In yet another demonstration of the desire for better ordering options, Union has raised $22 million in a Series B round.
The company, which bills itself as “the first hospitality engagement platform that leverages industrial-grade data intelligence to deliver transformative experiences for guests, operators, and brands at the most popular venues” processes more than $1 billion in transactions annually. The hook for the latest round was helping operators embrace the digital transformation. Essentially, it’s a cloud-based point of sale with a focus on reaching the “fewest taps” for operators and customers.
“Consumers today are very comfortable ordering everything digitally. What they are not comfortable with is waiting to be seated, waiting to order, and waiting for their check. UNION allows consumers to control their entire experience from their smartphones, from immediate contactless ordering to paying their bill whenever they are ready to leave,” said founder and CEO Alex Broeker. “And because the system is fully integrated, we can also create highly personalized offers based upon the customer’s individual food and drink preferences to drive both loyalty and repeat business.”
The company has a target of high-volume bars and restaurants. Broeker said that using the Union system, such restaurants saw revenue tick up as much as 30 percent and wait times for customers were reduced by up to 80 percent.
The focus for the company is clearly dine-in business, but omnichannel ordering has plenty of power for takeout and order-ahead options that fit the ultra-convenient demands today.
The explosion of order-anywhere tools are driving exceptional technology investment by restaurants and the technology investment community.
The round was led by technology investor Clerisy and joined by Roth Capital, Aquila Capital Partners, NEA, Wellington, Fiserv, and former CEO of WorldPay, Tony Catalfano.
