Alternative proteins are increasingly becoming a staple of modern day diets. Consumer demand for ethical, sustainable and healthy sources of protein has fueled a growth in investment and innovation in meat and dairy substitutes. In the U.S. alone, sales of plant-based meats grew over 23%, exceeding $760 million in 2018. The global plant-based protein market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2020.

Meanwhile, startups are vying to get the first cell-cultured meat to market. Companies like Tyson and Cargill are investing in the technology that threatens to upend the $90 billion meat industry. Recently, the FDA and USDA announced a plan to regulate the nascent industry, which is poised to reach restaurants by the end of this year.

Join us to hear from Founders and CEOs of companies that are creating sustainable protein alternatives at our April Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models and technologies. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Ocean Hugger Foods, Sophie’s Kitchen, Nonfood, AKUA, Merci Mercado, We Are the New Farmers, Ulli’s Oil Mill, Brave, Kapka Foods and more.

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Courtney Boyd Myers, Co-Founder & CEO, AKUA
Courtney Boyd Myers (aka CBM) is the co-founder and CEO of AKUA, a modern brand on a mission to become a household name for sustainable, seagreens-based foods, starting with its first product “Kelp Jerky” – a vegan, high-protein, high-fiber, keto-friendly snack that’s free of soy and gluten. She also serves as an advisor to GreenWave, the Global Community Director at Summit, and a partner at Unframed Ice Cream. In 2018, CBM was listed as one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”.

Gavin McIntyre, Co-Founder & Director, Ecovative
Gavin co-founded Ecovative in 2007 to solve environmental challenges through biology. Ecovative helps companies use its mycelium-based technology to create scaffolding structures for plant-based and cell-based food applications, biodegradable packaging materials, animal-free leather and more. Gavin oversaw research and development during the company’s early product launches, now he leads business development, growing a network of international mycelium-material partners. Gavin is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where his studies in mechanical engineering and social design led to his passion for building home-spun bioreactors in which he has cultivated everything from oysters to orchids.

Brian Rudolph, Co-Founder & CEO, Banza
Brian Rudolph is the co-founder & CEO of Banza. Banza is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of nutritious comfort foods. Banza’s first product, a pasta made out of chickpeas, is the fastest selling pasta in both Whole Foods and Target. The pasta was named one of TIME’s 25 Best Inventions of the Year, and has been endorsed by the New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Good Morning America. Today, the product is available in over 11,000 stores. As a company, Banza has cultivated one of the most engaged social media followings in the industry. Brian received his BBA from Emory University and is an alumnus of the Venture for America fellowship. He is a member of the Inc 30 under 30 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists.

PARTNERS

WeWork Food Labs is a workspace and global platform dedicated to startups impacting the future of food. It supports innovators across the food ecosystem, including companies working in AI, robotics, kitchen appliances, supply chain, ag tech, distribution software, consumer goods, hospitality and beyond.

Thanks to the Brooklyn Brewery for keeping us hydrated

The post Rethinking Protein appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms promise to transform the food industry. Innovative startups are leveraging these technologies to change the way we produce, distribute and consume food — from early plant disease detection to streamlining product development and consumer insights. What is A.I.? How does it actually work? How are companies leveraging it and why?

Join us to hear from CEOs and COOs of companies that are building intelligence platforms from the farm to plate at our March Food+Tech Meetup, A.I. in Food. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models and technologies. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Bad Apple Produce, Artisan Revere, Silly Chilly Hot Sauce, Element Farms, Atina Foods, Halla.io, Culinairy Labs + More

Have an innovative product you’d like to share? Apply through our application here: https://bit.ly/2AXzYHa

