Restaurant chain Meltwich Food Co. relies on a leading cloud-based point-of-sale system from Givex Information Technology Group Ltd., put in place before the pandemic.supplied
Fast-growing restaurant chain Meltwich Food Co. had a secret weapon against the economic threat COVID-19 posed. It wasn’t the gourmet grilled cheese it specializes in, or any other menu item. It was critical behind-the-scenes technology.
At the time the pandemic struck, Meltwich had been franchising quick-service locations across Canada and, more and more, in the U.S. Increasingly, Meltwich is a technology-driven company, relying on a leading cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system put in place before COVID-19.
Talk about good timing, says Ryan Hillis, vice-president of revenue for Meltwich in Mississauga.
“We kind of all looked at each other when the first cases started in 2020, wondering what would happen,” Mr. Hillis says. “Fortunately, our brand and operations were at a point at which we were well positioned to handle the pandemic, and we actually saw some incredible growth.”
An integral piece was the POS system from Givex Information Technology Group Ltd. GIVX-T, a publicly-traded Canadian financial technology (fintech) company.
The restaurant business is difficult at the best of times, but the pandemic put even the most established and successful restaurants to the test. Yet, those with the ability to shift easily from in-person services to online ordering with touchless delivery had a huge edge.
Third-party delivery apps have allowed restaurants to reach customers amid lockdowns. Yet, restaurants using POS systems that weren’t well integrated with these providers often struggled, facing extra layers of operational complexity.
The right technology is key. In juggling multiple online delivery platforms, many restaurants had to designate staff to enter orders from these apps manually into their own system. That wasn’t the case for Meltwich with Givex’s POS platform.
“If a customer ordered through Uber Eats, with Givex’s POS, the order went directly into our system with the customer’s name, contacts and order items,” Mr. Hillis says. “Because we’re not punching in the orders, there’s no room for human error.”
Data analytics has been equally valuable, he adds. Meltwich, which launched in 2015, is a data-focused company, drilling into the numbers to find out what customers like. Mr. Hillis says Givex’s platform provides these insights.
“We can pull up our sales across the country quickly to find, for instance, the most in-demand and least popular items to make better menu decisions,” he says.
Fintech has proven its worth to restaurateurs over the past two years, says Mo Chaar, chief commercial officer at Givex.
“From a restaurant surviving and thriving through the pandemic, and adapting to the issues that have come with COVID-19, technology’s value has shone through,” he says.
As the economy and mobility rebound, restaurants and other service and hospitality providers that find a way to prosper in this new environment are attractive investment bets. So too are the fintech providers that can help them bounce back with the right solutions.
Investing in digitization was a pandemic advantage
The pandemic has been a tough slog for restaurants from the outset. According to research by The NPD Group, restaurant visits in the autumn of 2021 were still 18 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in Canada.
Bright spots, however, were take out, drive-thru and delivery. These grew by double-digit percentages, year over year, and accounted for 83 per cent of all visits.
The NPD report cited technology as an advantage during the pandemic, noting that companies must continue to invest in digitization of food services in a new normal of uncertainty. Call it leveraging bytes for more bites.
Before using Givex’s POS system, Meltwich had used Givex’s gift card platform. That arm of Givex’s business is long established, with more than 100,000 customers, making the Canadian fintech company a market leader in the gift card space.
Yet, Givex has grown over its 23 years in operation to offer a diverse suite of services, from gift cards, to loyalty reward platforms, to a POS system and data analytics.
The ability to offer integrated technology platforms is a winning recipe for today’s fintech firms and the companies with which they do business, Mr. Chaar says.
“An all-in-one system, with POS, loyalty, online ordering and gift cards, almost inevitably increases revenue, allowing businesses to focus on what they do best: serve their customers,” Mr. Chaar says.
Although retailers have embraced fintech widely, Mr. Chaar says restaurants have been slower at adopting the latest cloud-based systems that facilitate operations as well as provide data analytics to drive efficiencies and revenue growth. This represents a growth opportunity for fintech companies.
“We’re going to see a lot of growth with payments technology, and how consumers interact with those payment options. We’re far from that growth plateauing,” Mr. Chaar says.
“Our goal has always been to give merchants a cost-effective platform that drives enterprise value,” he adds. “Every Givex service is based on the premise that technology should not be a burden, but rather, a key tool that makes business not only easier but more profitable.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Givex. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.