Dean Palin, Michael Schatzberg, James Frischling and Jeff Mann have run and operated restaurants for over 25 years in New York City. When the four got together they realized their connections spanned the breadth of the hospitality, real estate and financial services industries, offering them the opportunity to become restaurant investors with a focus on technology innovation.
They put their collective energy behind an investment and advisory platform called Branded Strategic Hospitality (aka “Branded”) to invest and partner with early and growth-stage hospitality technology companies that are transforming the restaurant industry. While COVID-19 has dramatically impacted restaurants, they see the pandemic as an accelerant to the adoption of new technology. Their new platform has a similar focus as the $90 Million Savory Fund by Mercato Partners’ that is also dedicated to the hospitality industry and its emerging innovations.
The “new normal” rising up from the pandemic is a hospitality industry that is embracing technology which will determine who will survive and then thrive, according to the “Branded” team. Having already entered this arena through existing partner companies, “Branded” continues to deploy additional capital to those businesses, while identifying, vetting and making new investments.
Their confidence comes from the performance of their portfolio companies that have had a dramatic rise in sales over the past 24+ months due to customer acquisitions. They are now well-positioned tactically to deal with the current crisis, using a “test before they invest” approach and deploying capital in companies after successful in-store trials.
In addition to funding, the team is able to offer timely insight to restaurant owners who face a range of challenges. Building on their platform they have partnered with Simon Oren (Tour De France/Chef Driven), Robert Guarino (5 Napkin Burger) and Stephen Van Note (RMB Restaurants). Their board includes: Jed Kleckner (Delivery.com), Mike a (Omnivore), Jeffrey Mann (Mann Publications), Mike Ryan (Bullet Point Network) and Dana Zukofsky (BDO).
“We’ve found that our boots on the ground experience and our ability to use our network of restaurants to test and vet emerging technology has proven to be beneficial in not only accelerating the growth of our partner companies, but also making smarter strategic capital introductions,” said Managing Partner Michael Schatzberg.
Since launching in early 2018, The Branded Group has made nine direct investments: Pour My Beer, Chowly, BBot, Yumpingo, GoParrot, Vromo, TapRm, NBTV, Blanket, Targetable and ClockedIn.
As committed restaurant investors now, the founders of “Branded” realize they must help restaurants battle through the challenges of COVID-19, while positioning them for long term success through use of technology.
“In terms of the Coronavirus crisis, it has challenged the industry in ways that we have never seen before, and technology is more important than ever. The adoption of HI-Tech will be crucial for restaurants to continue to earn revenue in a socially distancing society,” Schatzberg said.