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Alon Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Tastewise
Tastewise leverages AI to tap into the culinary consciousness that drives the world’s freshest food and beverage insights. Our platform analyzes billions of food data points – including menus, home recipes and social media – to provide real-time insights for restaurants, hospitality groups, and food brands. Capturing food innovation and observed consumer needs, Tastewise equips industry professionals to identify target segments and competitors, understand emerging trends, and determine which dishes or products should be served next. A senior Google executive for close to a decade, Alon Chen has a wealth of experience in leveraging AI and big data across technology, business and marketing. During his time at Google, Alon initiated and launched the Google Partners channel program in 27 countries, on-boarding 60,000 partners worldwide. Alon also served as Google’s Chief Marketing Officer for Israel and Greece and led the company’s relationship with the World Economic Forum. As Chief Business Officer for Voyager Labs, an AI and cognitive deep learning company funded by Oracle, Alon developed and led their AI marketing-tech eCommerce solution.

Riana Lynn, Founder, Journey Foods
Riana is the founder of Journey Foods, an AI-powered platform that helps support new product development and nutrition precision. It is creating the future of nutrient consumption through software that supports smarter R&D and efficient, data-driven production of plant-derived snack foods. Its first product line focuses on re-imagining fruit snacks and adding functional ingredient complexes to target immunity, digestion, energy and brain function. A biologist turned serial entrepreneur, Riana has developed high-growth, nationally recognized technology, and food businesses. Her accomplishments have been featured on CNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Wired, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine, among others.

Chris Chan, Chief Operations Officer, Farmwave
Chris Chan is the COO of Farmwave, a company that is transforming the world’s agricultural information into AI data models to power decision-making and preserve the future of farming. As Farmwave’s human Swiss Army knife, Chris leverages his experience in nonprofit management, technology consulting, and startups to facilitate ideation, develop strategy, and support product development. His efforts support the entire company, but he works most closely with the marketing, design and business development teams.

PARTNER

WeWork Food Labs is a workspace and global platform dedicated to startups impacting the future of food. We support innovators across the food ecosystem, including companies working in AI, robotics, kitchen appliances, supply chain, ag tech, distribution software, consumer goods, hospitality, and beyond.

The post A.I. in Food appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Just 12 plants and 5 animals make up 75% of the world’s food supply. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. While estimates vary, it is believed that there are over 30,000 edible plants, and we only eat 150 of them. This is harmful to our planet, health and the communities that rely on them. While the conversation around sustainability typically focuses on how we grow our food, it’s time to focus on what we’re growing.

Biodiversity is crucial to the health and safety of our food supply. But to us, biodiversity in food means something even more. Biodiversity sits at the intersection of taste and sustainability, where we can simultaneously satiate an eater’s desire for new, interesting foods, while supporting a more diverse cornucopia of foods being cultivated in the world. As an industry, consolidation puts our food supply at risk and leaves a lot of opportunity – new flavors and food experiences – on the table.   

From building out supply chains with farming cooperatives abroad to partnering chefs and breeders to develop delicious plant varieties, companies are increasingly launching products and developing supply chains that support agrobiodiversity.

Join us to hear how game-changing startups are creating a more biodiverse food system at our February Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology and supply chains. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Yolele, Kuli Kuli, Tender Greens, Kaibae, Rebbl + More

Check out our editorial series featuring interviews with 45+ CEOs, execs, farmers, investors and researchers on why biodiversity is the future of the industry: https://bit.ly/2FiaxCX

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Charlotte Douglas, Chief Operating Officer, Row 7 Seeds
Built by chef Dan Barber, breeder Michael Mazourek, and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb, Row 7 collaborates with chefs and breeders to develop, promote and sell new, flavorful vegetable and grain varieties. Prior to joining the team, Charlotte served as the Creative Director of Special Projects at Blue Hill Stone Barns, In her seven years at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, she helped spearhead research, writing and culinary projects that explore issues of agriculture and the environment through the lens of flavor.

Mike Lee, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Alpha Food Labs
Mike Lee is the founder of The Future Market, a futurist food lab that explores what our food system could look like in the next 5-25 years, through experiences and concept products. Mike is also co-founder of Alpha Food Labs, a food innovation company that helps companies create strategies and products that are better for people, planet, and profit.

