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Experiential Brands is driven by Aziz Hashim vision of “Profit Focused Franchising!”

JustBilling is a solution for Your effortless restaurant management.  Discover JustBilling’s top features! visit us https://lnkd.in/dBPwtSBZ #Effiasoft #justbilling #pos #possoftware #retail #androidapp #restaurant #billing #foodie #food #foodindustry #startups #management #FoodSafety #digitalmarketing #market #marketing #advertisingandmarketing

Happy Saturday! Please checkout this week's edition of Branded Hospitality Ventures' Hospitality Headline Newsletter - "War of the Roses (Reservation)" The link is in the comment section. There's been a great of deal of attention recently on the topic of restaurant reservations and that most certainly includes American Express' acquisition of Tock and the emergence of a secondary market for reservations. The Top of the Fold is my take on where reservations are going. Spoiler alert, I want to buy the black-market reservation folks a beer in appreciation for what they've done. The Shoutout section highlights the need for a consolidation in the 3rd party delivery space and DoorDash acquiring Deliveroo would be the deal to see. We also give a shoutout to QSR Magazine and their recognition of the "Young Leaders to Watch." Big Chicken's very own Trisha Durham and Will Gladstone made the list and Branded loves being part of a company that embraces new talent! The Access Hospitality Network section goes to Branded's focus on amazing restaurant operators at different ends of the spectrum, Big Chicken on the quick-serve casual side of our house and LDV Hospitality on the full-serve high-end side. We share our Hospitality Hangout Podcast, and our amazing guest, Greg Flynn of the Flynn Group. This episode was epic! From flipping burgers at McDonald's to running the show as the head honcho of the world's largest franchise operation, Greg's journey is a real-life recipe for success, highlighting the key ingredients of operational excellence, a dash of strategic diversification, and a generous portion of adapting to ever-changing market trends. We have articles from Branded's go-to-market specialist, Seth Temko on "CMO vs. VP of Marketing: Steering Your Company's Growth with the Right Leadership" and our restaurant evangelist, 🍔🍟🍕🎙 David "Rev" Ciancio on the "The Single Best Marketing Hack to Get Higher Open Rates on Email." And of course, our B-List, which, as always, is created by the "Machine" and its algorithms that continue to highlight the good people that are making things happen in this industry we love. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. It takes a village! Michael Schatzberg; Julie Zucker; Drewe Raimi; Noah Stern; Mark Senkpiel; Matthew Lerner; Jordan Schlachter; Joseph Levien; Dylan Challenger; 🟦 Christopher Sebes; Andrew J. Nash; Ivan Matkovic; Sterling Douglass; Will Hench; Rajat Bhakhri; Ritukar Vijay; Yossi Meshulam; Brandon Barton; Taj Adhav; & Mani Kulasooriya #hospitalitystrong; #innovation; #technology; #venturecapital

Extended waiting periods and extensive queues can seriously compromise the #restaurant experience. To tackle these issues, certain dining establishments deploy self-service kiosks for food ordering. As a #startup, you can enter the market for self-service food ordering kiosks, and cater to the requirements of food industry players by offering your solution. Discover the specifics of the food ordering kiosk market and things to consider when building self-service restaurant kiosks. https://lnkd.in/dPvK69DQ #EasternPeak #selfservicekiosks #selforderingkiosk #RestaurantSoftware #restaurantsolutions #startups #techstartup

The New Financial Reality for Restaurants: It's Time to Shift from Gross Margin to Contribution Margin ⏰ Gross margin has long been the go-to KPI for restaurants. It was almost gospel that a profitable restaurant should hover around a 30% gross margin. Who hasn't heard the adage that pizza, with its 75% gross margin, is the most profitable segment? Or that a franchise maintaining less than 30% gross margin is doing well? But let's face it, this KPI is outdated. 😮 In the age of digitalization and delivery services, restaurants are facing new variable costs: payment fees, delivery commissions, software expenses, etc. These costs are significant, upending the old formula of 30% for purchases, 30% for salaries, and 30% for fixed costs. Since the advent of delivery services, many chains have seen their net margins plummet while their gross margins appeared healthy. Surprisingly, numerous dark kitchens operate with gross margins as low as 20% and still lose money. 👉 A low gross margin is no longer a sign of profitability. 🛑 Yet, old habits die hard. Many restaurateurs continue to focus on gross margin, trying to offset new costs by reducing expenses or raising prices. This is a critical mistake. What's the solution? As many of you know, I own 7 restaurants in the south of France. They do around 50% delivery, 50% eat-in. We now use Contribution margin as the main KPI to follow instead of Gross Margin. We monitor this ratio monthly for each restaurant (using Trezy it's super easy), calculating it by deducting from the revenue: ✅ Cost of purchases ✅ Variable distribution costs (fees and commissions) This allows us to compare our restaurants more effectively, analyzing purchases, productivity, and the impact of their sales channel mix. 👉 To franchisors, franchisees, or franchise candidates: I strongly recommend incorporating this KPI into your analyses. Move beyond just focusing on gross margin. With Margin on Variable Cost, you'll get a comprehensive view of your economic model and avoid unpleasant surprises. The only challenge is gathering accurate data if your network isn't prepared. Franchisors need to play their role, providing precise contribution margin insights by rigorously aggregating worked hours, purchases, stocks, and commissions. Gross margin was supposed to be uniform across the board, but contribution margin is not. 🤔 So what is a good Contribution margin? 👉 100% Delivery Model: With delivery fees of 15-30%, a good Contribution Margin is about 30-40%. Managing other costs effectively is essential for profit. 👉 50% Delivery Model: Splitting between delivery and dine-in, aim for a Contribution Margin of 40-50%. Dine-in profits help offset delivery costs. 👉 No Delivery Model: For dine-in only, the Contribution Margin can be around 60-70%, benefiting from the absence of delivery commissions. Attracting dine-in customers is key. #RestaurantFinance #ContributionMargin #BusinessStrategy #EconomicShift #KPIs

