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{{advert|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = ZeroCater
| name = Zerocater
| logo = ZeroCater Logo.jpeg
| logo = Zerocater Logo.png
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| location_city = 115 Stillman Street<br>[[San Francisco]], [[California]] 94107
| location_city = 115 Stillman Street<br>[[San Francisco]], [[California]] 94107
| location_country = [[United States]]
| location_country = [[United States]]
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|Arram Sabeti}}
⚫
| industry = [[Catering]] , [[Foodservice]]
| foundation = 2009
⚫
| key_people = Arram Sabeti ([[CEO]])
| company_slogan =
| incorporated =
⚫
| key_people = Ali Sabeti ({{small|[[Chief executive officer|CEO]]}})
⚫
| num_employees =
| area_served = [[United States]]
⚫
| homepage = [https://zerocater.com ZeroCater.com]
⚫
| industry = [[Catering]], [[foodservice]]
| company_slogan =
⚫
| num_employees =
⚫
| homepage = {{URL|https://zerocater.com}}
}}
}}


'''ZeroCater''' is a [[foodservice|food service]] company headquartered in [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]], specializing in providing companies with catered meals from local restaurants,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/29/zerocater/|title=ZeroCater Says 20 Of Its Small Catering, Restaurant Partners Have Done More Than $1M In Revenues|work=[[TechCrunch]]|last=Cutler|first=Kim-Mai|date=September 29, 2015}}</ref> caterers, and food trucks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2012/07/03/cater2me-zerocater-bring-food-truck-lunch-to-startups/|title=ZeroCater Bring Food-Truck Lunch To Startups|publisher=[[Xconomy]]|last=Craig|first=Elise|date=July 3, 2012}}</ref> The company expanded its offerings in 2017 to include a fully customizable solution for office snacking called ZeroCater Snacks and Kitchens<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/17/zerocater-snacks/|title=ZeroCater expands from meal catering to office snacks|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2018-08-29|language=en-US}}</ref> and, in 2018, to deliver alcohol with Zerocater Pours. The company launched Enterprise Catering for companies with 500 or more employees in 2019. Zerocater currently feeds thousands of employees of companies including [[Slack (software)|Slack]], [[PagerDuty]], [[Chan Zuckerberg Initiative]], [[Salesforce]], [[JUUL]], [[Datadog]], and [[Cisco Meraki]]. As of November 2017, ZeroCater operates in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], [[New York City]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140805/soho/city-businesses-offer-free-lunch-at-work-keep-employees-happy|title=City Businesses Offer Free Lunch to Keep Employees Happy|publisher=[[DNAinfo.com]]|last=Zimmer|first=Amy|date=August 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/04/new-york-start-ups-food-perks.html|title=14 New York Tech Start-Ups With Pretty Great Food and Drink Perks|publisher=[[GrubStreet]]|last=Tishgart|first=Sierra|date=April 17, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/zerocater-nyc/|title=ZeroCater Rides The Wave Of Food To Launch In New York City|work=[[TechCrunch]]|last=Lawler|first=Ryan|date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> [[Los Angeles metropolitan area|Los Angeles]], [[Greater Austin|Austin]], [[Washington metropolitan area|Washington, D.C.]], and [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicago]].
'''ZeroCater''' is a food catering company headquartered in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] that helps companies offer in-office meals to their employees from a diverse range of local food sources.<ref name=crunchbase>{{cite web|url=http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/zerocater|title = ZeroCater|publisher = [[CrunchBase]]|accessdate = July 31, 2014}}</ref><ref name=official>{{cite web|url=http://zerocater.com|title = ZeroCater|accessdate = July 31, 2014}}</ref> ZeroCater currently feeds about 500 companies a month, including [[Buzzfeed]], [[Squarespace]], [[Tumblr]], [[Venmo]], [[ClassPass]] and [[Foursquare]].<ref name=official/><ref name=techcrunch-autobio/> ZeroCater founder Arram Sabeti described the company as a "[[Pandora Radio|Pandora]] for food."<ref name=fastcompany>{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1825712/fast-talk-how-zerocater-pandora-food-hacks-your-lunch-problem|title = Fast Talk: How ZeroCater, The "Pandora For Food," Hacks Your Lunch Problem. Hungry? Meet Arram Sabeti, CEO of ZeroCater. Apart from solving the logistics of group delivery ordering, Sabeti also throws a mean sausage fest.|last = Zax|first = David|date = March 22, 2012|accessdate = July 31, 2014}}</ref> As of January 2015, it is operational in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], [[New York City]] and [[Chicago]].<ref name=official/>