Lisa Curtis, Founder & CEO, Kuli Kuli
Kuli Kuli is the first brand to introduce the green superfood moringa to the US market. Lisa founded Kuli Kuli after working with moringa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She has grown Kuli Kuli from a Peace Corps dream into a multi-million dollar social enterprise that sells delicious moringa products in over 7,000 stores. Through Kuli Kuli’s moringa supply chain, the company has planted over 1 million moringa trees, created 1,300 sustainable livelihoods and has put over $1.5M back into the hands of rural farmers across Africa and South America.

Erik Oberholtzer, Co-Founder, Tender Greens
Erik holds the title of executive chairman of Tender Greens and leads the board of directors with daily emphasis on supply chain integrity, culinary innovation, food justice and community cultivation. Erik’s thought leadership on the topics of regenerative organic agriculture, urban agriculture, food policy, health and wellness and social justice have earned him advisory roles with The Food For Ever Foundation, pttow!, The Crop Trust, Rodale Institute, Berkeley Food Institute, SEE-LA, California Restaurant Association, Farmshelf and Children Now. Erik is the founder of The Sustainable Life Project, a Tender Greens sponsored foundation with a mission to help foster youth find paths forward through food access and culinary internships. A member of Conscious Capitalism, Erik coaches young entrepreneurs on the journey of building a conscious brand to national scale.

Thank you to our partners Kickstarter and Brooklyn Brewery.

The post Food Biodiversity: Where Flavor and Sustainability Meet appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

As 2019 unfolds, nascent trends and paradigm-shifting innovations continue to rock the food industry. Fast-growing demand for plant-based alternatives are eating out sales of dairy and animal-based products. Recent trend reports claim 2019 is said to be the year plant-based meat goes mainstream. Functional foods have taken a more prominent role in the American diet. From personalization to direct-to-consumer models, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are rethinking CPG at our January Food+Tech Meetup. Speakers will do a deep dive into their business models, growth and technology.

We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Keetz & Co, Minna, Four Sigmatic, Sweet Dough, Swapples, Sir Kensington’s, Further Food + More.

Interested in sampling your product? Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/xDlzomm0qpjeKapJ3

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Mike Messersmith, US General Manager, Oatly
Oatly was founded back in the 1990s and is based on Swedish research from Lund University. The company’s patented enzyme technology copies nature’s own process and turns fiber rich oats into nutritional liquid food that is perfectly designed for humans. Today, the Swedish company remains independent and dedicated to upgrading the lives of individuals and the general well being of the planet through a lineup of original oatmilks. Mike Messersmith has led all aspects of business and organizational strategy and execution for Oatly since its launch in the United States. Prior to his role at Oatly, Mike held senior roles at The Nature’s Bounty Company, Chobani and Frito-Lay.

Scott Norton, Co-Founder, Sir Kensington’s
Scott Norton is co-founder of Sir Kensington’s, the premier producer of all-natural ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard distributed nationwide. With a mission to bring integrity and charm to ordinary and overlooked food, Sir Kensington’s condiments have become an integral offering at leading retailers, restaurants, and hotels. Scott has been named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30.”

Kaitlin Holliday, Retention & Data Manager, Four Sigmatic
Founded in 2012 by a group of Finnish friends, Four Sigmatic is a mushroom, superfood and adaptogen company that believes in cutting through the hype to help people improve overall wellbeing. Their products taste delicious and are easily incorporated into a daily routine like mushroom coffee, hot cacaos, matcha, blends and more. Majority employee-owned, Four Sigmatic’s fully-distributed global team works together to bring their products to more than a million consumers in over 65 countries worldwide. Kaitlin joined the team early last year and manages online customer Retention, driving strategy and execution of programs to increase customer long-term value. She’s been working in the Natural Foods space for 5+ years. Before joining Four Sigmatic, she was Chief of Staff at Exo Protein, makers of cricket protein bars.

PARTNERS:
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve.