Joanna Fantozzi Nation's Restaurant News reports on - "This is the second acquisition Craveworthy Brands has made in one week, following the purchase of @Sigri Indian BBQ." Fast-casual platform company Craveworthy Brands has acquired taim mediterranean kitchen and Hot Chicken Takeover parent company Untamed Brands, Craveworthy Brands CEO Gregg Majewski told Nation’s Restaurant News exclusively. Fiscal terms of the deal were not disclosed. This is the second acquisition Craveworthy Brands has announced in the past week, following the purchase of Sigri Indian BBQ, a concept founded in New Jersey in 2015 by Jagat Parikh with guidance from chef Aarthi Sampath. “Taim and Hot Chicken Takeover are beloved concepts with long histories of serving high-quality cuisine and providing excellent service,” Majewski said. “They bring a fresh perspective and complement our existing portfolio extremely well, which allows us to cater to diverse consumer preferences and truly tap into new markets.” Untamed Brands was formed as an investment company in up-and-coming fast-casual brands by former Chipotle Mexican Grill and Noodles & Company executive Phil Petrilli. The company’s first brand was New York City-based build-your-own bowl concept, Taim, and was soon followed by the acquisition of Columbus, Ohio-based spicy fried chicken concept Hot Chicken Takeover. The latter concept is well-known for its social justice-oriented roots, as most of its employees are formerly incarcerated or homeless. "Craveworthy is a wealth of experience in nurturing emerging restaurant brands and implementing scalable strategies,” Petrilli said in a statement. “Combining our strengths and shared commitment to culinary innovation, hospitality and elevating guest experiences, this will be an exciting, new chapter for Taim and Hot Chicken Takeover.” With the latest acquisition, Craveworthy Brands adds 20 restaurant locations to its portfolio (including 13 Taim locations and seven Hot Chicken Takeover locations). Taim will be “seamlessly integrated” with Soom Soom—a similar Mediterranean concept that was already owned by Craveworthy Brands. Hot Chicken Takeover, meanwhile, will create a “fresh hot chicken concept” with Craveworthy brand Budlong With this new synergy in mind, both Taim and Hot Chicken Takeover will “feature new branding, refreshed restaurant designs and further emphasize the guest dining experience in the coming future.” Both brands will also receive customized franchise programs under the Craveworthy umbrella and will focus on long-term growth initiatives...Clickthru to read more." https://lnkd.in/exu4Ama3 #QSR #Entrepreneur #Restaurants #Franchise #Franchising #FranchiseChat Chainformation Altir Industries, Inc. Franchise Pipeline Franchise Development Outsource Ned Lyerly Joe Caruso Michael (Mike) Webster PhD Anders Hall Jonathan Martin Michael Scherr

New Post: Ryft Helps Easyfood Make Restaurant Onboarding Simple

Wow! Momo, the quick service restaurant chain, has recently secured Rs 70 crore (approximately $9 million) in an extended Series D round from Z3 Partners. This brings the total Series D funding to Rs 480 crore ($51 million), comprising Rs 270 crore primary and Rs 210 crore secondary investments. According to reports, Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds participated in the secondary purchase. Earlier this year, Wow! Momo raised Rs 350 crore (approximately $42 million) in the first tranche of the Series D round, led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad. The startup’s valuation soared to over $300 million. The newly acquired funds will be utilized for several purposes: Growth and expansion of the quick service restaurant brand. Strengthening distribution channels. Research and development for the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) arm. Wow! Momo, founded by Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai, operates three QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) brands: Wow! Momo , Wow China, and Wow Chicken. With 630 outlets spread across 38 cities, the company directly employs 6,000 people. In the ongoing fiscal year (FY25), Wow! Momo plans to add 200 additional outlets to its network. The company aims for a topline (revenue) of Rs 650-700 crore in FY24, a significant increase from the Rs 435 crore achieved in FY23. Although the financial statements for FY23 are yet to be filed, the company’s revenue from operations doubled from Rs 106 crore in FY21 to Rs 220 crore in FY22. Ready to take the next step? 🌟 Contact us today and let’s fuel your success story! Our primary focus at Convanto is to assist companies of all sizes—small, medium, and large—with their fundraising efforts. We support them by creating essential documents like pitch texts, financial models, valuations, and business plans. Additionally, we design sales decks and prepare term sheets. Moreover, we assist high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in investing their money wisely into suitable startup ventures. 📩 Email: vt@convanto 🌐 Website: www.convanto.com

