ezCater, the world’s largest online catering marketplace, announced Tuesday that it has raised a $150 million Series D-1 investment round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and GIC. ezCater will use the funds to continue its global expansion and widen its lead as the #1 catering marketplace and software platform for restaurant operators. The funding round brings ezCater’s total funding to $320 million.
“Most people don’t realize that catering is much deeper than the traditional market definition,” said Brad Twohig, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “ezCater is having a huge impact on the industry by moving catering online and driving substantial profitability for their partners—this is a mission we’re excited to accelerate.”
Catering is a $60+ billion industry in the U.S. alone and is growing 50 percent faster than the overall restaurant industry (Technomic). Restaurants require different menus, operations, and technology to manage their catering business. ezCater’s fully integrated catering marketplace and software platform is uniquely designed to help restaurants of all sizes get more incremental catering orders and manage their entire catering operations. Today, more than 60,000 restaurants and caterers, from local independent restaurants to national chains like Jersey Mike’s Subs, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, partner with ezCater.
“ezCater keeps evolving to meet the needs of the catering industry,” says Jennifer Sanders, Senior National Catering Manager at Schlotzsky’s. “The number of new orders they send us keeps growing, and so does the value in our partnership.”
Catering is also different for the catering buyers. Their orders are for business meetings and other events that are high-stakes and tightly scheduled. They cannot entrust their orders to any party that does not offer sophisticated technology, concierge-class customer service, and broad selection. Businesspeople from organizations of all sizes and industries, including 97 percent of the Fortune 500, rely on ezCater’s online ordering platform and award-winning customer service for reliable catering.
ezCater has grown rapidly for the past eight years. In July 2018, ezCater expanded globally by acquiring GoCater, a Paris-based online catering platform. In March 2019, they acquired MonkeySoft Solutions™, Inc. (MSI), an enterprise software, training, and insights company dedicated to helping restaurant operators increase off-premises sales and profits. The current D-1 raise will help the company expand global operations and continue to extend its industry-leading software platform.
“We’re the long-time market leaders and continue to have huge global ambitions,” says Stefania Mallett, co-founder and CEO at ezCater. “This funding expands our ability to help our catering partners grow in a way that no one else can
In addition to Lightspeed Venture Partners and GIC, this funding round included participation from Light Street Capital, existing investors Wellington Management Company LLP, ICONIQ Capital, Insight Partners, Quadrille Capital, and others.
