Vusi Melane, a Writer for IT News Africa (ITNA), conducted an exclusive interview with Douglas Hoseck, the Founder and Managing Director of RESTO, an online food ordering platform supported by hardware.
ITNA: Please tell us a bit about yourself. Who is Douglas? Are you a Businessman or Entrepreneur and when and why did you start to be one?
Douglas: Douglas actually comes from a background of film making. He started off in the commercial film making field and worked there for a number of years. This experience taught him that anything is possible!
Douglas then moved into the world of Internet development. He worked in website development for many years but always had a dream of being an entrepreneur. And then, during the time of Covid, the idea that was to become Resto raised its head. Yeah, the need for food ordering online became very obvious while we were locked in our houses.
Resto was an idea that got fleshed out during Covid and towards the end we implemented it in our first restaurant (late 2021). Right from the first restaurant we knew we were onto something. Something useful to both our clients (the restaurants) and their clients.
ITNA: About Resto: Please briefly tell us about Resto as a platform and why this intervention in the food orders space?
Douglas: Resto restaurant orders is my brainchild and is set to expand rapidly in the South African food ordering space. Resto is a software and hardware solution that allows any restaurant to digitize their menu and take full control of their own takeaway and/or delivery orders. Our software can cater for any type of menu and even for multiple branches. And our hardware will auto print the orders received, so the restaurant staff can process it. The best part is that Resto makes it super easy for anyone to order food. Resto is different to others in this space in a couple of very important respects.
Firstly, we give the restaurant full access to control their prices and stock quantities, and even edit their products. Secondly, we give the restaurants full access to their client data. If someone orders from a restaurant, we consider them to be the restaurant’s client, not ours. And lastly but perhaps most importantly, we do not charge a percentage of anything. Our fees are set, so the restaurant will not get a surprise at the end of the month.
We also have an API integration to Shipday.com which will allow you to manage your own delivery drivers. Shipday is a software and a mobile app that allows anyone to run their own delivery service.
Resto can also be completely white labeled to look like the restaurant’s own website. We are completely mobile friendly too.
We provide a complete solution for any restaurant to manage their own orders. We are a solution that can be implemented in any restaurant in South Africa, we only need the internet for it to work.
ITNA: How different is the Resto Online platform from all other online food ordering platforms?
Douglas: Resto is a proudly South African digital development. We are looking into ways to incorporate AI into our products (which are already really intuitive) to make the consumer experience much simpler and quicker.
ITNA: With the Digital Transformation that is taking place in IT space, for example the emergence of Ai etc. How do you plan to keep the Resto Online platform relevant and sustainable going forward?
Douglas: We are struggling to get AI to work out what you want to eat but maybe one day it will be that clever. Just kidding about that part.
We have an infinitely scalable software platform which is hosted on premium local servers. This means we are fast, and we are load shedding proof too. All our hardware also comes with good batteries that will see you through level 6 load shedding.
We are completely secure. We take customer data security very seriously. We have the latest server scanning and hardening software to ensure this safely.
Resto will remain a force in the food ordering space as long as there are restaurants and people who want their food.
ITNA: How much had Resto grown since its inception and how much expansion are you projecting in the next 5 years? And what plans do you have to keep it operating during loadshedding/ power outages?
Douglas: Since Resto started, we have seen a nice, steady pace of adoption. Almost exclusively in Johannesburg, where we are based right now. But we are hoping to expand into all areas of South Africa, particularly smaller remote towns where they do not have access to the large food ordering and delivery services.
Resto is not something in opposition to the large established food ordering and delivery services, mainly because Resto does not deliver food. We provide the software for you to manage it yourself. So, Resto is rather another tool available to restaurant owners to grow their business.
With regards to that first restaurant where we implemented our ordering system, we have done an analysis of more than 2 years of their order data (yes, our software records comprehensive data around your customer’s ordering habits). What we know after checking their data is that our software and hardware solution has accounted for a 20% increase in their takeaway business year after year. This is exactly the kind of return that restaurant’s need and want to see!
Hoseck concludes by saying, “Resto is an innovative South African digital product that functions as another add-on for restaurants, to increase their takeaway order business. Now any restaurant can afford to take and manage their own orders. It is a simple system that simply works! So if you have a restaurant in Mzansi and are interested in growing your business, we recommend that you consider this platform.”
The post Interview with the Founder and MD of South Africa’s RESTO first appeared on IT News Africa | Business Technology, Telecoms and Startup News.