Toronto-based food ordering and mobile pickup startup Ritual has acquired QR contact tracing company AllChecked.in.
Ritual acquired the fellow Toronto-based startup to add contact tracing to its offering, for restaurants on its platform. This marks Ritual’s first acquisition since the startup was founded in 2014. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Now more than ever, we have a responsibility to support restaurants and ensure they have the tools to keep their employees and customers safe.”
“At Ritual, our goal is to enable restaurants to create authentic connections with their customers,” said Ray Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Ritual. “We’re thrilled to welcome AllChecked.in to the Ritual family to bring easy and secure contact tracing to local restaurants. Now more than ever, we have a responsibility to support restaurants and ensure they have the tools to keep their employees and customers safe.”
AllChecked.in’s platform allows restaurants to have customers scan a QR code and fill out a health screening questionnaire that collects contact information and records data for health authority requests. Customers can then access the restaurant’s menu and their details are secured for 30 days and can only be accessed in case of a health authority request.
Ritual’s deal comes as many provinces in Canada are reopening and allowing for in-person dining. Ritual has integrated AllChecked.in into its own Ritual Online Ordering platform, which it is currently offering free “for a lifetime” to any restaurant in Canada, as part of a limited promotion. The deal encompasses QR code contact tracing, digital menu creation, online ordering, and payments.
“Together with Ritual, we’re committed to help restaurants adapt to local restrictions and welcome back diners safely,” said Curtis Lush, co-founder and CEO of AllChecked.in. “The addition of AllChecked.in to Ritual’s menu of services is a testament to its continued innovation as we join forces to help rebuild the economy.”
The AllChecked.in team will also be integrated into Ritual. The startup stated, “there will be opportunities for team members to take on exciting new roles.” Lush has joined Ritual as product development lead for the Ritual marketplace app.
The acquisition follows a reported $29.8 million CAD that Ritual raised last year from existing investors. Ritual quietly raised the capital after cutting its workforce in half at the onset of COVID-19, in April 2020. Along with the layoffs, Ritual also ceased operations in Europe mere months after expanding into its first non-English markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong. Ritual co-founders Reddy, Larry Stinson, and Robert Kim said in a public statement at the time, the startup had been heavily affected by the “devastating impact” COVID-19 was having on the restaurant industry.
Since then, Ritual, which previously focused on pickup, has built a delivery product that launched as part of a partnership with the City of Toronto. The shift saw Ritual expand outside of its core market of office workers and positioned Ritual against other food delivery apps. Founded in 2014, Ritual raised more than $143 million CAD prior to the pandemic. The pickup app was originally launched in Toronto, followed by the United States three years later.