ChowNow Raises $3M to Level the Online Food Ordering Field for Small Biz
ChowNow, the turnkey interactive food ordering platform, just like the one on this blog post, just raised $3 million in additional funding to launch new products and expand national operations. Funds were contributed by returning investor GRP Partners along with Double M Capital, Karlin Ventures, LaunchPad LA and Daher Capital, all local investors. ChowNow came out of incubator LaunchPad LA.
ChowNow is helping level the playing field for smaller restaurants through innovation. As the pioneer of Facebook ordering, ChowNow has created opportunity for all types of restaurants by integrating online ordering into social, mobile and viral spaces.
ChowNow offers restaurants a suite of customized branded interactive apps to make online ordering a snap. Now small businesses can compete in the online food delivery revenue stream that has been highly profitable for major chains like Domino’s Pizza and Chipotle, without going through a middleman that charges 15 percent like Seamless or GrubHub.
Tools available to food service companies include a branded mobile app, website integration with online ordering, and full menu ordering capability through Facebook. ChowNow also offers snazzy tablets that digitally track to-go orders, automatically email customers their order info and wait times, while building a customer database.
The entire platform is controlled by the restaurant, allowing for instantaneous changes such as menu additions, delivery areas or pricing modifications. Additional marketing support is available for email lists, promotions and custom collateral.
Steven Dietz, Partner at GRP said, “GRP works with entrepreneurs solving important challenges for many people. ChowNow has the potential to significantly improve the way restaurants communicate with their customers. This is a large opportunity and the innovative team at ChowNow has already begun delivering on their promises to restaurants and their customers. There is an exciting future ahead for this company.”
ChowNow is anticipated to sign up 1,000 new restaurants in the first half of 2013 as result of high demand, fast setup, affordability and ease of use. ChowNow has three new features soon to be announced: catering (currently in beta), expanded CRM capabilities and marketing enhancements like push notifications.
