As longstanding members of the hospitality industry, Branded recognizes the COVID pandemic represents a Category 5 Storm that will simply not let up as it continues to hammer so many parts of the industry we love.
Despite the carnage that is being felt by so many, there is a treasure trove of value and opportunities to be pursued and the Branded team believes as investors and accelerators, we’re quietly making noise in this emerging & alternative asset class.
The disruption of the industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of dramatic and it’s transforming the industry. Despite the truly negative impact on hospitality, Branded believes that the COVID crisis has changed nothing in the hospitality industry but has accelerated everything. It’s estimated that industry adoption has accelerated by 5 to 10 years depending of the specific segment of the hospitality technology market. That’s a tremendous amount of adoption in a fairly short period of time and investors have taken notice. In the second half of 2020, Foodtech companies raised over $5 billion from Venture Capital firms across about 300 deals.
In this brief, we’ll explore how the hospitality technology and innovation market has finally made it to the big leagues and what lies ahead as we enter 2021 for Branded Strategic as well as the hospitality technology, innovation & capital landscape. Branded is prepared to ramp-up its efforts in 2021 with the launch of our first fund as well as a separately managed account strategy we’re advancing with select and exclusive partners. Continue reading below…
For information , please get in touch with us directly.
Let’s Talk Inside Baseball…
The hospitality technology and innovation market has finally made it to The Show and like the best teams in Major League Baseball, scouting, research, player development and an overall strong farm system leads to championships.
Consumer demands are always changing, but with a global pandemic and the associated shutdowns, this past year witnessed an unprecedented shift and embracement of technology and innovation. Such dramatic changes attract capital. Investment activity is spiking as the industry tries to keep up with social distancing mandates, the demand for food delivery services and ordering solutions that require changes and improvements in infrastructure.
Branded believes many of these changes are permanent and as consumers become accustomed to the hospitality industry’s newly found embracement of technology and innovation, the HI-Tech ecosystem will prove to be vibrant, unique and positioned for exponential growth. This traditionally underserved and under-the-radar asset class is having its moment in the spotlight and Branded feels very lucky to be positioned at the intersection of hospitality, technology, innovation and capital. Twenty-five years and counting as owners & operators of venues in NYC and a team that actively works with and supports entrepreneurs that continue to bring the most impactful tech and innovation to help keep our industry current has led to our investment and advisory platform. Our experience tells us that when hard work meets opportunity, the odds of achieving good fortune and luck tends to improve.
Looking to the Future…
As we bring 2020 to a successful close, it’s not lost on us that Branded has more than doubled the number of our Partner Companies and more than tripled the amount of capital we’ve put to work in the hospitality technology and innovation space since the pandemic came crashing down on our industry. We’re now also prepared to ramp-up our efforts in 2021 with the launch of our first fund as well as a separately managed account strategy we’re advancing with select and exclusive partners. Branded believes in investing early and then leveraging our network to help accelerate our Partner Companies as we chaperone them through the complexities of this most fragmented and diverse industry.
Fifteen current and active investments have already been secured and the Branded early-stage accelerator and ambassadorship platform is just getting started. Our addressable market is narrowly focused, but incredibly large. We work with technology and innovative companies that are focused on bringing value and efficiencies to any place that sells or serves food & beverage. Branded believes content wins and just like every other industry that has been temporarily disrupted by intermediaries, at the end of the day, we believe the consumers want a relationship with the brands they know, trust and love.
Every decision and investment Branded makes embrace a single and most important criteria that it must be good for the owners & operators. Fellow owners & operators represent Branded’s brothers and sisters in the industry and the tech & innovation companies must be an ally to these folks in order for it to become a Branded Partner Company.
If you’re a (i) technology & innovation company; (ii) an owner & operator of a hospitality venue; (iii) an investor interested in this emerging & alternative asset class; (iv) or a business that needs to see the hospitality industry thrive, we’d be happy to talk about areas of cooperation with Branded Strategic Hospitality. We subscribe to the theory that it “takes a village”. We pride ourselves at being direct and unfiltered and we mean what we say & we say what we mean.
If you’re interested in working with hospitality insiders, let’s connect and explore how to make 2021 a great year together!
For information , please get in touch with us directly.