Technology

Hotdog joint invests in Cartwheel

May 13, 2021

Los Angeles-based Cartwheel, an on-demand delivery management platform for restaurants and retailers, has raised a $1 million seed round led by TenOneTen Ventures with participation from Act One Ventures and Portillo's Hot Dogs, along with angel investment from additional restaurateurs, according to a company press release.

Cartwheel allows brands to launch a self-delivery program alongside their third-party partners, and its turnkey offering includes a driver app, dispatch tools for managers and customer interaction functionality.

"With more than 60 Portillo's locations nationwide and the highest average unit sales volumes in the fast-casual industry, we have a lot of deliveries to manage. It's important that our brand is well-represented," Michael Osanloo, Portillo's CEO, said in the release. "Cartwheel enables us to use our team members to deliver our highest-value orders, cross-training our team members so that they can become drivers for our own fleet. Our experience with Cartwheel has been so positive that we invested back in the company so they can further develop services with brands in mind."

Cartwheel, which has powered deliveries for P.F. Chang's, Charleys Philly Steaks and Taco del Mar, is using the funds for product development, partnership integrations and team expansion. It has also partnered with Olo Inc., a digital ordering and delivery platform with a network of more than 400 brand customers.

"Digital ordering and delivery have become increasingly crucial to the long-term viability of restaurant brands and they will play an even more prominent role in the future of the industry based on ever-growing consumer demand," Noah Glass, Olo founder and CEO and member of the board of directors of Portillo's, said in the release. "With each restaurant brand comes a unique set of needs and we are proud to work with Cartwheel to offer our shared customers a simplified solution to bolster their direct channels and drive success."

When Cartwheel moved into the delivery outsourcing business in 2014, CEO Alex Vasilkin said he couldn't find a powerful last-mile delivery management system, so his team built its own.

"This investment will allow Cartwheel to further expand our reach, offering seamless delivery solutions to businesses that are reimagining what their delivery offerings look like in a post-pandemic world," he said in the release.

"The last-mile delivery market opportunity is in the billions, and Cartwheel is well-positioned to capitalize," Minnie Ingersoll, partner of TenOneTen Ventures, said in the release. "Having built their solution from the ground up, with establishments in mind, Cartwheel knows its customer and their needs and will transform the delivery experience for businesses and specialty retailers nationwide."