February 6th, 2024
British Columbia-based food delivery service, Fantuan, has acquired Chicago-based Chowbus for an undisclosed amount, as reported by Betakit. Both companies are in the food delivery business, offering meal delivery through their mobile apps, with a particular focus on the Asian food delivery market. News of the acquisition comes just over a month after Fantuan closed a $54.3 million CAD Series C funding round, which was co-led by GrubMarket and Celtic House Asia Partners.
According to a news release by Fantuan, Chowbus will focus on optimizing its restaurant Software-as-a-Service and Point of Sales business following the acquisition. The goal of the acquisition is to establish a synergistic partnership with enhanced resources to improve the experience of its users. The partnership is also an opportunity to promote Asian food culture, with diverse offerings. With over 120,000 Asian restaurants in the United States, market research indicates that the Asian restaurant market in the US is expected to exceed $230 billion USD by 2030. Despite the popularity of Asian cuisine, Asian-owned restaurants have faced challenges due to cultural and language barriers, which the collaboration seeks to address.
Fantuan was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2014 and currently operates in major cities across North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company placed ninth on Deloitte Canada’s Enterprise Industry Leaders list this past year, being recognized for their “bold vision for the future [and] impactful technologies” catapulting “Canadian innovation forward”.
Authour: Olivia Moon, 2023/2024 Articling Student