==History==
==History==


Zerocater was founded in 2009 by Arram Sabeti.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-12/arram-sabetis-zerocater-feeds-other-startups|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715021442/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-12/arram-sabetis-zerocater-feeds-other-startups|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2012|title=Arram Sabeti's ZeroCater Feeds Other Startups|publisher=[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]]|last=Levy|first=Ari|date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> As an early employee at Justin. tv<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.7x7.com/zerocater-takes-the-pain-out-of-ordering-your-company-lunch-1781315073.html|title=ZeroCater Takes the Pain Out of Ordering Your Company Lunch|publisher=[[7x7 (magazine)|7x7]]|last=Weir|first=David|date=August 18, 2011}}</ref> (now Twitch.tv) Arram was responsible for ordering lunch<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-han/the-roi-of-lunch_b_5915598.html|title=The ROI of Lunch|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|last=Han|first=Frank|date=October 1, 2014}}</ref> for their office. He created a process to make it easy to order from a variety of local restaurants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/19/you-cant-get-this-from-ubereats-or-instacart.html|title=You can't get this from UberEATS or Instacart|publisher=[[CNBC]]|last=Levi|first=Ari|date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> Soon other companies began asking for his list of restaurants. Sensing this might be a new business<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anythingresearch.com/industry/Caterers.htm|title=2017 Market Research Report on Caterers Industry|publisher=AnythingResearch}}</ref> opportunity, Arram left Justin. tv to work full-time on what would become ZeroCater. After running the business on a spreadsheet and bootstrapping for 18 months Zerocater was accepted into the Winter 2011 class of Y Combinator and placed first on Demo Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.co/zerocater-2011-11|title=ZeroCater Brings Personalized, Catered Lunches to Your Office|publisher=tech.co|last=Newman|first=Kira M.|date=November 30, 2011}}</ref>
ZeroCater was founded by Arram Sabeti.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2015/09/29/zerocater/|title=ZeroCater Says 20 Of Its Small Catering, Restaurant Partners Have Done More Than $1M In Revenues|last=Cutler|first=Kim-Mai|website=TechCrunch|access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref> Sabeti moved to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] with the goal of working on startups. He initially worked at [[Ben & Jerry's]], then at the startup [[Justin.tv]]. While at Justin.tv, he managed ordering lunch for the office, and some other companies asked him to help with managing their lunch as well. Sensing that this might be a new business opportunity, Sabeti left Justin.tv to work full-time on the company, which became known as ZeroCater. He convinced a developer to join him at the startup and successfully applied to and was accepted at the startup accelerator [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]] in 2011.<ref name=techcrunch-autobio>{{cite web|url=http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/06/how-i-started-zerocater/|title = From Selling Scoops Of Ice Cream To Founding ZeroCater|date = April 6, 2013|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[TechCrunch]]''}}</ref><ref name=techcrunch1>{{cite web|url=http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/06/zerocater-because-lunch-at-the-office-doesnt-have-to-be-a-complete-pain/|title = ZeroCater: Because Lunch At The Office Doesn't Have To Be A Complete Pain|last = Kincaid|first = Jason|date = July 6, 2011|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[TechCrunch]]''}}</ref>


