US Foods gobbles up big data startup Food Genius
US Foods has gone from customer to owner of Food Genius, the Chicago startup that delivers data analytics for the food industry.
Rosemont-based food service distributor US Foods announced the acquisition Wednesday afternoon but did not disclose terms of the deal.
Food Genius' seven-person team will join US Foods, according to Food Genius CEO Jason Felger.
Felger said he's as excited about the acquisition as he is about the acquirer — US Foods has been one of the startup's customers for more than a year, he said.
"We're going to continue a lot of the work that we've been doing and really use our technology to provide data and analytics for US Foods," he said.
Felger declined to detail how Food Genius' technology — which tracks menus and helps clients break down that data — will continue as a part of US Foods, because of the larger company being in a quiet period ahead of going public. In 2015, US Foods faced afailed merger with Houston-based Sysco over antitrust concerns.
The Food Genius brand name, Felger said, will remain.
Justin Massa ⇒, Food Genius' co-founder and former CEO, saw a shared philosophy between the companies.
"What was really striking about US Foods … is that they take a very analytics-driven approach to their business," Massa said. "They bought the technology knowing it's going to be able to do great stuff."
Massa said the relationship with US Foods started in late 2014 and, within six months, it had become Food Genius' biggest customer.
Since launching in 2010, Food Genius raised $2.4 million, Massa said. Its backers include Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners and the I2A Fund, where Felger was co-founder before replacing Massa as Food Genius CEO in 2015. The company also participated in the Excelerate Labs accelerator, which is now a part of the Techstars network.
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