Singapore-based food technology startup Eunoia has launched with S$800,000 in seed funding. Eunoia helps food and beverage businesses reduce operational costs. It does this by using technology to automate key functions, centralise orders and menu updates across third-party platforms and delivery apps. The funding was led by Golden Equator Capital (GE Capital). Eunoia is among the first startups to receive investments under GE Capital’s US$40 million Technology and Innovation Fund.
Founded by Chief Executive Officer Wee Zihuan (Zwee), Eunoia’s tech solution Ordr allows F&B customers to place orders and pay at the table using their own mobile device. It aims to improve customer experience by empowering them to control their ordering and payment experience.
The Ordr system delivers a scalable e-menu with payment facilities that seamlessly connect merchants and customers. With its order aggregation system, Eunoia automates orders from different ordering platforms into one channel, managing order fulfilment and revenue reconciliation. Its menu management system can help sync menu updates across all food delivery apps, eliminating uploading in different formats.
Zwee said,
We are immensely proud to launch Eunoia. Our vision is to help the F&B industry improve profitability by providing convenience and improve productivity through our suite of foodtech solutions. In doing so, we are well positioned to tap into Singapore’s multi-billion dollar a year F&B industry.
On top of a lower cost compared to hiring a full-time employee – average monthly wages fall between S$1,000 to S$2,500 in Singapore’s F&B industry – Eunoia’s tech solutions solve the more pressing issue for business owners: a lack of available workers. Ordr has an implementation fee of S$125 per month; potentially saving businesses up to S$58,500 yearly. This is based on the assumption of an F&B outlet with 20 tables hiring two service staff after implementing Ordr, rather than having to hire four service staff at a monthly wage of S$2,500 per staff member. F&B outlets are challenged by Singapore’s labour shortage, with job vacancy rates in Singapore’s F&B industry at 4.1 per cent in 2015.
Zwee added,
Today’s consumers are used to having everything available at their fingertips and they expect businesses to make their lives more convenient. We want to help F&B operators reach more customers, while earning more revenue with less hassle. Every food ordering platform adds more complexity, creating more work and a higher chance of errors. The automation we provide with our solutions helps businesses that want to expand, reduce errors and resolve manpower challenges.
Zwee also mentioned the F&B outlets are also expanding and adding new customer channels through food ordering apps such as Deliveroo, FoodPanda and FeastBump. These channels, while reaching new customers and providing new and optimised revenue streams, also burden service staff with additional platforms to juggle. F&B operators also need to update menus across each platform – a challenge since each platform may use different technologies, formats and APIs. These are usually managed manually by staff who are also taking orders from customers inside the outlet.
With Eunoia, F&B outlets can trim their operational costs by realising efficiencies through technology, ensuring speed and accuracy. Eunoia’s clients include Strumm’s Group, which owns Molly Roffey’s and Finders Keepers. The startup is also actively working with its F&B merchants to partner and support the efforts of other food technology providers. It will be conducting a pilot test of Ordr, with up to ten F&B merchants to be given the opportunity to be part of the programme.
Mr Bryan Ong, Director of Strumm’s Holding Pte Ltd, said:
Customers today crave instant gratification more than ever. We have to be omni-channel to meet their needs. That means having our menu on multiple online channels, including food delivery apps. But more channels mean more devices to manage. A tight labour market means hiring additional help to resolve these issues is no longer an option. Eunoia has arrived in the market at the perfect time, solving several problems with its solutions.
Eunoia is founded by Zwee, an Ivy-League drop-out and entrepreneur, as well as B2B e-commerce marketplace builder Arcadier.
