New York has no shortage of startups using technology to disrupt the food industry. If you can dream it up, chances are someone else has already brought it to life. And why not? New Yorkers like to eat, and the food industry is rife with opportunities for improvement. Here’s what’s going on at the crossroads of two of our favorite things: food and tech.
Top Food Companies in NYC
- Grubhub
- Slice
- SEVENROOMS
- Freshly
- ShopKeep
- Smallhold
What they do: Olo provides the power behind the digital ordering business of big chain restaurants. You didn't think that restaurants are building out online point of sale (POS) systems from scratch, did you? Olo works with large chains — think Chipotle and Five Guys — and builds out their online ordering and pickup business. The software integrates with the restaurant's existing, in-person POS system and allows customers to check out and order online without creating headaches for the restaurant. So far, the company works with over 150 restaurant groups.
Founded: 2005
What they do: Smallhold is restoring the meaning of the word ‘local’ by distributing mushroom sites across the country. The company collaborates with restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses to establish mushroom-growing locations. With fresh mushrooms just down the street, consumers can enjoy a sense of community by supporting neighborhood products.
Founded: 2017
What they do: MealPal partners with restaurants to help people find affordable meals in their city. The company allows people to choose either a 12-meal or 20-meal lunch plan, both of which provide one lunch option per day from local restaurants. MealPal helps increase revenue for restaurants during peak lunch hours, enabling them to efficiently grow their operations.
Founded: 2015
What they do: Grubhub is a leading food delivery service by which users can have local restaurants delivered right to their door. Available in over 1,100 cities, Grubhub gives hungry users access to more than 50,000 takeout restaurants.
Founded: 2004
What they do: Cookunity is kind of like Umi Kitchen, in that it connects hungry consumers with home cooks — but with a twist. Instead of just connecting you with anyone, Cookunity connects you with a freelance chef working out of a private kitchen. Think of it like moonlighting for chefs, or like a way you can finally afford a personal chef (they just won't actually be personal). Users look through the site to see what the chefs are cooking, order and your chef-prepared meal will arrive soon after. Like Umi Kitchen, your meal shows up with heating instructions and you’re able to eat like a king on your couch.
Founded: 2015
What they do: While everyone wants to live like Anthony Bourdain, only one man gets that honor. But, these days, you can have delicious goodies from around the world shipped to your door. TryTheWorld sends expert chefs around the world to create curated boxes of food from local artisans. Think of it like having Bourdain as an uncle who ships you packages on his travels.
Founded: 2013
What they do: BentoBox’s platform offers restaurants tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through their personal website. The company’s platform enables online ordering and catering, events management and gift card and merchandise sales. BentoBox also helps restaurants build websites that offer accurate local listings, data and analytics access and more.
Founded: 2013
What they do: Oishii is the largest indoor specialty grower of vertically farmed proprietary fruits, including their Omakase Berry, Koyo Berry and Rubī Tomato. The company farms without pesticides, uses solar energy and a water recycling system with air showers and circular filtration systems to make sustainability a priority. Its produce is supplied to consumers, restaurants and Whole Foods Market.
Founded: 2016
What they do: Slice’s platform allows users to find the perfect local pizza place. Instead of ordering from a big chain, the company allows users to browse menus, access exclusive deals and order directly from the pizzeria. Slice focuses on uniting local pizza chains and offering more options to consumers.
Founded: 2009
What they do: Hungryroot delivers healthy groceries to customers’ doors each week, along with recipes and meal planning support. Using AI to analyze user activity and input, its platform generates personalized recommendations and rotating recipe selections for the next delivery. Hungryroot is a remote-first company, with its only office located in Manhattan.
Founded: 2015
What they do: Freshly is kind of like eating out at a high-end restaurant on-demand and from the comfort and convenience of wherever you may be. You sign up for a subscription, select between four and 12 meals each week and they do all the work. The finished product appears at your house in a refrigerated, recyclable box. You can eat your heart out too, as all their ingredients and recipes are healthy, gluten-free, with no refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and packed with veggies and clean proteins.
Founded: 2012
What they do: Food52 is an online community for foodies and cooks. You can think of them kind of like a one-stop shop for food related media. The site hosts everything from contests to recipes, along with a healthy dash of food-related editorial content. If you want to read about how the ‘Cure for Condensations Involves Paper’ or are curious ‘What Makes a Good Shower Beer, Anyway,’ look no further. Food52 also operates a popular food forum and shop that sells a curated array of items to pimp your kitchen.
