According to Statista in 2020 there were 78,092 pizza restaurants in the United States, about 53 percent of them were independent pizzerias. So when Slice founder and CEO Ilir Sela became frustrated as to how his family restaurants in New York City could compete against pizzeria chains, he was not alone. Many independent pizzeria owners were experiencing the same challenges as Sela—not having the resources that franchisors provide to their franchisee chains.
The competitive advantage held by chains became very evident during the pandemic. Digitally minded customers sought out restaurants who had in place the tech platforms for orders and delivery. Sela founded Slice to counter that advantage, giving independent pizzerias the same specialized technology, marketing, data insights, shared services, and guidance that pizza franchisees have.
Now Sela is feeling a lot better about taking on his competition, having just completed a $40M Series D round that includes former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and former Twitter COO Adam Bain of 01 Advisors as investors. His fast growing startup already has 15,000 independent pizzerias using Slice’s tech platform. They are located in 3,000 cities and in all 50 states. Slice now has the largest network of pizzerias in the U.S–two times larger than Dominos.
“We are excited to welcome Adam Bain and Dick Costolo from 01 Advisors as investors and welcome their support as we continue to make strategic investments to keep local thriving,” said Sela. “We are so grateful to Cross Creek for leading this round and giving us the opportunity to bring on the 01 team as we enter this next stage of growth.”
With 01 Advisors in place Sela gains significant operating and business-scaling expertise that is helping him navigate technology, funding, and the competitive landscape of the pizza industry. The most recent funding round was led by Cross Creek with participation from 01 Advisors and existing investors that includes GGV Capital, KKR, and Primary Ventures. They like Mercato Partners Savory Fund launched in June 2020 see a lot of opportunity in the digital transformation of the restaurant industry.
Having the critical funds available to grow, Slice’s focus is on vertical solutions for its partner shops, expanding its product roadmap, and scaling Slice Accelerate — an ongoing program providing each of their network shops with $15,000 worth of technology and services.
Slice recently introduced Slice Register and Slice Rewards to help shops build their digital market share. Key to success was the elimination of pizzerias’ dependence on third party delivery apps. Slice has a fixed-cost per order model that has saved pizzerias in its network $250M by enabling them to avoid using third party delivery apps.
“Slice has an incredibly impressive track record in investing in the success of independent pizzerias while better serving consumers,” said Peter Jarman, Managing Director, Cross Creek. “We’re thrilled to back the Slice team as they broaden the platform, scale product adoption, and strengthen their lead in the market by uniting small businesses with best-in-class technology and specialized services.”
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