Rampersand Investment Notes: Restoke

Harnessing AI to change the future of Restaurant Management.

A new wave of disruption is upending software platforms built in the last 10 years, a monumental pivot from systems of record to systems of intelligence. Traditional vertical SaaS companies have done well in automating processes and making industries more efficient. AI has unlocked vertical SaaS 2.0 - not just automating but optimising. At Rampersand, we are investing at the cutting edge of generation-defining technology. We are excited to announce that we have led Restoke’s $5.1m seed round, empowering co-founders Assaf & Ken to revolutionise how restaurants are run globally.

The future of restaurant management is having the brain of your restaurant in the palm of your hand. In this future, restaurants no longer need to trawl spreadsheets to figure out cost pricing and can avoid hiring expensive consultants to identify crucial profit margin gains. The future of restaurant management is Restoke.

🧑‍🍳 Who is Restoke?

We met Assaf and Ken two years ago. They wanted to put AI into restaurants and help them transform their operations without having a big salesforce on the ground. We loved their ambition and their backgrounds, but to be honest, we were a little sceptical that they could deliver what they were planning.

So, when they returned to us and said, “We've done that. Let’s talk about what we're going to do next,” leading Assaf and Ken’s round was a no-brainer. Put simply, we love founders who can do the impossible.

Restoke’s story and success start with the co-founder and CEO Assaf Stizki, who had run restaurants for over 15 years and found himself banging his head against the wall because they couldn’t understand actual food costings to inventory down to the week, let alone minute. And then comes all the decisions that come with running the rest of the restaurant.

Assaf knew there had to be a better way, and using his deep domain expertise, he began building Restoke without coding experience. When he met Ken Brand, a previous founder with a background in machine learning and engineering, the combination was the perfect partnership to make the Restoke vision a reality.

🍳 How is Restoke revolutionising restaurant management?

The restaurant space is enormous and the lifeblood of global communities.

Last year, US restaurant dining-out spending topped $1 trillion (with a T), but running a profitable restaurant business takes a lot of work. More than 80% of food businesses face the risk of closure within their first five years of operation, and restaurants usually run at an incredibly low profit margin of 5-10%.

Data-led decision-making in the restaurant industry is nearly impossible. There are various widely distributed and unconnected data sources and too many variables, making it complex to determine the impact on profitability. Obtaining a certain level of intelligence requires a large, dedicated team of experts and is out of reach for most restaurants.

Restoke solves this problem today by carving out a new category called “Restaurant Intelligence.”

The solution recommends ways to improve using disparate data from restaurant businesses, including ingredients, recipes, invoices, suppliers, labour, sales, etc.

Most customers don’t have an ‘A ha moment.’ They have an ‘oh shit’ moment when they realise all the places they are leaking money. One customer went from using a manual 30-tab spreadsheet to Restoke's automated platform. After three months, they moved their food cost average of 38% to 28% and are on track to double their margin, representing $1 million in savings annually. And they are not alone. Restoke is now used by more than 2,000 restaurants and cafes across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the US, including Johnny di Francesco’s Gradi Group, Mrs Pho, Yo-Chi, Global Food Holdings and Bounce Inc.

🤖 Global Ambitions Powered by Restaurant Intelligence

Restoke’s next phase will focus on doubling down on overseas expansion, especially in the US, where it is already landing customers.

On the product side, they will be rolling out and infusing restaurant intelligence into restaurant owners through AI. It is like having the world’s best restaurant manager in your business 24 hours a day, except you can harness that insight with just one location. Most customers onboard themselves and get up and running in less than 10 minutes, something we heard was previously impossible until Restoke (are you noticing a theme with this team?).

The time is now for restaurants to move out of the dark ages, and Restoke is the answer.

We are excited to be joined in this round by Mandalay Venture Partners, Archangel, US-based VCs BC Growth and Stage2 Capital and incredible angel investors such as ex-Chorus founder Micha Breakstone. A solid collective to support Restoke’s growth to the next phase and beyond.