Investor directory

Branded Hospitality

Branded Hospitality is a New York-based platform that drives growth and transformation in the food service and hospitality industries through three integrated lines: venture investments, solutions, and media. With more than 25 years of industry experience, it connects emerging brands, cutting-edge technologies, and capital to accelerate success. Its venture investments back innovative technologies and scalable concepts reshaping hospitality, providing capital and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs and startups. In its solutions business, Branded Hospitality develops tailored programs with corporate partners to improve operational efficiency, broaden brand visibility, and open new markets, including influencer marketing, digital storytelling, and B2B partnerships. As a media company, it creates and distributes content through channels such as its award-winning podcast The Hospitality Hangout, reaching decision-makers and industry leaders to foster dialogue and share insights. The firm emphasizes practical support and strategic guidance to portfolio companies and partners to drive growth and industry-wide change.
https://brandedstrategic.com/
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David Ciancio

Hospitality Partner

Gregory Essner

CFO

James Frischling

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Jimmy Frischling

Founder / Managing Partner

Matthew Lerner

COO and Partner

Past deals in HoReCa

LDV Hospitality

Venture Round in 2024
LDV Hospitality is a boutique firm specializing in creating authentic dining and cocktail experiences. It designs, operates, and manages signature restaurant brands and tailored hospitality services for iconic hotels, ensuring guests enjoy unique and memorable experiences.

Tablz

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Tablz develops a three-dimensional hospitality platform that enables diners to select and upgrade to preferred tables or sections, enhancing the dining experience. The platform helps hospitality brands improve guest satisfaction by solving the challenge of seating choice and allows venues to monetize dining space through supply and demand pricing of coveted real estate. By aligning pricing with chair and table value, it supports reduced costs, streamlined workflows, and better guest service for restaurants.

TapRm

Convertible Note in 2022
TapRm is a company that specializes in developing an omnichannel platform for launching and scaling innovative beer, cider, and hard seltzer brands. By integrating traditional beer distribution with direct-to-consumer e-commerce, TapRm disrupts outdated laws that restrict breweries from selling their products online without local distributors. This platform simplifies the process of brand launch and expansion, allowing beverage companies to reach consumers in a variety of settings, including bars, restaurants, markets, offices, and homes. By facilitating access to their products, TapRm enables brands to grow without incurring the significant costs and risks typically associated with geographic expansion.

TapRm

Seed Round in 2021
TapRm is a company that specializes in developing an omnichannel platform for launching and scaling innovative beer, cider, and hard seltzer brands. By integrating traditional beer distribution with direct-to-consumer e-commerce, TapRm disrupts outdated laws that restrict breweries from selling their products online without local distributors. This platform simplifies the process of brand launch and expansion, allowing beverage companies to reach consumers in a variety of settings, including bars, restaurants, markets, offices, and homes. By facilitating access to their products, TapRm enables brands to grow without incurring the significant costs and risks typically associated with geographic expansion.

Picnic

Series A in 2021
Picnic, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, Washington, specializes in food production technology and robotics solutions for the food service and hospitality industries. Formerly known as Vivid Robotics Inc., the company has assembled a team of experienced professionals from both food and technology sectors. Picnic's flagship product, the Pizza Production System, represents a significant innovation in automated food preparation, enabling commercial kitchens to produce hundreds of custom pizzas per hour using chef-selected ingredients and recipes. The company's application facilitates seamless interactions and ordering processes for food companies, enhancing operational efficiency in the industry.

Galley Solutions

Seed Round in 2021
Galley Solutions, Inc. is a software company that specializes in food production management, providing tools designed to enhance the efficiency and profitability of kitchens. Its primary product, Galley, enables restaurants and corporate kitchens to create and manage recipes, compile menus, and generate shopping lists. The software also assists kitchen managers in tracking ingredient costs, managing inventories, and identifying synergies between menu items that utilize shared ingredients. By analyzing food data, Galley empowers food businesses to make informed, data-driven decisions, ultimately improving their profit margins. Founded in 2017 and based in San Diego, California, Galley Solutions aims to streamline operations for caterers and other food service providers, helping them optimize purchasing, reduce waste, and enhance overall kitchen productivity.

Mighty Quinn's Barbeque

Series A in 2021
Mighty Quinn's Barbeque operates a chain of restaurants that provide an authentic barbeque experience in a fast-casual setting. The establishment is known for its menu featuring all-natural meats, poultry, and a variety of sides, all prepared using quality ingredients and smoked over oak, apple, and cherry wood. In addition to its restaurant operations, Mighty Quinn's Barbeque offers franchising opportunities and catering services, allowing it to extend its reach and share its distinct barbeque offerings with a broader audience.

Picnic

Series A in 2021
Picnic, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, Washington, specializes in food production technology and robotics solutions for the food service and hospitality industries. Formerly known as Vivid Robotics Inc., the company has assembled a team of experienced professionals from both food and technology sectors. Picnic's flagship product, the Pizza Production System, represents a significant innovation in automated food preparation, enabling commercial kitchens to produce hundreds of custom pizzas per hour using chef-selected ingredients and recipes. The company's application facilitates seamless interactions and ordering processes for food companies, enhancing operational efficiency in the industry.

