Its new automated marketing software will launch by Aug ’15 along with a host of new tech upgrades & features.
Mobikon, a Pune and Singapore-based software developer that has its sights set on Asia’s food and beverage industry, has received USD 2.3 million in new funding led by returning investor Jungle Ventures. The startup, which makes cloud-based software to help restaurants manage almost all aspects of their business, is targeting growth in India, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai.
Combined with its Series A, Mobikon’s latest round brings its total raised so far to USD 5 million. Co-founder and chief executive officer Samir Khadepaun says the company will use its new capital to improve its technology and launch its new automated marketing software in August. Mobikon’s platform, which is used by chains including Swensen’s, Pizza Express in India, and Red Crab Group, currently handles 65,000 reviews and more than 600,000 diners every month.
Founded in 2009, Mob ikon did not intend to target the food and beverage industry, says Khadepaun. The company’s intention was to build a customer feedback platform for retail businesses that would be completely accessible on mobile devices. When Mobikon first launched, however, it saw a lot of queries from restaurants. Many had no way to record and analyze reviews and customer opinions, so Mobikon decided to focus on creating a cloud-based feedback platform for them.
As the company began working with restaurants, it realized that many juggle multiple platforms to manage different aspects of their business. Instead of competing directly with other software providers, Mobikon decided to create a product that integrates most major systems into one dashboard.
“There are a lot of players built to solve different problems, but what is happening is that restaurants are being bombarded with different players trying to sell them multiple platforms, so some restaurants have seven to eight dashboards for reservations, ordering, and accounting systems,” says Khadepaun.
Mobikon’s new automated marketing software, which was tested in over 100 venues during its pilot program, is designed to make it easy for restaurants to run targeted campaigns. For example, businesses can set it so customers who give good feedback receive an invitation to a referral program. It can also notify managers when a VIP customer makes a reservation, so they can give them perks like a complementary bottle of wine.
Cities in India, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur are Mobikon’s biggest growth markets, because more restaurants are springing up as the economy develops. Since they are new and don’t have legacy systems, many are open to managing their business with tech tools as soon as they open.