The post Rethinking CPG appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

The supplement industry is ridden with cheap, synthetic chemicals. Ora Organic was founded in 2015 to rebuild trust in the category by creating nutritional supplements made from organic, plant-based and sustainable food ingredients. But building trust is difficult, so Ora relied on a number of digital and marketing tactics to gain consumer trust.

The direct-to-consumer supplement startup first gained notoriety in 2017 when it appeared on Shark Tank and turned down a $375,000 investment in front of millions of viewers. CTO and Head of Growth Sebastian Bryers set up lead capture devices on its website, allowing the company to obtain more than 15,000 emails and thousands of subscribers in a month. Through the show, the company was able to earn the attention of investors and gained an overwhelming response from people looking for premium, organic supplements.

While Ora Organics found its first customers through personal networks, Bryers relied on his background in data analysis to help grow the brand. He performed sentiment analysis on top blogs to understand the key questions people were asking, which provided data for the company to create relevant content. This data-driven approach to content allowed the brand to build trust with its audience. Now, the collection of data is automated and used to optimize its advertising as well as ensure the right audiences receive its content.

Sebastian Bryers joined us at our Rethinking CPG Meetup this past August to share insight on the company’s e-commerce strategy and plans for retail. You can see videos of other presenters at our Food+Tech Meetups here.

The post Ora Organic’s Data-Driven Growth Strategy appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the food industry. Ten of the world’s biggest food companies have already joined forces to transform how the industry tracks food worldwide through this network. At the same time, new companies are emerging to introduce these technologies into the supply chain, demonstrating the potential it has to improve food system operations in several ways – from preventing foodborne illnesses to combating hunger.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are deploying blockchain technology in our food system at our November Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology, challenges and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Ginjan, 82 Labs, Bowery Farming, Believe in Bambara, Scraps, Burlap & Barrel, Amazi Foods, Toast Ale, Nora Snacks and Ripple Foods!

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:30pm: Networking
7:30 – 9:15pm: Presentations + Q&A
9:15 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Nicolas Jammet, Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer, sweetgreen
Nic Jammet is Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. Nicolas graduated from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he met fellow sweetgreen co-founders and co-CEOs, Nathaniel Ru and Jonathan Neman. He has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Food & Wine’s “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under”. In 2016, sweetgreen was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies.”

Jasmine Crowe, Founder & CEO, Goodr
In January of 2017, Jasmine launched Goodr, a sustainable food waste management company that leverages technology to combat hunger. Today Goodr redirects surplus food from convention centers, hotels, airports, and businesses to the millions of people who are food insecure. Under Jasmine’s direction the company now has clients that include: Turner Broadcasting Systems, Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, Delta Airlines and more.

Phil Harris, Founder, Ripe.io
Phil is a founder at ripe.io that is deploying the “Blockchain of Food” that provides solutions to help answer what’s in your food, where it’s been and what’s happened to it. Our mission is to provide “Transparency in every Byte” from farm to fork to help our customers improve their intelligence and insights in to their food supply chain through our service of automation and business models through the application of blockchain and IoT. Phil has an extensive career spanning over 25 years in financial technology including roles at Nex, Nasdaq, CME Group, 360T and Blockstack.io an early blockchain start up.

Dr. Daniel Beckmann, Co-Founder, Foodshed.io
Dan Beckmann is a New Media developer and award-winning journalist whose career has spanned over a decade. He worked on the New Media team in Obama’s Chicago headquarters during the 2008 campaign. After the campaign he founded IB5k, a civically minded digital production agency that produces integrated new media solutions in the government, political, entertainment, marketing and journalism sectors. He is the co-founder of Foodshed.io, a blockchain technology company solving the inefficiencies of local food distribution by connecting sustainable producers to local wholesale markets.

HOST:

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

SPONSORS:

Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve.

