Forward-thinking companies use Vita Mojo’s full-stack software to automate manual tasks, grow sales and improve customer experiences amid labour shortages and a shift to online ordering and takeaway
Vita Mojo, the European leader in “front-of-house” restaurant software powering digital ordering and the management of smarter, more-efficient kitchen and delivery operations, has raised US$30 million in new financing to refine its product and expand into new markets.
The funding round was led by global technology investment firm Battery Ventures, an investor in a number of U.S.-based restaurant and hospitality-tech companies including Olo* and CrunchTime! Information Systems*. Battery General Partner Morad Elhafed and Principal Zak Ewen will join Vita Mojo’s board. Vita Mojo – which sells to restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, bakeries and fast-casual eateries – counts large chains among its customer base including Nando’s, GAIL’s Bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, LEON, JKS Group and Neat Burger.
“The headwinds and opportunities facing restaurants today are enormous. Operators are adapting to changing customer preferences around dining and ordering as well as monumental market disruptions – first the pandemic, then supply-chain disruptions and a labour shortage. This has dramatically changed how restaurants operate and shrunk profit margins for those not able to adapt,” said Vita Mojo CEO Nick Popovici, who originally founded the company as a healthy-restaurant chain and then pivoted to restaurant software.
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Recent research from Vita Mojo shows over four-fifths (84%) of Generation Z and millennials (82%) would rather visit a restaurant with self-serve kiosks than a restaurant without. According to Popovici, “Digital transformation is essential for the hospitality sector today, and our technology helps companies move forward.”
Vita Mojo also announced new technology that empowers restaurant customers to make better food choices when dining out. A new, integrated feature in the company’s technology lets restaurants accurately and seamlessly display nutrition and allergen information across their menus by pulling the data directly from recipe-management software. A U.K.-wide survey conducted by Vita Mojo earlier this spring found that 43% of customers would be more likely to eat at a restaurant with calorie labelling on the menu.
Vita Mojo is based in London and serves over 130 operators across the U.K. and Europe. The company’s platform enables restaurants to manage their core operations in one integrated system, from digital ordering via their own channels and third-party delivery platforms – such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats – to smarter kitchen and back-of-house management. Unlike most hospitality tech providers who specialise in one element of the restaurant tech stack, Vita Mojo is a powerful, full-suite platform that brings together both customer ordering and kitchen operations.
For customers, Vita Mojo enables self-service ordering from kiosks and customers’ own devices, as well as a more-efficient takeaway experience. On the restaurant-management side, it empowers operators to seamlessly integrate all ordering channels into one system. Vita Mojo clients see an increase of 35% in average order value and an average reduction in labour costs of up to 40%.
“With the funding round complete, now is the time for action,” said Vita Mojo Co-founder and COO Stefan Catoiu. “This investment will accelerate our product roadmap, as well as help upgrade our data and insights features and grow our client success, product and engineering teams. We’re on track to double our headcount over the next year, with the majority of our recruitment focused on taking our client support to the next level.”
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Restaurants now realise they can see a significant revenue boost from an integrated, multi-channel ordering system, given the rise in delivery and takeaway orders that has outlasted the pandemic. The vast amounts of data generated by Vita Mojo’s technology, from order to bill, helps restaurants serve customers better and build loyalty by personalising their experience and offering customised marketing based on previous order activity.
“Vita Mojo has a bold vision for the restaurant industry,” said Battery’s Morad Elhafed. “Offering one platform that combines digital ordering with kitchen operations is a valuable proposition that solves the headaches of managing multiple point solutions and systems. Our experience with restaurant tech in the U.S. makes us excited about Vita Mojo’s opportunity in Europe – and its overall mission of taking restaurants to the next level by simplifying their operations and delivering a remarkable experience for customers.”