In 2011, ZeroCater raised a $1.5m seed round<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/food-startups-2013-5#zerocater-is-aiming-to-make-office-wide-lunches-easier-3|title=14 Startups That Will Change The Way You Eat|website=[[Business Insider]]|date=August 17, 2016}}</ref> from investors including [[Paul Buchheit]] (the creator of Gmail and Google’s unofficial ‘Don’t be evil’ motto), SV Angel, and Vaizra. In 2016, Zerocater raised a $4.1m Series A.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://startupanchor.com/zerocater-raises-4-1-million-to-keep-office-workers-well-fed-in-the-u-s-2/|title=ZeroCater raises $4.1 million to keep office workers well-fed in the U.S.|publisher=Startup Anchor|date=August 17, 2016}}</ref> In 2018, ZeroCater raised $12m Series B led by Cleveland Avenue, founded by the former CEO of McDonald's, with participation by [[Justin Kan]], [[Romulus Capital]], and [[Struck Capital]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/01/zerocater-raises-12m-to-rule-the-fridges-and-pantries-of-an-office/|title=ZeroCater raises $12M to rule the fridges and pantries of an office|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2018-08-29|language=en-US}}</ref>
Although initially operational only in the San Francisco Bay Area, ZeroCater started operations in [[New York City]] in April 2013, and [[Chicago]] in January 2015.<ref name=techcrunch2>{{cite web|url=http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/zerocater-nyc/|title = ZeroCater Rides The Wave Of Food To Launch In New York City|last = Lawler|first = Ryan|date = April 8, 2013|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[TechCrunch]]''}}</ref>


In 2020, Zerocater laid off the majority of its workforce due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In August 2015, it was reported that ZeroCater had facilitated $100 million in food purchases despite raising only $1.5 million.<ref name=cnbc>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/19/you-cant-get-this-from-ubereats-or-instacart.html|title = You can't get this from UberEATS or Instacart|last = Levy|first = Ari|date = August 19, 2015|accessdate = September 2, 2015|publisher = ''[[CNBC]]''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/zalmiduchman/2015/08/24/zerocater-hits-100-million-in-sales-with-only-1-5-million-in-outside-capital/|title = ZeroCater Hits $100 Million In Sales With Only $1.5 Million In Funding|last = Duchman|first = Zalmi|date = August 24, 2015|accessdate = September 2, 2015|publisher = ''[[Forbes]]''}}</ref>

As companies return to office in a hybrid workforce model, Zerocater now provides two basic varieties of service: a “Cloud Cafe” that lets individuals pre-order boxed meals from a daily selection; and a “Managed Cafe” that provides buffet-style offerings with the offerings and amounts also pre-determined by pre-ordering. Alongside those, it lets companies blend those two together, and it also provides its services for one-off events. Food experiences are delivered, designed, and staffed by Zerocater people.

In 2023, Zerocater raised $15m Series C led by Cleveland Avenue, with participation by [[Romulus Capital]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/16/zerocater-raises-15m-as-demand-heats-up-for-flexible-in-office-food-services/|title=Zerocater raises $15M as demand heats up for flexible in-office food services|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2023-02-16|language=en-US}}</ref>


