Melbourne start-up Restoke. AI says it’s saving restaurants $8000 a week, sparking a global revolution

Smashed avocado has been blamed for keeping millennials out of the housing market, given their taste for the popular brunch dish is difficult to give up. But it can also prove costly to cafe owners as well.

Gradi Group founder Johnny di Francesco with Restoke.ai co-founders Ken Brand and Assaf Stizki who have helping restaurateurs dramatically cut costs.

Smashed avocado has been blamed for keeping millennials out of the housing market, given their taste for the popular brunch dish is difficult to give up. But it can also prove costly to cafe owners as well.

Melbourne entrepreneur Assaf Stizki says many chefs focus on the quality of their dish rather than costs, not knowing that they are in financial strife until they meet their accountant.

How does this relate to avocados? The price of the fruit can vary widely, hitting cafe margins. But Mr Stizki has taken out the guesswork after forming Restoke. AI, which has capped off a $5.1m raising, led by Rampersand with support from Mandalay Venture Partners, Archangels, US-based VCs BC Growth and Stage2 Capital.

Mr Stizki says Restoke’s artificial intelligence platform has saved restaurateurs more than $8000 a week on average within a month from installation, and he has his eyes now set on expanding deeper into the US. So how does it work?

“Restoke collects all the information around your purchasing, saying ‘hey, your 30 per cent margins on avocado on toast is no longer … do you want to keep selling it at the same price, do you maybe want to source a different avocado, or maybe not sell it because it’s not actually cost-effective for you?’ We give them a live view,” Mr Stizki said.

“What we’ve learned over time is that restaurants actually using that live data – which is the first of its kind – are able to constantly push those cogs down rather than those who maybe look at it once a month or quarter.”

Restoke.ai co-founders Assaf Stizki and Ken Brand.

Mr Stizki founded the company with advanced machine learning specialist Ken Brand. Its platform is integrated with existing restaurant systems to automate “every aspect of operations, from food costing and inventory to team management and accounting”. Mr Stizki said this has helped save its customer $8000 a week on average.

Restoke’s platform is now used by more than 2000 restaurants in Australia. New Zealand, Singapore and the US, including Johnny di Francesco’s Gradi Group, Mrs Pho, Yo-Chi and Bounce Inc.

Restoke says it takes out the guesswork of what margins should be on dishes like smashed avocado on toast.

Mr di Francesco – who doesn’t describe himself as tech-savvy – said the platform was easy to use, and it has “streamlined” his cost of good by about 4.5 per cent while wastage has fallen by 90 per cent. “That’s a lot,” he said.

Mr di Francesco – who has launched Restoke across his US franchisees – said it also helped more accurately predict sales, generating more savings.

“That’s given us a huge reduction in wastage because rather than having X amount of let’s say seafood – which is an expensive item – on the shelf and not selling. This forecasting and this historical data is giving us really accurate forecasts on what we will sell.”

Rampersand Partner Andrew Poesaste said Restoke had the potential to transform the hospitality industry on a global scale.

“When I first encountered Restoke years ago, their vision seemed almost impossible. But their relentless focus on product excellence and usability has paid off,” he said.

“Restoke isn’t just offering another software solution; they’re pioneering a groundbreaking category: Restaurant Intelligence, redefining how the industry operates. They have the potential to transform the industry on a global scale, and now, they’re poised to lead this revolution.”

Originally published as Melbourne start-up Restoke. AI says it’s saving restaurants $8000 a week, sparking a global revolution