The post Blockchain of Food appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Increasing demand for healthy, sustainable and personalized options has disrupted the CPG space. Big food companies are losing market share to startups with more nimble business models, greater consumer focus and faster innovation cycles. Since 2013, food and beverage startups have raised $9.5 billion across 2,100 deals globally. From direct-to-consumer functional foods to plant-based ingredient innovations, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are rethinking consumer packaged goods at our August Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, approaches to product development and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from, RIND Snacks, Dafero, Lavva, The Worthy Company, Masienda, Egunsi Foods, Seek Food, DIRTY LEMON, Makku and Yolélé Foods.

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:15pm: Networking
7:30 – 9:00pm: Presentations + Q&A
9:00 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Zak Normandin, Co-Founder & CEO of DIRTY LEMON
In 2015 Normandin launched DIRTY LEMON, the world’s first direct-to-consumer beverage brand that sells exclusively by text message. Backed by A-List celebrities and business leaders alike, DIRTY LEMON is recognized nationally by media leaders such as Vogue, Forbes and Fast Company. In developing this proprietary technology, Normandin built a conversational commerce platform that provides effortless transactions, bypassing existing distribution inefficiencies, to improve the customer’s experience.

Victor E. Friedberg, Executive Chairman, Lavva; Co-Founder, Seed 2 Growth Ventures (S2G); Founder and Chairman of FoodShot — MoonShots for Better Food
Victor has been at the forefront of innovation, global development and sustainability for over 20 years. As Co-Founder of S2G Ventures he has been a principal force in developing the S2G mission, culture, strategy and team. Through his work, he has pioneered system investing as a strategy for investing into food and agriculture and applied this approach in building the S2G portfolio. As Managing Director, Victor lead the S2G investments into Beyond Meat, sweetgreen, Ripple, Maple Hill Creamery, Apeel Science, Ataraxis, FishPeople and Lavva. As Executive Chairman at Lavva, Victor guides forward-looking business strategy to establish pathways to brand aligned sourcing, manufacturing and new product development. He works collaboratively with the management team at Lavva to provide support for key opportunities and needs for the day-to-day execution of the business as needed.

Santiago Proaño Gómez, Brand Manager at Innovation Lab Tyson Foods
¡YAPPAH! is a new brand from Tyson Innovation Lab that exists to help fight food waste and address other sustainability challenges. ¡YAPPAH! products incorporate ingredients like upcycled proteins, and rescued vegetables and grains. These Protein Crisps are crunchy, tasty snacks that also provide the good stuff like chicken and veggies. It’s a snack that helps fights food waste AND delivers the flavor nuance of a meal.”

HOST:
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. To date, tens of thousands of creative projects — big and small — have come to life with the support of the Kickstarter community.

SPONSORS:
Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.

The post Rethinking CPG 2018 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Come on down to Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village for another great evening of drinks and networking with the food tech community. There won’t be any formal programming this month, but you’ll have a chance to catch up, discuss your projects and maybe even find some talent.

Space is limited – RSVP HERE. We hope to see you NYC-based food techies there!

The post Join Us Tomorrow for a Food+Tech Happy Hour appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

There won’t be any formal programming this month, but you’ll have a chance to catch up, discuss your projects and maybe even find some talent.

We are hosting this happy hour in conjunction with our first in-person food business course, Food Startup Branding 101, (online version launching on April 15). Food Tech entrepreneurs are flying in from around the country to learn how to make their brands stand out. And this Meetup will give them the opportunity to connect, share insights and possibly forge partnerships with food tech folks like all of you.

Make sure to RSVP here. We hope to see you on Monday!

The post Join Us For A Food+Tech Happy Hour on 3.24 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Nearly 100 members of the food tech community joined us last Thursday for our NYC Food+Tech Meetup: How New Tech is Transforming Restaurants. We heard from 6 startups who are working to revolutionize the restaurants industry, from mobile payments to improving employee performance.

A brief wrap up of the event is below. We will also be publishing videos of each startup’s presentation in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

We’d like to thank our sponsors Lenz Winery and Bibber & Bell for providing all of the delicious, New York State wines, and Innovative Food Holdings Inc. (IVFH) & Food Hatch for all of the great food. 

