is announcing a new member to its executive leadership team. Kieran Luke was named as Chief Operating Officer at the start of the year to oversee all operation functions and products across the organization. Kieran was previously Chief Operating Officer at General Assembly, where he focused on providing Enterprise clients with assessment and training products.
Brad Svrluga, General Partner and Co-Founder of Primary, a continued strategic investor in Lunchbox adds, "...While other delivery platforms take a pound of flesh with delivery fees and gatekeep valuable customer data, Lunchbox's flat monthly fees and transparent data sharing, analysis, and remarketing tools truly help restaurants grow their profits, not just their top line. We knew this was special back when the team was just six people; we never in a million years could have predicted how COVID-19 would create the urgent need for this exceptional product nor how consumers would become so accustomed to getting fast, frictionless delivery."