Eatsready

Eatsready, established in Milan, Italy in 2017, began as a digital platform for mobile food ordering and payment. The company was founded by a team that included Olivia Burgio and Micaela Illy, who later took the helm as co-CEOs. Their journey started with an interest in the foodservice space, leading them to join the original Eatsready team and pivot the business model. Illy, a board member at Gruppo Illy, and Burgio, both former consultants at Boston Consulting Group, identified a significant opportunity in Italy's €3 billion meal voucher market.

The initial B2C click-and-collect model faced challenges with high customer acquisition costs and low defensibility. Observing the problems merchants faced with traditional paper and electronic meal vouchers—such as high commissions and long payment times—the founders pivoted Eatsready to a B2B2C model. The company began offering a fully digital meal voucher solution, aiming to create a more equitable system for all stakeholders by drastically lowering merchant commissions. This was achieved by not offering discounts on the credit sold to companies. The service allowed employees to use their meal allowances via an app at a network of restaurants, supermarkets, and online delivery services.

The platform functioned as a marketplace connecting companies, their employees, and food service providers. Corporate clients could provide their staff with digital meal vouchers, which could be spent through the Eatsready app. For end-users, the app facilitated discovering local restaurants, browsing menus, pre-ordering, and paying, which included a fast-track collection feature. The merchant network grew to over 2,000 partners, including notable names like Esselunga, Deliveroo, and Poke House, serving over 50 corporate clients such as Klarna and Telepass. In March 2023, the Portuguese HR tech startup Coverflex announced its acquisition of Eatsready. This strategic move gave Coverflex access to Eatsready's client portfolio, merchant network, and, crucially, its meal voucher license, making it one of just ten companies able to operate in Italy's 'buoni pasto' market. Following the acquisition, the Eatsready team and its clients were integrated into the Coverflex platform. Co-founder Olivia Burgio transitioned to the role of Head of M&A & Integrations at Coverflex.

Keywords: digital meal vouchers, employee benefits, buoni pasto, fintech, corporate welfare, foodtech, mobile ordering, B2B2C platform, restaurant technology, employee compensation, digital payments, Micaela Illy, Olivia Burgio, Coverflex acquisition, Italian market, HR tech, corporate catering, food and beverage, e-commerce platform, prepaid services, employee perks, lunch vouchers, digital wallet, food delivery integration