Learn more about our Meetups and  get notified about future events here. 

NoWait, the app that offers a solution to pesky restaurant wait times, announced that it had launched nation-wide last Thursday. The app – which let’s users view restaurant wait times, add their names to waiting lists and get texts from restaurants when their tables are ready – has primarily grown organically until now, CEO Ware Sykes told the Meetup group. The startup leverages restaurants as its distribution mechanism and is now seating 3 million diners per month, up from 700,000 last year. NoWait is also in the process of experimenting with cross promotions and offers, says Sykes. The startup has raised $4.04 million to date.

Objective Logistics uses behavior change psychology and gamification to bolster employee performance and improve operator efficiency. The startup provides an artificial-intelligent, web-accessible labor performance management platform (MUSE). The technology integrates with major POS systems, like Micros, Aloha and PosiTouch, and analyzes historical data to generate holistic employee performance rankings. It is currently the only player that can give this caliber of rankings, says VP of Sales Eric Poley. The startup has raised $7.6 million to date. 

Easy Pairings leverages data to connect restaurant operators with ideal front-of-house job seekers. In an industry that has a 55 percent turn-over rate, the platform aims to lower recruitment costs and help restaurants find the right staff quickly and easily. The platform allows job seekers to upload their resumes; It then analyzes that data, connects operators with the best candidates, and schedules interviews. Word of mouth has helped the startup grow, and usage rates have been higher than they expected, co-founder and CEO Darren Wan told the group. The startup raised $40 thousand in seed funding in February, 2013. 

Cover streamlines the customer payment process and saves restaurants money. The credit card processing startup offers an app that lets customers dine and dash, legitimately, by keeping their credit card information and tip preference on file and automatically charging them at the end of their meal. It also saves restaurants money by mitigating ever-increasing credit card fees. Searching for a customer experience that was “emotionally spot on,” the startup spent 13 months testing and developing its product, says co-founder Mark Egerman. So far, the user demographics have surprised them; rather than tech-savvy college students, the app’s main demographic has been mid 20s-30s. The startup launched out of beta in NYC last October, and since then it has raised $1.5 million in funding and brought on nearly 50 restaurants. 

Swipely leverages data from payment networks, POS systems and the social web to help local merchants better understand customers and grow sales.  The majority – 70 percent – of the startup’s merchants are restaurants. “They are our sweet spot,” said VP of Sales Matt Oley. The service provides valuable marketing data, such as whether new customers have, in fact, become repeat customers. It also provides actionable insights on menu item profitability and lets operators rank servers by sales, customer retention or table turn. The startup has raised $20.5 million to date.

Culinary Agents hopes to become the LinkedIn for the hospitality industry. The platform, which currently has 12,000 users and over 1,000 restaurant clients, offers job matching and networking for culinary professionals. The startup aims to improve employee retention, while bringing the hospitality job search away from antiquated methods like Craig’s List, and into the 21st century. The platform has also become an extended recruiter, founder Alice Cheng told the group. The startup recently raised $500k in seed funding. 

The post Behind the Restaurant Tech Meetup Scenes appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

A growing number of companies are using technology to streamline distribution and help consumers buy local food directly from small farmers and makers.

“The local online food space is wide open. The market is huge, and it’s just growing from year to year,” says Quinciple co-founder Markus Jacobi. Quinciple brings the farmers market to you through weekly subscription boxes, which contain seasonal ingredients from local producers.

The startup’s business model is built around bolstering small scale farmers. Its boxes contain 12-14 items  – fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish, grains etc. – along with recipes for inspiration. But unlike meal box startups such as Blue Apron and Plated, Quinciple does not portion ingredients for individual meals. Its offering is more along the lines of grocery delivery, a la Good Eggs, meets community supported agriculture (CSA) share, like Farmigo.

The bootstrapped startup launched in March 2013 and since then membership has increased 25-30 percent every month, according to Jacobi. One day the teams hopes to grow into a one-stop shop for local products, offering everything from seasonal food and accompanying recipes to educational information regarding agriculture and food, says co-founder Kate Galassi.