Ron Ruggless Nation's Restaurant News tells us "Marc Lore’s New York City-based startup nearly doubles equity investment" "Wonder, the New York City-based food delivery platform, has completed a $700 million funding round, nearly doubling its equity investment, the company said Tuesday. Wonder was created in 2018, initially featuring a fleet of trucks that delivered made-to-order meals directly to customers’ homes. At the beginning of 2023, it shifted its model to brick-and-mortar locations with delivery. The company operated 10 locations in New York City and New Jersey, and delivered meals by such chefs as Bobby Flay and Michael Symon. In February, it opened its eleventh unit inside a Walmart in Quakertown, Penn., as part of a pilot program aimed at testing where the concept could locate. The 750-square-foot Walmart space features eight different cuisines, or less than one-third of a typical New York City location. Wonder plans two more Walmart locations in Teterboro, N.J.., and Ledgewood, N.J., this year. Wonder founder Marc Lore is a former Walmart executive who founded such brands as diaper.com and jet.com. All of Wonder's "major" existing shareholders participated in the latest funding round, including NEA Invest and Consulting, GV (Google Ventures), Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Forerunner, Alpine Investors, and Harmony, as well as further investment from Watar Partners. Lore also invested $100 million, while new investors include Dragoneer Investment Group, Jefferies, Red & Blue Ventures, CAZ Investments, Kuvare Insurance, and Fubon Ventures. Amex Ventures and Nestlé also participated as strategic investors. “We plan to use this latest raise to continue driving these efforts across three distinct levers: expansion, research and development, and driving unit economics,” Lore said in a LinkedIn post on the deal. Wonder plans to have 35 total locations by the end of 2024 and 90 by the end of 2025, all in the Northeast...more" #FoodonDemand #QSR #deliveryfood #Restaurants #Franchise #Franchising #FranchiseChat Chainformation RAAMP Altir Industries, Inc. Franchise Pipeline Franchise Development Outsource Ned Lyerly Joe Caruso Michael (Mike) Webster PhD Anders Hall Landrum Randolph Jonathan Martin Michael Scherr https://lnkd.in/esbeHDkD

Lisa Jennings Restaurant Business Online tell us - "In a deal that aims to avoid bankruptcy, the Bellevue, Washington-based fast-casual pizza chain has agreed to sell 100% of its equity to a Southern California-based group that has owned Slater's 50/50, Project Pie, Patxi's Pizza and other brands." Elite has been a collector of financially troubled restaurant brands over the years. Led by Michael Nakhleh, the former Sizzler and Fatburger franchise operator has acquired brands like Slater’s 50/50, pizza concepts Project Pie and Patxi’s Pizza, family-dining chain Marie Callender's, as well as the Mediterranean concepts Daphne's and Noon Mediterranean, and cupcake chain Gigi's Cupcakes Franchise. It's not clear whether those brands remain in Elite's portfolio. Nakhleh in a statement said, “MOD has an outstanding culture and passionate, loyal guests and employees. We recognize the inherent value this represents and look forward to helping MOD write the next chapter in its history.” Last week, reports indicated MOD was considering a Chapter 11 filing as the company worked to improve its capital structure. In a statement at the time, company officials said they were exploring all options, and that a “solid turnaround plan was underway that is making progress.” That plan has included “rightsizing the portfolio,” as well as refreshing the brand and elevating the guest experience, the company said Wednesday, though no details were offered. Year to date, 44 underperforming restaurants have shuttered, all company owned, and it’s not clear whether more will close. For years, MOD—known officially as MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings LLC— was seen as the leader in the fast-casual pizza niche, growing to more than 500 units. Of the 512 currently, 89 are franchised. It was founded by Scott Svenson and Ally Svenson in 2008, and was one of the first fast-casual pizza concepts to emerge in what soon became a crowded pack of contenders offering a walk-the-line, build-your-own personal, artisanal pizza, with as many as 40 toppings available for one price. It quickly became a favorite of investors, and the chain raised a total of $345 million over the years, with investors that included Nigel Travis, the former chair and CEO of Dunkin'’ Brands Group Inc., and Spencer Rascoff, CEO of the real estate website Zillow, as well as investment firms PWP Growth Equity Fund I LP Equity, Fidelity Management & Research. Most recently, in 2019, MOD announced it had raised $160 million in equity financing from private-equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice. At the time, the company pledged to double its unit count to about 1,000 restaurants. That funding supported rapid expansion in a drive to earn national brand awareness, with the goal of going public. In 2021, the chain filed confidential plans for an initial public offering...Clickthru to read more." https://lnkd.in/eSqcHWQq