EzCater, the world’s largest online catering marketplace, announced it has acquired Monkey Group, an enterprise software, training, and insights company, and developers of MONKEY, the cloud platform for takeout, delivery, and catering. The acquisition marries the world’s largest online catering marketplace with the world’s most popular catering management software.
Catering, the largest growth opportunity for most restaurants, requires a dedicated suite of solutions. More than 60,000 restaurants and caterers already use ezCater’s platform to grow and manage their catering business; more than 8,000 use MONKEY to manage their off-premises channels. Now, ezCater’s fully integrated marketplace and software platform offers restaurants and caterers more catering orders than any other source, plus best-in-class catering software, expertise, and data. Integrations with POS, loyalty, and back-of-the-house systems allow orders and data to flow across their entire operation.
“ezCater’s and Monkey Group’s strengths line up exceptionally well,” says Stefania Mallett, Co-founder and CEO at ezCater. “Combining Monkey Group’s industry leading offerings with ezCater’s nationwide online marketplace, expert marketing engine, and API-first platform results in faster, more profitable growth for restaurants.”
Erle Dardick, Founder and CEO of Monkey Group, added, “Our customers tell us they want more orders, and ezCater’s marketplace drives growth for so many restaurants. We’re thrilled to join forces to help food service operators thrive even more.”
Brands who use both platforms, including Einstein Bros. Bagels, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, will benefit from new POS integrations and streamlined data flow between the two companies’ systems.
“We have partnered with both ezCater and Monkey Media for years, and each individually has been integral to the strategic growth of our catering business,” adds J. Brandon Turner, CFO at Coffee & Bagel Brands, owners of Einstein Bros. Bagels, Caribou Coffee, and more. “We look forward to seeing what these companies can do together to unlock further catering growth for us.”
The Vancouver-headquartered Monkey Group, now operating as MonkeySoft Solutions, Inc. (MSI), will maintain its existing brands, MONKEYMEDIA Software, The Catering Institute, and Off-Premise Insights.