INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
When one food delivery startup fails, another gets funded.Chowbus, an Asian food ordering platform headquartered in Chicago, has brought in
a $4 million “seed” funding led by Greycroft Partners and FJ Labs, with participation from Hyde Park Angels and Fika Ventures
The startup, aware of the challenges that plague startups in this space, says offering exclusive access to restaurants and eliminating
service fees sets it apart from big-name competitors like Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash and Postmates.The Chowbus platform focuses on meals
While scrolling through the mobile app, a user is connected to various independent restaurants depending on what particular dish they’re
seeking. Chowbus says only a small portion of the restaurants on its platform, 15 percent, are also available on Grubhub and Uber
Eats. The app is currently available in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Champaign, Ill
With the new investment, which brings Chowbus’ total raised to just over $5 million, the startup will launch in up to 20 additional
Eventually, Chowbus says it will expand into other cuisines, too, beginning with Mexican and Italian. Chowbus was founded in 2016 by chief
executive officer Linxin Wen and chief technology officer Suyu Zhang.“When I first came to the U.S
five years ago, I found most restaurants I really liked [weren’t] on Grubhub nor other major delivery platforms and the delivery fees were
quite high,” Wen told TechCrunch
“So I thought, maybe I can build a platform to support these restaurants,”TechCrunch chatted with Wen and Zhang on Tuesday, the day
after Munchery announced it was shutting down its prepared meal delivery business
Naturally, I asked the founders what made them think Chowbus can survive in an already crowded market, dominated by the likes of Uber.“The
central kitchen model doesn’t work; the cost is too high,” Zhang said, referring to Munchery’s business model, which prepared food for
its meal service in-house rather than sourcing through local restaurants.“We don’t own the kitchen or the chef, we just take advantage
of the resources and help restaurants make more money,” Wen added
“The food delivery space is really huge and growing so quick.”
