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ChowNow

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ChowNow, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryOnline platform for restaurant pick-up and delivery
Founded2011 (2011)
FounderChristopher Webb and Eric Jaffe
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, United States
Key people
Christopher Webb (CEO),
Eric Jaffe (COO).
Websiteget.chownow.com

ChowNow is an online food ordering platform that connects customers with local restaurants. Christopher Webb and Eric Jaffe, American entrepreneurs, founded the company in 2011 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California.

History

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The company ChowNow was founded in 2011 by Christopher Webb, a former employee of RBC Bank and Lehman Brothers; and Eric Jaffe, a former commercial real estate investor. The platform was launched in March 2012.

In January 2013, ChowNow raised over US$4 million, including funding from accelerator Launchpad LA.[1][2] The same year, ChowNow, initially part of the incubator Launchpad LA, closed a seed round of $1 million from GRP Partners, James Bailey and angel investors. For its expansion and product improvement, it further raised 10 million US dollars in venture funding in a round led by Upfront Ventures.[3] In October 2017, ChowNow raised $20 million U.S. dollars in a Series B round led by Catalyst Investors, bringing ChowNow's total funding to 40 million U.S. dollars.[4] ChowNow's other notable investors include GRP Partners, Canyon Creek Capital, Clark Landry, Daher Capital, Double M Partners, Karlin Ventures, Launchpad LA, Tiller Partners, Upfront Ventures, Velos Partners.[5]

In June 2016, ChowNow partnered with Uber and Postmates to enhance its services with an order delivery feature called Flex Delivery service.[6][7][8] In August of the same year, ChowNow introduced a feature that allows potential diners to place orders directly from Google search results, including thousands of restaurants across U.S. and Canada.[9][10] In October 2016, ChowNow teamed up with Squarespace, a SaaS content management system and website builder platform, to enable restaurants with ChowNow's entire suite of online ordering tools.[11][12] In May 2018, ChowNow released a feature that allows customers to place orders via a restaurant's Instagram profile.[13]

In March 2024, it was announced ChowNow had acquired the Victoria, Canada–headquartered point-of-sale food ordering platform, Cuboh, for an undisclosed amount.[14]

Overview

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ChowNow's online ordering technology enables independent restaurants to take orders via their own branded channels.[9][15] The company was launched in March 2012 at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago[16] and currently partners with thousands of restaurants in 50 states in U.S.

In addition to operating a consumer-facing platform, ChowNow allows restaurants to individually customize and brand their ordering apps. Restaurants can use ChowNow's online ordering technology to take orders directly through their Facebook page and Instagram profile.[17]

Operation

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ChowNow operates on a SaaS model where restaurants subscribe on a monthly basis. The company does not prepare or deliver food. As the restaurant receives the order on its website, mobile app, Facebook, or Google page, ChowNow processes the order and communicates back to the diner for pickup or delivery. Last, ChowNow collects information from diners' orders and provides this information to the restaurants for remarketing. The user places an order from an online menu displayed on ChowNow's interface. Upon receiving confirmation of a diner's order through the integrated Apple Pay, Yelp or Google Wallet,[18][19] the system forwards it to the selected restaurant. As it receives the order on its Facebook page website, or Instagram, this restaurant processes it and communicates back to the diner for delivery. Last, ChowNow collects information from diners' orders for its data analytics.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "ChowNow Launches As A Food Ordering Platform For Restaurants On Facebook And iOS". Tech Crunch. 2 May 2012.
  2. ^ "ChowNow Raises $3 Million". Los Angeles Business Journal. 16 January 2013.
  3. ^ "ChowNow chews on $10 million to bring online ordering to restaurants". L.A. Biz. 26 March 2015.
  4. ^ Dickey, Megan Rose. "ChowNow, a GrubHub competitor, raises $20 million Series B round". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  5. ^ "Venture Capitalists Are Making Bigger Bets on Food Start-Ups". The New York Times. April 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Uber gets into on-demand deliveries with UberRush". Los Angeles Times. 14 October 2015.
  7. ^ "UberRUSH/ChowNow Rolls Out Food Delivery to Thousands of Restaurants". Eater. 19 January 2016.
  8. ^ "How Delivery Apps Are Joining Forces to Expand Their Market Share The food delivery industry continues to grow". Eater. 22 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b "A new feature aims to bypass GrubHub, Foodler for online orders". The Boston Globe. 16 August 2016.
  10. ^ "ChowNow Partners With Google". PYMNTS. 17 August 2016.
  11. ^ "ChowNow And Squarespace Team Up". PYMNTS. 19 October 2016.
  12. ^ "How ChowNow Stands Out On The Mobile Dining Buffet". PYMNTS. 1 April 2015.
  13. ^ "ChowNow integrates with Instagram". www.fastcasual.com. 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  14. ^ Forristal, Lauren (2024-03-28). "ChowNow snaps up YC-backed POS platform Cuboh and is laying off staff". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  15. ^ "How ChowNow Delivers Mobile Orders For Restaurants, With Christopher Webb". SoCal Tech. 17 January 2013.
  16. ^ "ChowNow lands celebrity chef Thomas Keller and Google HQ as mobile ordering platform clients". 15 May 2014.
  17. ^ "How Restaurants Are Using Technology to Deliver Better Customer Service". Forbes. December 7, 2012.
  18. ^ "Google Wallet lands in ChowNow to bring mobile payments to thousands of small restaurants". VentureBeat. 6 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Food Delivery Service ChowNow Supports Both Google Wallet & Apple Pay ChowNow is leading the delivery app pack in the payment option department". Eater. 6 April 2015.
  20. ^ "3 Technologies to Streamline Restaurant Operations". Hospitality Technology EDGL. 11 November 2016.
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