==Media coverage==
==Media coverage==


ZeroCater has been covered in ''[[TechCrunch]]'',<ref name=techcrunch1/> ''[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]'',<ref name=fastcompany/> the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304022004577516912524877338|title = Work Perk: Free-Meal Rule Widens|last = Ovide|first = Shira|date = July 11, 2012|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''}}</ref> ''[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-12/arram-sabetis-zerocater-feeds-other-startups|title = Arram Sabeti's ZeroCater Feeds Other Startups|last = Levy|first = Ari|date = July 12, 2012|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]]''}}</ref> ''[[Business Insider]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/food-startups-2013-5#zerocater-is-aiming-to-make-office-wide-lunches-easier-3|title = 14 Startups That Will Change The Way You Eat|publisher = ''[[Business Insider]]''|accessdate = July 31, 2014}}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2013/03/05/9-awesome-apps-for-your-startup-office-manager/|title = 9 Awesome Apps for Your Startup Office Manager|date = March 5, 2013|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[Forbes]]''|author = Arielle Patrice Scott}}</ref> ''[[CNNMoney]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/15/technology/startups/zerocater/|title = The startup that feeds other startups - literally|last = Kim|first = Erin|date = August 15, 2012|accessdate = July 31, 2014|publisher = ''[[CNNMoney]]''}}</ref> and many other mainstream and technology publications.<ref name=press>{{cite web|url=http://zerocater.com/press|title = Press and News Coverage|publisher = ZeroCater|accessdate = July 31, 2014}}</ref>
Zerocater has been covered in ''[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1825712/fast-talk-how-zerocater-pandora-food-hacks-your-lunch-problem|title=Fast Talk: How ZeroCater, The "Pandora For Food," Hacks Your Lunch Problem|last=Zax|first= David|date=March 22, 2012}}</ref> the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304022004577516912524877338|title = Work Perk: Free-Meal Rule Widens|last = Ovide|first = Shira|date = July 11, 2012|access-date = July 31, 2014|newspaper = [[Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> ''[[Business Insider]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/food-startups-2013-5#zerocater-is-aiming-to-make-office-wide-lunches-easier-3|title = 14 Startups That Will Change The Way You Eat|website = [[Business Insider]]|access-date = July 31, 2014}}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2013/03/05/9-awesome-apps-for-your-startup-office-manager/|title = 9 Awesome Apps for Your Startup Office Manager|date = March 5, 2013|access-date = July 31, 2014|magazine = [[Forbes]]|author = Arielle Patrice Scott}}</ref> ''[[CNNMoney]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/08/15/technology/startups/zerocater/|title = The startup that feeds other startups - literally|last=Kim|first =Erin|date=August 15, 2012|access-date=July 31, 2014|publisher=[[CNNMoney]]}}</ref> and other mainstream technology publications.

== See also ==
* [[online food ordering]]
* [[Waiter.com]]


==References==
==References==
⚫
{{reflist|30em}}

⚫
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{official website}}
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/zerocater CrunchBase profile]

{{YC companies|state=collapsed}}


[[Category:Y Combinator companies]]
[[Category:Y Combinator companies]]
[[Category:Catering and food service companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Online food retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:American companies established in 2009]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 2009]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2009]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Online food ordering]]
[[Category:Food and drink companies based in California]]
[[Category:Snack foods]]

Latest revision as of 00:33, 20 January 2024

Zerocater
Company typePrivate
IndustryCatering, foodservice
Founded2009
Founders
  • Arram Sabeti
Headquarters
115 Stillman Street
San Francisco, California 94107
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
Ali Sabeti (CEO)
Websitezerocater.com

ZeroCater is a food service company headquartered in San Francisco, California, specializing in providing companies with catered meals from local restaurants,[1] caterers, and food trucks.[2] The company expanded its offerings in 2017 to include a fully customizable solution for office snacking called ZeroCater Snacks and Kitchens[3] and, in 2018, to deliver alcohol with Zerocater Pours. The company launched Enterprise Catering for companies with 500 or more employees in 2019. Zerocater currently feeds thousands of employees of companies including Slack, PagerDuty, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Salesforce, JUUL, Datadog, and Cisco Meraki. As of November 2017, ZeroCater operates in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City,[4][5][6] Los Angeles, Austin, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

History

[edit]

Zerocater was founded in 2009 by Arram Sabeti.[7] As an early employee at Justin. tv[8] (now Twitch.tv) Arram was responsible for ordering lunch[9] for their office. He created a process to make it easy to order from a variety of local restaurants.[10] Soon other companies began asking for his list of restaurants. Sensing this might be a new business[11] opportunity, Arram left Justin. tv to work full-time on what would become ZeroCater. After running the business on a spreadsheet and bootstrapping for 18 months Zerocater was accepted into the Winter 2011 class of Y Combinator and placed first on Demo Day.[12]