Founded: 2009
What they do: Blue Apron has taken on a massive task: to change how people cook at home. Their weekly subscription service delivers everything you need to make a good, quality, fresh meal at home. We’re not talking Hamburger Helper or Easy Mac — they’ll have you cooking things like caramelized onion and kale quiche with frisée and pear salad. They also have a wine-pairing option, where their sommelier will pick a bottle to go with each meal. It’s increasingly difficult to justify eating hot pockets and frozen burritos for dinner.
Founded: 2012
What they do: Resy enables people to make restaurant reservations through its platform, which is available in over 200 cities. The company’s platform encompasses a complete reservations and waitlist system, which includes features like table management, ticketing, web and app booking and POS integration. Resy aims to help restaurants improve profitability and get to know their customers better.
Founded: 2014
What they do: SevenRooms gives restaurant, nightclub and hotel operators the ability to smoothly manage their customers. Whether it’s booking a room at a hotel or finding that perfect table, operators trust SevenRooms to handle all reservations efficiently. Live Nation, Virgin Hotels and Tao nightclub all entrust the company with comfortably handling their guest management.
Founded: 2011
What they do: The Farmer’s Dog creates personalized food plans for dogs developed by veterinarians. The subscription service offers balanced dog food mixtures featuring fresh meat and vegetables.
Founded: 2014
What they do: Analytical Flavor Systems has developed a platform that helps food producers model, understand and optimize the flavor, aroma and texture of their products for target consumer demographics. Powered by machine learning and AI, the platform gauges the tastes and preferences of consumers in order to help producers target the highest ROI customer segments.
Founded: 2013
What they do: Crafty has a local office in New York City that allows it to cater to businesses of all sizes in the area. It offers customized food and beverage programs through its partnerships with local packaged brands and produce growers. The company boasts a data-driven approach to budgets, waste reduction and eco-friendly choices.
Founded: 2015
What they do: ALOHA.com is all about keeping it close to earth with completely plant-based, organic, soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO goods. With the collection of competing information available today, knowing what is healthy and what is not can easily be overwhelming and confusing to consumers. ALOHA is bringing nutrition back to basics with protein products, teas and snack bars made from simple, whole ingredients.
Founded: 2012
What they do: Most New Yorkers don’t have the time, knowledge, space or patience to make a home cooked meal. But, that's not to say we're monsters who don't enjoy one from time to time. Umi Kitchen is kind of like Uber, but for home cooked meals. Their platform connects local cooks with people in need of a real meal. You get online and see what people in your community are cooking, select what you want, and it'll be delivered with heating instructions and an ingredients list.
Yes, we know what you’re thinking. The answer is that every cook listed on Umi is food safety trained and food handler certified, just like chefs in restaurants. And as for your other question, all the meals and chefs are reviewed by other customers, so you'll know who to order from.
Founded: 2015
What they do: HowGood spent eight years building out a comprehensive food sustainability database to guide consumers on which brands to buy. Today, you can access that information on their website, app or on in-store advertising. No one wants to eat eggs that came from tortured hens, and now it's easy to tell the difference.
Founded: 2007
What they do: It wasn't too long ago that going out to eat at just about anywhere but a fancy restaurant or a chain meant paying in cash or meeting an absurd credit card minimum. ShopKeep makes the iPad point of sale system you see used in small businesses around the city. While their software obviously has uses outside the world of eating, it has also allowed small, independent restaurants to use tools that were previously out of reach.
Founded: 2008
What they do: If Blue Apron is changing the way you cook at home, FreshDirect is changing the way you shop for ingredients. Long gone are the days of waiting in a 400+ person line at the Union Square Whole Foods (or, God help you, any Trader Joes in the city). FreshDirect lets you order your groceries in the same way you’d order socks off of Amazon. You tell them what time you want them to drop off your food and it’ll show up at your door.
Founded: 1999
What they do: Gebni is bringing the world of real-time, dynamic pricing to the world of delivery food. Why should you pay full price to buy an unpopular menu item at an off-peak time? Gebni's software lets restaurants price their menu items in real time according to the laws of supply and demand. If Adam Smith is right, that should be a good thing for all.
Founded: 2016
