Rito 🍚

Setting the Scene

• The vast majority of offices and factories do not have cafeterias, posing a challenge for providing food options to employees.

• Here’s why:

  • Rising labor costs make profitable food operations increasingly difficult.

  • Limited space restricts the set up of traditional cafeterias.

  • Ensuring food compliance with health regulations increases complexity and expenses.

• This week’s company leverages self-checkout kiosks and AI video tracking to serve food with minimal labor costs.

In a Sentence

Rito uses AI-powered kiosks to offer fresh, affordable meals to enhance accessibility and reduce costs.

• Kiosks: Rito's kiosks, which come in two types—one storing refrigerated meals and another as a smart cafe—manage inventory, track sales, and monitor food quality with minimal human intervention, ensuring efficient and hygienic service.

• Costs: Rito takes advantage of lower restaurant prices during off-peak hours to purchase food in bulk at a significant discount, and its automated features reduce labor costs, allowing the company to offer fresh meals at affordable prices.

The Basics

• Industry: Food Technology

• Headquarters: Austin, Texas

• Year Founded: 2020

• Employee Count: 3

• Investors: 8VC, Asymmetry Ventures, various angels

• Amount Raised: $1M

• Business Model: Buy food in bulk from restaurants during off-peak hours at a 50-60% discount and sell food at the original price through smart cafes and kiosks

• Early Traction: $1.4M ARR, in 40 locations, 95% annual retention, cash flow positive, early clients include Tesla, UT Austin, AMD, St. David’s, and Firefly Aerospace

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

• How would you like to pitch your startup to angel investor Jason Calacanis?

• You probably didn't know that some of the world's most innovative startups are using .tech domains for their websites. 

• In fact, these startups have collectively raised over $5 billion, surpassing startups on other new domain extensions. And Jason Calacanis has taken notice.

• With a track record of backing over 350 early-stage startups, Jason is exclusively inviting 5 startups using .tech domains to pitch directly to him on his podcast, This Week in Startups.

• So, if you are one of the many innovative founders building your startup's website on a .tech domain, you can apply. Not using a .tech domain yet? Apply anyway, and switch to a .tech domain if selected to pitch.

Due Diligence

WHAT WE LIKE

• Market Opportunity: Only 18% of offices currently have cafeterias, indicating significant potential for growth in this space to provide alternative meal solutions.

• Mutually Beneficial: By sourcing food from restaurants during off-peak hours, Rito offers competitively priced meals while supporting local restaurants with additional revenue during slow periods.

• Labor Cost Reduction: Rito's AI-powered kiosks minimize labor costs by reducing the need for full-time staff, addressing rising operational costs and providing affordable food service to offices and factories.

POTENTIAL RISKS

• Market Defensibility: Since Rito leverages existing technology, competitors could potentially replicate the business model before they establish a strong market presence.

• Incumbent Contracts: Incumbents like Aramark and Sodexo hold long-term, exclusive contracts with large corporations, making it difficult for new entrants like Rito to penetrate these accounts without strategic partnerships.

• Food Safety and Liability: Ensuring all meals meet food safety standards is critical, especially since they are prepped in advance, posing significant liability risks that could damage the company's reputation.

Founder Profile

• Nestor Tkachenko, CEO: Formerly at 8VC and Nimble.ai, with a background in physics from Harvard.

• Gabriel Gang, COO: Co-founded a grocery delivery service with a background in law.

Comps

• ZeroCater: Backed by Y Combinator, Alumni Ventures, Romulus Capital, and others.

• Fooda: Backed by 500 Global, Lightbank, Valor Equity Partners

• EAT Club: Backed by Lightspeed Ventures, First Round Capital, August Capital, Trinity Ventures, and others.

• Farmer’s Fridge: Backed by Cleveland Avenue, GroundForce Capital, HPA, and others.

Event Board

• NYC Dinner for Technical Founders & Funders: On July 1st, we are hosting a dinner in NYC for technical founders and funders. Apply here.

Cast Your Vote

Last Week Today

• The results are in: Night Inn, a freelance marketplace connecting hospitality talent with clients, was favored in last week’s poll.

• Subscriber feedback: “This solves a critical challenge for a huge addressable market, efficiently providing the hospitality industry with a streamlined hub of accessible talent.”