Exclusive Interview with Rhythm Gupta, Co-Founder & CPO, Easy Eat

The restaurant industry is gradually adapting to the digitalized system of connecting with the customers as well as in all parts of their businesses. Easy Eat helps restaurants create a deep direct connection with their customers, increase revenues and cut costs. Rhythm Gupta is the Co-Founder and CPO of Easy Eat and Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with him.

1. Kindly brief us about the company, its specialization, and the services that your company offers.

Easy Eat, is an AI-powered tech platform that enables restaurants to take their business online. Conceived at the beginning of 2020 by Mohd Wassem, Abdul Khalid, and myself, Easy Eat helps restaurants create a deep direct connection with their customers, increase revenues and cut costs. Giving back restaurant owners the control of their businesses, Easy Eat lets restaurants digitize all parts of their businesses, from inventory and customer orders to delivery, and gain AI-based data analytics to improve revenue.

Our technology solves the biggest problem of restaurants which is building a direct connection between their customers. In the traditional setup, the flow of orders and payments is manual and there is a 100% loss of customers' data and inefficiency in ordering and payment. Easy Eat creates seamless connectivity between the diners and restaurants. We work closely with restaurants to digitize their entire operations from ordering to payment and delivery. Customers can order and pay using the phone, sitting on the table while the technology automates the workflow to capture all sorts of information and remove inefficiencies.

At the heart of our technology is an operating system with integrated QR-based table ordering, loyalty programs, payment solutions, social media integration, inventory, and integrated delivery services. Once the restaurant adopts our technology, the entire operation moves online and just like any other technology company, restaurants are able to capture each and every data point in the value chain which leads to a better understanding of customers' choices, higher revenue, and reduced cost. While we allow businesses to link to other food delivery apps, we also own delivery services that are provided at a cost much less than the industry average.

2. With what mission and objectives the company was set up? In short, tell us about your journey since the inception of the company

The life of a restaurant owner is pretty hectic. From waking up super early to getting the raw material ready to serve the last meals late in the night, Easy Eat was created with the belief that technology should help restaurant owners live easily. In 5 years, there will be no physical menus inside restaurants and that technology will change the way the world eats. Our mission is to give back restaurant owners control of their businesses and thus help them transform into technology companies. Created by a team of Indian entrepreneurs and backed by industry veterans, we aim to disrupt the dining industry which is worth $4.2 Trillion globally and approximately $140 Bn in South East Asia. We helped restaurant owners earn additional  4cr+ revenue during the lockdown and are growing 100% MoM and we're seeing transactions happening every 10 seconds on our platform. We can proudly say that today we have 500+ restaurants on the platform. In Malaysia, we are serving some of the well-known brands like Richiamo Coffee, Mr. Fish Fishhead Noodles, WTF Group, and Hailam Toast among others.

3. Brief us about the proactive founder/CEO of the company and his/her contributions to the company and the industry.

Founded by Mohd Wassem, Abdul Khalid, and myself, Easy Eat is a cutting-edge software platform that builds tools to help restaurants transition into technology companies. We help restaurant owners take autonomy on their business and offer them a 360-degree platform that helps digitize their entire operations. Excelling in the IIT-JEE entrance exam with AIR 27, I started studying Computer Science at IIT Delhi. During my stint at IIT, I realized my inclination to solve complex problems by building simple solutions. Eventually, I dropped out in the last year of college to build Cibola, a P2P payments system back in 2014. After that, I joined the founder of FIITJEE when they were building their technology arm. I was one of the early team members there and quickly became the CPO of FIITJEE tech at the age of 23 and learned a lot while building a tech business from scratch to a $300M valuation. The beginning of 2020 is when I started Easy Eat with my batchmates and friends.

4. Tell us how your company is contributing to the AI industry of the nation and how the company is benefiting the clients.

Our CTO, Abdul Khalid, used to lead the Data Science team at Delhivery, a $B company in India. He has experience building large-scale data teams and we use AI at multiple fronts to increase the profit margin pool and reduce the costs for our customers.

Some examples are – whenever a customer places an order from our partner restaurant, our AI systems automatically identify the fastest delivery service which provides services in the surrounding area and ensure that the order is delivered within 30 minutes. We're providing top tier technology solutions unbundled to the customer at their fingertips

5. What is your biggest USP that differentiates the company from competitors?

In the aftermath of the pandemic, most restaurants have realized that they can't be solely dependent upon third-party aggregator platforms for user acquisition. Restaurants have started going beyond third-party aggregators as they learn that most of their online orders are from repeat customers. More restaurants that we speak to want to own the customer relationship and they don't like to be at the mercy of third-party aggregators.
Restaurant owners, who usually live at the edge of technology and culture, have already started building their own direct access to their audiences. This enables restaurants to own the relationship with their customers and build a complete digital strategy. We are providing exactly the same. Easy Eat creates seamless connectivity between the diners and restaurants. We work closely with restaurants to digitize their entire operations from ordering to payment and delivery. Customers can order and pay using the phone, sitting on the table while the technology automates the workflow to capture all sorts of information and remove inefficiencies.

6. Please brief us about the products/services/solutions you provide to your customers and how do they get value from them?

At Easy Eat we help restaurants digitize all parts of their businesses, from inventory and customer orders to delivery, and gain AI-based data analytics to improve revenue.

Our technology solves the biggest problem of restaurants which is building a direct connection between their customers. We work closely with restaurants to digitize their entire operations from ordering to payment and delivery. Customers can order and pay using the phone, sitting on the table while the technology automates the workflow to capture all sorts of information and remove inefficiencies. At the heart of our technology is an operating system with integrated QR-based table ordering, loyalty programs, payment solutions, social media integration, inventory, and integrated delivery services. Once the restaurant adopts our technology, the entire operation moves online and just like any other technology company, restaurants are able to capture each and every data point in the value chain which leads to a better understanding of customers' choices, higher revenue, and reduced cost. Apart from this,  we also own delivery services that are provided at a cost much less than the industry average.

7. What's your growth plan for the next 12 months?

We want to strengthen our mission of assisting restaurants in understanding and engaging with their customers, thereby aiding merchants in seizing control of their businesses. In the last year, we've been able to increase the revenue of restaurants using our platform by 30% while also lowering their operational costs. We are now looking to expand to other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore while going deep into their already existing geographies.