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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Notch

Notch Raises $10M to Digitize the Restaurant Supply Chain

Canadian restaurant supply chain tech company Notch has closed a $10 million round of financing led by Accomplice and BDC, bringing its total funding to date to nearly $20 million. MATH Venture Partners, Golden Ventures, The Yield Lab, Garage Capital, and Plexo Capital also participated, as did several angel investors.

The Toronto-based company wants to use the new funds to bring more restaurants and distributors online when it comes to the food supply chain. Notch’s software, available via either an iOS or Android app, provides a central place for restaurant operators and managers to view and manage all of their suppliers and shipments, create inventory lists, compare prices across different suppliers, and digitize invoicing and bookkeeping, among other tasks. 

Restaurant distributors can use the Notch Connect product to set up and run digital storefronts as well as manage invoicing and accept digital payments from restaurants. 

Until recently, Notch went by the name ChefHero and focused largely on providing a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers in the restaurant foods supply chain. Largely spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the restaurant industry, the company revamped and rebranded earlier this year to its current name and form. 

Notch said today that this financing round will also help it expand its geographic reach to more parts of North America. In addition to Toronto, the company operates in Chicago, Illinois and in Texas.

Back-of-house and back-office companies in general are receiving more funding of late as restaurants look to cut more costs and make their businesses more organized/efficient. Notch’s news today follows recent funding announcements from Zenput ($27 million), Choco ($100 million), and 86 Repairs ($7.3 million).

Notch is also in the midst of developing Notch Pay, which when finished will function as an automated payment and collection tool for both restaurants and distributors. Currently, those tasks are done via Notch Connect.

ChefHero Rebrands as Notch, Aims to Digitize the Entire Foodservice Supply Chain

Restaurant supply chain software company ChefHero announced today it has officially rebranded as Notch and adjusted its business model to focus on digitizing the wholesale foodservice supply chain for both restaurants and distributors.

As ChefHero, the Toronto, Ontario-based company’s platform mainly focused on connecting restaurants with suppliers, providing what was essentially a marketplace for buyers. For a long time, the business was largely driven by restaurant food order volume. Needless to say, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed restaurant dining rooms and impacted overall restaurant sales, ChefHero’s business took a hit as well. In a recent interview, the company said its revenue in March 2020 decreased by 80 percent week-over-week.  

In response, the company rebuilt its software platform with a new focus on both restaurants and food distributors, and rebranded the entire operation as Notch. The software is available via an iOS and Android app. 

For restaurants, the Notch platform offers one central, digital place to view all suppliers, create inventory lists, and view details such as cutoff times and order minimums for each supplier. Via the Notch Market feature, businesses can also get deals on pricing, compare prices across different suppliers, online invoicing and bookkeeping, and use real-time inventory management. The platform integrates into a business’s existing accounting and inventory management systems. 

Digitizing such tasks in the restaurant back of house can help businesses cut down on waste, whether it’s in the form  of food or finances. Notch says that up to 40 percent of a restaurant’s revenue is spent on food, 12 percent of which goes to waste before it ever reaches the customer. 

Meanwhile, the Notch Connect feature lets foodservice distributors build a digital storefront on the platform and connect with restaurants. Distributors can also manage invoices and collections, accept digital payments, and view all customers from one central dashboard. 

Notch is currently available to customers in Toronto as well as in Chicago, Illinois and “major cities” in Texas. The company plans to launch in additional cities in North America in the coming months.