Technology
Pizza automated assembly line maker garners $16.3M in growth funding
May 18, 2021
Picnic, a Seattle-based automated, robotic food and pizza assembly line company is not only growing, but has received an influx of cash and restaurant industry company partnerships that will drive expansion, a news release said.
Picnic has raised a $16.3 million Series A financing, led by the venture capital group Thursday Ventures with existing investors Creative Ventures, Flying Fish Partners and Vulcan Capital). Picnic has also established strategic partnerships with foodservice industry companies, including Orion Land Mark, Ethan Stowell Restaurants, National Service Cooperative and Baseline Hardware Financing.
Picnic plans to use the capital to expand its team and commercial operations after analyzing industry needs for its products over the last system. As a result, later this year, Picnic said it plans to announce deployments and increased production of its pizza system, previously featured in a Pizza Marketplace report.
"The new financing and strategic partnerships support Picnic's vision, and will help us launch commercial operations quickly," Picnic CEO Clayton Wood said in the release. "In the past year, we have learned that there is great interest from operators in solutions that alleviate labor shortages and support increased operational efficiencies by digitizing functions like inventory management and identifying marketing benefits from ordering patterns. This financing demonstrates that our investors and the foodservice industry believe in the differentiated value of the Picnic Pizza System, and the strong need for automated solutions that help reduce costs, food waste, and labor shortages in the kitchen."
A newly announced partnership with convenience store pizza and pizza component supplier, OLM, will help OLM meet increased pizza production needs, as well as higher hygiene standards, the release said. OLM has a global foodservice customer network and licenses its branded food concepts to over 2,000 locations throughout the world and works with kitchens in restaurants, pizzerias, convenience stores, military bases, colleges and other venues.
"The Picnic Pizza System enables OLM to increase production while also ensuring high-quality products," OLM President and CEO Keith Kinsey said in the release. "Working with Picnic on an impressive system is an exciting move forward in the growth and development of our manufacturing capabilities and equipment supply options, which opens opportunities for new customers and customer satisfaction."
Picnic is also partnering with with Ethan Stowell Restaurants on the culinary front to showcase its capabilities at Seattle-area events and pop-up shops, while Picnic's National Service Cooperative relationship will provide customer support, service and equipment maintenance for its systems. All this follows the pizza system's new design, interface, safety and food handling enhancements late last year.
