Innovorder

Based in Paris, France, Innovorder is a software publisher providing a comprehensive digital ecosystem for the restaurant industry. The company was founded in 2014 by Jérôme Varnier, Romain Melloul, and Olivier Loverde, who reportedly conceived the idea during a final-year project at HEC business school. Varnier, the CEO, brought experience from investment banking and a food-tech startup, while his co-founders provided engineering and technical expertise. The founding team identified a gap in the market as consumer habits shifted towards digital and delivery, recognizing the restaurant sector's low rate of digitalization.

Innovorder operates on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model, offering its suite of tools through a subscription service. The company targets both commercial and institutional catering sectors, with a particular focus on fast-food chains, multi-site restaurant groups, and collective catering operations facing complex challenges like high customer flow and multi-channel management. Its client roster includes major chains such as KFC, Quick, and Amorino, as well as large contract catering companies like Elior and Sodexo. The firm generates revenue through monthly or annual subscriptions, with hardware packages available as an add-on purchase.

The company's core offering is an integrated Order Management System designed to digitize and streamline restaurant operations. This all-in-one platform includes modules for order-taking (self-service kiosks, online ordering, click-and-collect), payment processing (cash register software, automatic coin acceptors), kitchen preparation (kitchen display systems), and management (back-office analytics, loyalty programs). A key benefit for clients is the aggregation of data from all sales channels into a single back office, which facilitates better management and decision-making. The system is designed to integrate with existing restaurant information systems and third-party applications like Uber Eats and Stripe. By automating low-value tasks, the platform aims to increase the average customer spend, reduce wait times, and allow staff to focus on higher-value customer interactions.

Innovorder has marked its growth with significant funding rounds and strategic moves. In 2016, the company raised €1 million and acquired La Caisse Tactile, a POS software startup. This was followed by a major Series A funding round of €10 million in July 2019, with participation from new and existing investors including Bpifrance, Kreaxi, and FJ Labs. This capital infusion was earmarked for R&D investment, international expansion, and further acquisitions, particularly in the data and AI spaces. Keywords: restaurant technology, food service software, SaaS, order management system, point of sale, POS, self-service kiosks, online ordering platform, kitchen display system, KDS, restaurant chain management, institutional catering, collective catering, click and collect, customer loyalty program, restaurant analytics, back office management, food-tech, digital transformation for restaurants, catering software solutions, franchise management software