At our October Food+Tech Meetup “The Business of Meal Kit Subscriptions,” Jacobi and Galassi presented their company’s model and mission (video below), which includes an audience Q&A that dives deeper into the startup’s supply chain logistics and scalability.

Quinciple from Food Tech Connect on Vimeo.

The post Quinciple Leverages Tech, Delivers Farmers Market to Your Door [Video] appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Customer-facing and back of house technologies are revolutionizing the foodservice industry. From payment products that aim to boost check averages, to services that increase user engagement, to platforms that help minimize food waste, a bevy of tech startups are working to optimize customer experience and restaurant operations.

Join us on January 30th for “How New Tech is Transforming Restaurants” – an inside look at how a handful of these startups operate and make money. Each of the startups will have 5 minutes to present and 5 minutes for audience Q&A.

There will be networking, wine sponsored by Lenz Winery –@TheLenzWinery – and Bibber & Bell – @BibberAndBell – and snacks sponsored by Innovative Food Holdings Inc. (IVFH) & Food Hatch – @FoodHatch – served after the presentations.

Confirmed Presenters:

Cover– An OATV and Lerer Ventures backed payment processing app that lets customers seamlessly pay for their meals and saves restaurants money on credit card fees. @coverpay / info@paywithcover.com

Culinary Agents– A RRE Ventures and Correlation Ventures backed professional network  that offers job matching and networking for culinary professionals in the food, beverage and hospitality industry. @CulinaryAgents / info@culinaryagents.com

Easy Pairings –  An online marketplace for the hospitality industry that allows restaurants to lower recruitment costs and find great staff quickly and easily. @easypairings / sarah@easypairings.com

Objective Logistics – A Google Ventures and Atlas Venture backed retail/restaurant-focused software company that provides an artificially-intelligent, web-accessible labor performance management platform (MUSE). @OBJL / info@objectivelogistics.com

Swipely – An Index Ventures and Shasta Ventures backed service that helps local merchants better understand customers and grow sales by connecting information from the payments network, point-of-sale systems and the social web. @Swipely / business@swipely.com

NoWait – A Birchmere Ventures backed iOS app that allows consumers to search restaurant wait times, add their names to waiting lists and get texts from restaurants when their tables are ready. @NoWaitApp

The post Food+Tech Meetup: How New Tech is Transforming Restaurants appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

via http://www.prettycitysweets.com/2010/02/happy-cuddling.html

If there were no grocery stores, CSAs, or farmers markets, how would you use technology to get food?

Food+Tech Meetup organizer Elizabeth McVay Greene posed this question to a group of us last night at the monthly meetup.  We broke up into small groups, brainstormed about how to answer the question, and then shared our most practical and far-fetched ideas.

Here are a couple of the solutions people came up with:

• More community gardens and farms.
• Food in the cloud- using some form of social networking such as Facebook, Foursquare, or a new platform to connect, trade, and barter with others growing or producing food.
• Leftovers.com- restaurants and people could post their leftovers for others to pick-up. The mobile app could ping you as you walk by a location with leftovers.
• Flying foragers- automated foragers flying around picking wild food and delivering to cities.
• Food mailbox- refrigerator that uses remote sensors to know when you are out of a particular food item, pings the producer / distributor, and then delivers the food to a food mailbox. The food mailbox would be equipped with a pneumatic tube that would deliver the food to your refrigerator.
• Automated food lists- would alert you anytime you passed a location that had a food on your list.
• Food Printer
• Tweeting plants and remote sensing

The idea storm was incredibly entertaining and allowed us all to stretch our minds and think creatively about how technology is and could be leveraged to access food. I did a bit of research this morning and turns out that many of these ideas are already available in some form or are being explored. Be sure to look out for the examples I will be sharing over the coming days.

How would you use technology to get food?

The post Idea Storming at the Food+Tech Meetup: Using Technology to Access Food appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.