PoloPay

Dynamic menus, order, and pay for LatAm restaurants and coffee shops

According to INEGI, there are more than 600,000 restaurants and establishments that sell prepared food in Mexico. They generate over 2 million jobs and represent just over 12% of all businesses in the country.

A new wave of entrepreneurs is focusing on this immense market, aiming to offer restaurateurs the tools and solutions they need to thrive.

Let's dive in.

Imagine this

You are running a restaurant, your mission is to give your clients the ultimate experience and to maximize profits.
To do that, you adopt a sleek interactive digital menu.
It not only shows your customers what to order, but it tracks and analyzes their data.
Armed with this information, you can optimize your prices, fine-tune your menu, and boost your marketing strategies.
Sounds like work, but with PoloPay, restaurants can seamlessly transition to digital menus without hassle.

Explain it like I'm five

PoloPay is a smart menu & payment solution software.

Data analytics: They use data to give restaurant owners insights into their guests' experiences, track trends, uncover new opportunities to boost sales, and increase customer loyalty and recurrence.
Payment solution: PoloPay also offers a fully integrated payment solution, customers can split, tip, and pay the check in seconds.
Efficiency: They improve how teams and staff manage menus, fulfill orders, and collect payments.

They aim to grant guests a seamless experience and give much-needed control back to restaurant teams.

The ABCs

Other players:

Background check

What we like:

Data: PoloPay’s dashboard shows restaurants the average time a client spends on the menu, the most clicked dishes, service ratings, and food ratings. This allows them to build consumer profiling and create tailor-made experiences for clients.
Industry: Restaurants represent about 12% of all the businesses in Mexico. In 2003 there were about 240,000 establishments that sold food, and in 2021, that grew to 640,000.
Traction: Since their launch in January, they have been growing 25% MoM (Month on Month), with clients spanning three countries - Mexico, Honduras, and the United States.
Reduce costs: Restaurants can identify consumer trends, therefore, reduce the amount of food they purchase and waste. They also eliminate the physical menu costs associated with creative, printing, delivery, and placement.
Retention: 15% of restaurants that start using PoloPay got rid entirely of their physical menus within the first three months.

Road Blocks:

QR codes: A recent Technomic survey found that 88% of participants prefer physical menus instead of digital menus.
Low budget: Small restaurants and Cafés are cash-strapped (PoloPay target clients). For many, technology is the least of their problems, and they prefer to avoid additional costs.
Latam cash culture: Despite the increasing popularity of digital payment methods worldwide, cash remains the preferred payment option in most Latin American countries. As a result, convincing and educating clients, especially older generations, to use the PoloPay web app for payment may be a significant challenge.

The Architects

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Headlines Corner

US-based LatAm business payment provider, Liquido, recently came out of stealth mode and secured a funding round of $26M. Index Ventures led the investment.
Brazil-based fintech platform tailored for artists and creators, Noodle, recently raised $3.4M. SRM Ventures, Honey Island Capital, and private investors led the round.
Mexican-based startup specializing in AI-based commercial optimization, Senzai, recently secured a pre-seed funding round of $2M. ALLVP led the round.
Colombian-based startup providing flexible office and co-working spaces, Pluria, recently secured a funding round of $2M. The round was led by Eleven Ventures, Phoenix Venture Fund, Croton Capital, and WIT Angels Club also participated in the round.

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