In 2011, ZeroCater raised a $1.5m seed round[13] from investors including Paul Buchheit (the creator of Gmail and Google’s unofficial ‘Don’t be evil’ motto), SV Angel, and Vaizra. In 2016, Zerocater raised a $4.1m Series A.[14] In 2018, ZeroCater raised $12m Series B led by Cleveland Avenue, founded by the former CEO of McDonald's, with participation by Justin Kan, Romulus Capital, and Struck Capital.[15]

In 2020, Zerocater laid off the majority of its workforce due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

As companies return to office in a hybrid workforce model, Zerocater now provides two basic varieties of service: a “Cloud Cafe” that lets individuals pre-order boxed meals from a daily selection; and a “Managed Cafe” that provides buffet-style offerings with the offerings and amounts also pre-determined by pre-ordering. Alongside those, it lets companies blend those two together, and it also provides its services for one-off events. Food experiences are delivered, designed, and staffed by Zerocater people.

In 2023, Zerocater raised $15m Series C led by Cleveland Avenue, with participation by Romulus Capital.[16]

Media coverage

[edit]

Zerocater has been covered in Fast Company,[17] the Wall Street Journal,[18] Business Insider,[19] Forbes,[20] CNNMoney,[21] and other mainstream technology publications.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (September 29, 2015). "ZeroCater Says 20 Of Its Small Catering, Restaurant Partners Have Done More Than $1M In Revenues". TechCrunch.
  2. ^ Craig, Elise (July 3, 2012). "ZeroCater Bring Food-Truck Lunch To Startups". Xconomy.
  3. ^ "ZeroCater expands from meal catering to office snacks". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  4. ^ Zimmer, Amy (August 5, 2014). "City Businesses Offer Free Lunch to Keep Employees Happy". DNAinfo.com.
  5. ^ Tishgart, Sierra (April 17, 2013). "14 New York Tech Start-Ups With Pretty Great Food and Drink Perks". GrubStreet.
  6. ^ Lawler, Ryan (April 8, 2013). "ZeroCater Rides The Wave Of Food To Launch In New York City". TechCrunch.
  7. ^ Levy, Ari (July 12, 2012). "Arram Sabeti's ZeroCater Feeds Other Startups". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
  8. ^ Weir, David (August 18, 2011). "ZeroCater Takes the Pain Out of Ordering Your Company Lunch". 7x7.
  9. ^ Han, Frank (October 1, 2014). "The ROI of Lunch". The Huffington Post.
  10. ^ Levi, Ari (August 19, 2015). "You can't get this from UberEATS or Instacart". CNBC.
  11. ^ "2017 Market Research Report on Caterers Industry". AnythingResearch.
  12. ^ Newman, Kira M. (November 30, 2011). "ZeroCater Brings Personalized, Catered Lunches to Your Office". tech.co.
  13. ^ "14 Startups That Will Change The Way You Eat". Business Insider. August 17, 2016.
  14. ^ "ZeroCater raises $4.1 million to keep office workers well-fed in the U.S." Startup Anchor. August 17, 2016.
  15. ^ "ZeroCater raises $12M to rule the fridges and pantries of an office". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  16. ^ "Zerocater raises $15M as demand heats up for flexible in-office food services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  17. ^ Zax, David (March 22, 2012). "Fast Talk: How ZeroCater, The "Pandora For Food," Hacks Your Lunch Problem".
  18. ^ Ovide, Shira (July 11, 2012). "Work Perk: Free-Meal Rule Widens". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  19. ^ "14 Startups That Will Change The Way You Eat". Business Insider. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  20. ^ Arielle Patrice Scott (March 5, 2013). "9 Awesome Apps for Your Startup Office Manager". Forbes. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  21. ^ Kim, Erin (August 15, 2012). "The startup that feeds other startups - literally". CNNMoney. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
[edit]
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