This week in restaurant tech: Grubhub makes advances on two fronts, a connected-kitchen company grows and two tech platforms offer PPP help.
Grubhub hire and Chrysler deal
The delivery company added to its C-suite this week, bringing on Devry Boughner Vorwerk to fill the newly created role of chief corporate affairs officer.
Vorwerk has a background in food and sustainability. She founded a consultancy called DevryBV Sustainable Strategies and was chief communications officer and head of global corporate affairs for Cargill. She’ll use that experience to help expand Grubhub’s focus on sustainability and food security, and to communicate the impact it’s making on communities, the company said. She’ll also oversee brand, government relations and public policy, reporting to CEO Matt Maloney.
Also this week: Chrysler owners will be able to order from Grubhub while driving. Auto tech provider Lear Corp. announced a partnership with the delivery provider that will put its app on Fiat Chrysler touchscreens, allowing drivers to reorder past favorites from behind the wheel. Drivers can also use the app to get information about new restaurants they encounter on the road: With the press of a button, Grubhub will email them the menu to peruse when they’re done driving. The partnership is a first for Grubhub. In-car ordering has been tested before—Olo and BMW tried it beginning in 2019—but it has yet to take off.
Perfect Co. fundraise
The kitchen technology provider raised $6 million in a Series A funding round led by Oxbridge Capital Partners Ltd. and Genesis Ventures II Fund, the company said this week. It also hired Jayson Tipp, former CEO of Pincho, as chief growth officer.
Perfect Co.’s products include a kitchen workflow platform that integrates with kitchen equipment to help improve execution and efficiency. It also offers order-ahead pickup software and has partnered with equipment manufacturer Middleby to create custom-built contactless pickup cabinets.
Perfect will use the funds to continue developing its software solutions for restaurants, CEO Michael Wallace said in a statement.
The company began on the consumer side of connected kitchens with a product called Perfect Drink that guides the user through making a cocktail using an app and a scale. Perfect got into the restaurant space about two and a half years ago.
Rewards Network’s PPP helper
Loyalty provider Rewards Network is teaming up with small-business commerce platform Womply to make it easier for restaurants to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Restaurants that partner with Rewards Network can go to womply.com/rewardsnetwork to access a portal designed to simplify the application process for the emergency loans. Womply helped more than 50,000 businesses land a PPP loan during the first round of funding last year, the company said. The service is free.
GoTab’s contactless starter kit
Online ordering provider GoTab unveiled a contactless ordering starter kit featuring the hardware and software a restaurant would need to begin offering the trending service.
The kit includes a POS terminal and stand, a payment terminal, POS software, payment processing and 24/7 customer support. The setup provides traditional POS capabilities along with the ability to offer contactless ordering and pay at the table. The bundle costs $600.
Contactless ordering has taken off during the pandemic amid social distancing and the rise of delivery and takeout.
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