Brizo Data

Seed Round in 2021
Brizo FoodMetrics is a leading data and analytics provider for the foodservice industry. Brizo helps the most competitive restauranteurs and restaurant vendors make better informed decisions and win their market.

Mighty Quinn's Barbeque

Seed Round in 2021
Mighty Quinn's Barbeque operates a chain of restaurants that provide an authentic barbeque experience in a fast-casual setting. The establishment is known for its menu featuring all-natural meats, poultry, and a variety of sides, all prepared using quality ingredients and smoked over oak, apple, and cherry wood. In addition to its restaurant operations, Mighty Quinn's Barbeque offers franchising opportunities and catering services, allowing it to extend its reach and share its distinct barbeque offerings with a broader audience.

Yumpingo

Series A in 2020
Yumpingo is a hospitality analytics and SaaS provider that helps restaurants capture and understand guest feedback in real time. The platform records sentiment across venues, shifts, dishes, and servers, delivering live Net Promoter Scores and actionable insights. Diners interact with a dedicated tablet to complete reviews, while the system aggregates feedback to reveal location-, server-, and dish-level patterns. Restaurateurs can use these insights to inform menu development, operational improvements, and guest engagement strategies. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, with an office in New York, Yumpingo focuses on turning customer sentiment into practical recommendations for restaurant operators.

TapRm

Seed Round in 2019
TapRm is a company that specializes in developing an omnichannel platform for launching and scaling innovative beer, cider, and hard seltzer brands. By integrating traditional beer distribution with direct-to-consumer e-commerce, TapRm disrupts outdated laws that restrict breweries from selling their products online without local distributors. This platform simplifies the process of brand launch and expansion, allowing beverage companies to reach consumers in a variety of settings, including bars, restaurants, markets, offices, and homes. By facilitating access to their products, TapRm enables brands to grow without incurring the significant costs and risks typically associated with geographic expansion.

Yumpingo

Series A in 2019
Yumpingo is a hospitality analytics and SaaS provider that helps restaurants capture and understand guest feedback in real time. The platform records sentiment across venues, shifts, dishes, and servers, delivering live Net Promoter Scores and actionable insights. Diners interact with a dedicated tablet to complete reviews, while the system aggregates feedback to reveal location-, server-, and dish-level patterns. Restaurateurs can use these insights to inform menu development, operational improvements, and guest engagement strategies. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, with an office in New York, Yumpingo focuses on turning customer sentiment into practical recommendations for restaurant operators.

Bbot

Convertible Note in 2019
Bbot, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in order and payment solutions tailored for the hospitality industry, including bars, restaurants, hotels, breweries, food halls, and multi-vendor setups. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in Astoria, New York. Bbot's platform enables these establishments to create digital menus and offers guest-controlled, contactless ordering and payment options. This configurable solution is designed to streamline food and beverage operations, enhance customer experience, and help businesses increase revenue while reducing staffing costs. The platform features secure payment processing, integration with existing point-of-sale systems, and tailored customer support, making it a valuable asset for hospitality organizations looking to improve efficiency and service quality.

Innovative Tap Solutions

Convertible Note in 2017
Innovative Tap Solutions, LLC, operating as PourMyBeer, specializes in self-pour beverage systems designed for various establishments, including bars, restaurants, casinos, hotels, grocery stores, and co-working spaces. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois, the company offers technology that enables consumers to pour their own drinks, such as beer, wine, cocktails, cold brew, and kombucha, while paying by the ounce. This system enhances the customer experience by allowing guests to quickly access a diverse selection of beverages using a registered RFID card or wristband. Once recognized by the system, customers can easily check in and start pouring in under 30 seconds, ensuring they only pay for what they consume. Innovative Tap Solutions aims to help business owners globally increase sales and reduce waste and staffing challenges through its innovative self-pour technology.

Innovative Tap Solutions

Convertible Note in 2017
Innovative Tap Solutions, LLC, operating as PourMyBeer, specializes in self-pour beverage systems designed for various establishments, including bars, restaurants, casinos, hotels, grocery stores, and co-working spaces. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois, the company offers technology that enables consumers to pour their own drinks, such as beer, wine, cocktails, cold brew, and kombucha, while paying by the ounce. This system enhances the customer experience by allowing guests to quickly access a diverse selection of beverages using a registered RFID card or wristband. Once recognized by the system, customers can easily check in and start pouring in under 30 seconds, ensuring they only pay for what they consume. Innovative Tap Solutions aims to help business owners globally increase sales and reduce waste and staffing challenges through its innovative self-pour technology.

Innovative Tap Solutions

Convertible Note in 2017
Innovative Tap Solutions, LLC, operating as PourMyBeer, specializes in self-pour beverage systems designed for various establishments, including bars, restaurants, casinos, hotels, grocery stores, and co-working spaces. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois, the company offers technology that enables consumers to pour their own drinks, such as beer, wine, cocktails, cold brew, and kombucha, while paying by the ounce. This system enhances the customer experience by allowing guests to quickly access a diverse selection of beverages using a registered RFID card or wristband. Once recognized by the system, customers can easily check in and start pouring in under 30 seconds, ensuring they only pay for what they consume. Innovative Tap Solutions aims to help business owners globally increase sales and reduce waste and staffing challenges through its innovative self-pour technology.
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