ezCater

ezCater is a Boston-based company that connects businesses with restaurants and caterers through an online marketplace. It was co-founded by Stefania Mallett, CEO, and Briscoe Rodgers, Chief Strategy Officer, in 2007.^[2][3][4][5]

With its online platform, ezCater connects corporate catering orderers and sales representatives with nearby restaurants and caterers.^[6][7][3]

It allows companies to review menus from restaurants and then place an order for meetings or company events.^[7][8] Restaurants are required to have the appropriate catering menus and web presence to join the platform.^[9][6][10] ezCater has over 75,000 restaurants and caterers signed up on its platform^[11][12] and its catering management software helps caterers manage orders and deliveries.^[13][14]

The website also stores receipts and order histories, and gives companies the ability to let others order food for clients and events with set maximum amounts and tipping policies.^[7][15] Once an order is placed, ezCater tracks it to be sure there are no issues.^[13]

In 2011, Mallett and Rodgers raised $2.7 million in Series A investment.^[2] Seven years later, in 2018, the company raised $100 million.^[3] That funding round was led by Wellington Management Company, with existing investors such as ICONIQ Capital and Insight Venture Partners participating as well.^[13][6] This brought ezCater’s total funding to $170 million with a valuation of $700 million.^[6][13]

In 2017, ezCater partnered with JLL to provide meals to Feeding America.^[16][17][18] They've provided over a million meals to date.^[19]

In 2019, ezCater acquired Monkey Group, a cloud platform for take-out, delivery, and catering.^[2][20] That same year, a $150 million Series D-1 funding round saw ezCater reach a $1.25 billion valuation.^[2][9]

In April 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered corporate offices across the country, ezCater laid off over 400 staff across its Boston, Denver, Paris, and Vancouver offices.^[21]

During the pandemic in 2020, ezCater launched its app and website, Relish by ezCater, which allows workers to place food orders from local restaurants.^[22][23][24] The individually-packaged meals arrive in a designated space at a designated time to cut down on the number of delivery people entering a business.^[25][22]

In December 2020, ezCater partnered with Subway to offer a new online catering platform.^[26][27]

In July 2021, ezCater launched its first-ever TV commercials, advocating for food as an incentive to motivate remote workers to return to the on-site office environment after the pandemic.^[28][29]

In December 2021, ezCater announced a successful $100M Series D-2 funding round led by SoftBank, raising the company's post-money valuation to $1.6 billion.^[30][31][32]