Restaurants build for post-virus world

Latin American chain sees little staff contact

The future of restaurants may be taking shape in Latin America.

That's where RobinFood, a two-year-old tech startup in Bogota, is building a chain for the post-pandemic era, with diners having almost no contact with staff as digital orders for meals costing a few dollars are delivered or picked up from a modern automat.

Armed with new capital from MGM Innova Capital, a Miami-based private equity firm, RobinFood plans to expand from 50 stores to 1,000 (that's 1,900 per cent growth) over the next five years, which would make it one of the largest chains in the region.

A key to the model is that each location will make food for as many as four of the firm's seven brands — spanning rice bowls, burgers and pizza slices — in what's often called a “cloud kitchen” concept, according to Jose Guillermo Calderon, chief executive and cofounder.

“COVID has been super good for adoption of digital options,” Calderon said in an interview from Bogota, where the company began in 2018 as the MUY brand. During the pandemic, “people love to limit human contact while having access to fresh food.”

RobinFood is part of a push by the industry to find new business models after COVID-19 decimated the sector.

Restaurants have turned to selling groceries and sharing kitchen space.

A wager on the food business comes at a risky time, especially in Latin America, a coronavirus hot spot. The Colombian Food Industry Association said more than half of its nearly 90,000 member restaurants have closed.

To combat a tough environment, RobinFood tries to cater to a big portion of the population that can't afford most restaurants. An average meal costs about US$2, according to Calderon.

The chain keeps prices that low by reducing food waste with software linking real-time demand in each location with how much food is shipped.

The company also minimizes labour costs, like needing fewer cashiers.

Calderon and his partner, Miguel McAllister, previously founded two other startups, including delivery app Domicilios.com that was purchased by German-based Delivery Hero in 2014 and later merged with iFood, one of Latin America's largest delivery companies.

RobinFood has raised a total of US$36 million and will need as much as US$200 million as it grows. That's a tall order, but if the expansion is successful, Calderon said an initial public offering could be in the works by 2026.