Financial District hotshots and cashless Boston University students may not run in the same circles, but they do have one thing in common: They both probably love a good meal, and Boston eagerly delivers.
But with so many amazing restaurants to choose from, it can be hard for even the most diehard of foodies to choose where to grab dinner. Should you go with Italian in the North End, or seafood in the Seaport? Or, how about eating at home and catching up on Netflix?
Many restaurants in Boston understand this and are adopting tools and technology to improve the dining experience of their customers. Tech companies are only too happy to help fill this void, and many startups in Boston have taken advantage of the emerging restaurant tech arena to evolve the way the city dines.
Top Food Companies in Boston
- Toast
- CrunchTime!
- ezCater
- On-Demand Chefs
- AppHarvest
- Dawn Foods
- Indigo
We’ve picked out some fresh Boston companies that are changing the way we find and choose restaurants, pick up groceries, and even cook our meals. Check out some of the movers and shakers of Boston’s restaurant tech scene — and try not to get too hungry.
Thousands of food and drink businesses use Toast’s hardware and software products to achieve profitable, efficient operations. From self-service kiosks and handheld devices that work with Toast’s point-of-sale system to email marketing and loyalty program solutions, the company’s offerings are built for pizzerias, food trucks, bakeries, hotel restaurants, enterprise brands and other restaurant types.
Indigo is developing innovative solutions to support the health of both farming production and the environment. Farmers can collaborate with Indigo to develop soil-friendly practices and microbial approaches that strengthen their crops and increase their yields. In addition, Indigo’s digital marketplace makes it easier for farmers to complete transactions and earn their fair share of the profits.
Food brings people together and strengthens relationships, so Dawn Foods is building connections through its bakery services. From manufacturing baking ingredients to finished products, bakers have access to a range of goods that satisfy their baking needs. Dawn Foods collaborates with artisanal and supermarket bakeries to bring high-quality baking to the neighborhoods of consumers.
AppHarvest is developing more efficient and safer ways to meet demands for timely and fresh produce. The company boasts controlled environment facilities, which allow it to harness recycled rainwater, support crops with LED lighting, and avoid pesticides. To maximize the quality of each batch, AppHarvest distributes the labor between AI robots and teams of crop care specialists.
Peapod Digital Labs aims to deliver better omnichannel experiences to local grocery stores through its suite of e-commerce strategies. The company is reinventing grocery delivery and pick-up services by deploying new techniques that maintain the cold-chain during unattended deliveries and offering media partnerships to optimize companies’ campaigns in-store and on any device.
Crunchtime is a full-suite enterprise restaurant management platform. The company offers a variety of services that help restaurants, movie theaters and even cruise ships manage their food costs, inventory and employee scheduling. Food authorities like Chipotle, Five Guys and Hash House a Go Go use Crunchtime to monitor the entire lifespan of their food supply chain.
If you need great food for a sales call, office event or team meeting, ezCater helps businesses find and order food from countless restaurants and caterers in the country. Using ezCater’s online service you’ll always know where your order is because they send text message updates. The company can scale orders to fit your needs, whether you’re trying to feed 5 or 2,000 people.
