ChowNow

ChowNow has raised a total of $64M across multiple funding rounds, with its latest being a $21M Series C in May 2019. The company's estimated valuation falls within the $100-500M range. ChowNow serves over 22,000 restaurants across the United States and Canada with its commission-free online ordering platform, positioning itself against high-commission third-party delivery marketplaces.

ChowNow was founded in 2010 by Christopher Webb and Eric Jaffe with a mission to help independent restaurants accept online orders without the high commissions charged by third-party marketplaces.

ChowNow found product-market fit as a commission-free online ordering solution for independent restaurants and small chains seeking to maintain direct relationships with their customers while avoiding the 30% fees charged by delivery apps.

The platform provides restaurants with a branded online ordering system that integrates directly into their website and social media accounts. Restaurant owners receive a simple dashboard to manage incoming orders, update menus, and access customer data. When customers place an order, it's sent directly to the restaurant's kitchen printer or point-of-sale system.

ChowNow also offers branded mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing restaurants to maintain their identity rather than being buried in a marketplace. The platform includes marketing tools such as automated email campaigns to help restaurants drive repeat business.

ChowNow is a commission-free restaurant technology platform operating on a subscription-based SaaS model that enables independent restaurants to accept online orders without the high fees charged by third-party marketplaces.

The company offers three main pricing tiers: Hub Plan at $119/month for basic order management, Pro Plan at $199/month ($229 month-to-month) for essential ordering tools and marketing, and Premier Plan at $298/month ($328 month-to-month) for an all-inclusive solution. Additional revenue comes from one-time setup fees ($119-$499), payment processing (2.95% + $0.29 per transaction), and hardware sales ($250-$375 for printers).

ChowNow primarily targets independent restaurants and small chains with limited technology resources, providing them with branded online ordering through their websites, custom mobile apps, and a marketplace presence through the ChowNow app and Order Better Network. This creates a blended take rate of approximately 10-11% per order versus the 30% charged by third-party delivery platforms.

The company's competitive advantage lies in its transparent, predictable pricing structure and focus on helping restaurants maintain direct relationships with their customers. By enabling restaurants to own their customer data and avoid commission fees, ChowNow positions itself as a restaurant-friendly alternative to aggregator platforms like DoorDash and UberEats.

ChowNow has expanded its revenue streams by adding complementary services such as Flex Delivery for delivery fulfillment, marketing tools including automated email campaigns, and a website builder for restaurants without existing sites. This creates additional value for restaurants while increasing average revenue per customer.

ChowNow operates in a market that includes various restaurant technology providers offering alternatives to high-commission third-party delivery marketplaces.

ChowNow's primary competition comes from other direct ordering platforms that help restaurants build their own digital channels. Toast offers a comprehensive restaurant operating system with integrated online ordering, serving 74,000+ restaurants and trading publicly (NYSE: TOST). BentoBox provides website and marketing tools with ordering capabilities, having been acquired by Fiserv in 2021 to expand its restaurant reach. Owner.com has raised $58.7M to build a commission-free platform valued at $200M, targeting independent restaurants with a similar value proposition to ChowNow.

Popmenu ($87M in funding) and Incentivio focus on digital marketing and online ordering with loyalty features, while Zuppler offers white-label ordering solutions. Olo (NYSE: OLO) targets enterprise restaurant chains with sophisticated ordering technology, positioning at a higher price point than ChowNow's subscription model.

DoorDash and Uber Eats represent a different competitive category, operating primarily as high-commission marketplaces (typically 15-30% per order) while increasingly offering SaaS tools to restaurants. These companies have begun unbundling their delivery services (DoorDash Drive, Uber Direct) to provide them as utilities to vertical SaaS players, creating a hybrid competitive dynamic where they both compete with and enable platforms like ChowNow.

These marketplaces benefit from massive consumer adoption and discovery capabilities but face profitability challenges as order growth slows post-COVID. Many restaurants inflate menu prices on these platforms to offset the high commission rates.

