Yumpingo acquired by US counterpart

Yumpingo, a UK-based restaurant guest experience management and survey platform, has been acquired by Black Box Intelligence (BBI), which itself is owned by private equity firm Diversis Capital.

The US company, a provider of restaurant data and operational performance solutions, said the deal would help it develop an artificial intelligence (AI) command centre for restaurants, integrating guest experience management, guest sentiment, operational performance and workforce and financial intelligence into one platform.

In February, BBI launched Performance Intelligence, a new AI-driven platform that uses guest feedback, workforce and financial benchmarks to deliver targeted insights for restaurant operators.

BBI said the integration of Yumpingo’s technology, which includes customer surveys and transaction-level insights, into its platform would provide a comprehensive view of restaurant performance from brand to menu.

Yumpingo chief executive George Wetz will take up the role of general manager at a newly-formed business unit, which will still be known as Yumpingo for the immediate future. Employees will continue to operate from their existing locations, and existing customer relationships, including contracts and services, will remain unchanged.

BBI’s US presence combined with Yumpingo’s footprint in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Australasia also increases the combined company’s geographic reach.

Andy Smith, chief marketing officer at BBI, told The Caterer: “Given the partnership we have had in place since 2022, we will be able to offer the market our products integrated fresh out the gate.

“We will be looking to integrate the brands and teams as swiftly as we can without disrupting day-to-day. We are not looking to put a timeline on this as – while we think we have a really robust and solid plan – we are only able to start working together fully today.”

Yumpingo’s Wetz said that his company was “particularly impressed” with BBI’s trajectory and product advancements “so the timing couldn’t be better”.

“Yumpingo has always been committed to transforming guest experience through real-time data and actionable insights, and now, as part of BBI, we can do this in a much deeper way at a much greater scale,” he added.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.