Lunchbox represents a more premium competitor targeting multi-location chains with sophisticated technology needs. Starting at $300/month (compared to ChowNow's $119-298/month), Lunchbox offers advanced features like enterprise catering platforms, sophisticated loyalty programs, and extensive data analytics capabilities. With $72M in funding, Lunchbox positions itself as an enterprise-grade solution with greater customization options.

The competitive landscape continues to evolve through consolidation, with payment processors and POS providers expanding into restaurant ordering (Square, Clover), and website builders like Wix and Squarespace adding restaurant-specific features. This fragmentation creates both challenges and opportunities for specialized platforms like ChowNow that focus on helping independent restaurants maintain direct relationships with customers while avoiding the high commissions of third-party marketplaces.

ChowNow has tailwinds from the growing restaurant digitization movement and increasing restaurant resistance to third-party marketplace commissions. The company has opportunities to expand beyond its core online ordering platform into adjacent markets including payment processing, restaurant financing, and a more robust marketplace offering.

The restaurant industry continues to shift toward digital ordering, with over 60% of Americans ordering delivery at least once weekly. ChowNow's commission-free model positions it perfectly to capitalize on growing restaurant resistance to the 30% fees charged by aggregators like DoorDash and UberEats.

ChowNow's current $119-298 monthly subscription model gives it predictable revenue while saving restaurants thousands in commission fees. This creates a sustainable economic model for both parties that could scale significantly as more restaurants seek direct ordering solutions.

The company's 22,000+ restaurant base represents just a fraction of the 860,000 restaurants in the US, suggesting substantial room for continued penetration in its core market.

ChowNow can follow the playbook of companies like Toast by expanding vertically into complementary restaurant services. Payment processing represents a particularly compelling opportunity.

ChowNow already charges 2.95% + $0.29 per transaction for payment processing. By deepening this offering with additional financial services, the company could significantly increase its revenue per restaurant without raising its base subscription fees.

Restaurant financing represents another natural extension. With access to restaurants' ordering data, ChowNow could offer working capital loans or advances based on predictable future order volume. This would mirror Square Capital's success in the broader SMB market.

While ChowNow's primary value proposition centers on direct ordering, its consumer-facing app and Order Better Network represent underexploited assets that could evolve into a more robust marketplace offering.

Unlike traditional marketplaces, ChowNow's could maintain restaurant-friendly economics by charging minimal or no commissions on orders, instead monetizing through enhanced placement, promotional opportunities, or consumer subscription fees.

This "anti-marketplace marketplace" approach would differentiate ChowNow from high-commission players while still capturing the discovery benefits that make marketplaces valuable to restaurants seeking new customers.

By balancing its direct ordering platform with marketplace capabilities, ChowNow could potentially capture a significant portion of the $440B+ restaurant delivery and takeout market while maintaining its restaurant-friendly positioning.

Disintermediation by POS systems: As cloud-based point-of-sale systems become standard in restaurants, major players like Toast and Square are expanding into online ordering functionality. These POS providers have the advantage of already being integrated into restaurant operations and can offer online ordering as an add-on feature rather than a separate service, potentially making ChowNow's standalone offering redundant.

Marketplace discovery limitations: While ChowNow positions itself against third-party marketplaces, it lacks the consumer discovery capabilities that make DoorDash and UberEats valuable to restaurants. The ChowNow app and Order Better Network have limited consumer adoption compared to major marketplaces, forcing restaurants to either accept lower order volume or maintain presence on high-commission platforms alongside ChowNow.

Delivery economics pressure: ChowNow's Flex Delivery solution attempts to solve the delivery problem, but at $3.99 per order plus restaurant subsidies, the economics remain challenging. As delivery becomes increasingly essential, restaurants may find ChowNow's blended take rate approaching third-party levels when delivery is included, undermining its core value proposition.