Square Scoops Up Fancy Food Delivery Startup 'Caviar' Caviar, which delivers meals from high-end restaurants that don't typically offer delivery, represents new territory for the electronic payments company.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Updated Monday, Aug. 4, at 1:30 p.m. ET
Payment facilitator Square wants a bite of the high-end food delivery business.
The company confirmed its acquisition of Caviar, a two-year-old startup that coordinates deliveries from high-end restaurants that don't typically offer delivery.
The companies will continue to "operate separately for the time being," wrote Caviar's co-founder and CEO, Jason Wang, in a blog post. He added that since its inception, Caviar has "served more than 1 million meals for hundreds of restaurants across six states."
"With the acquisition, Square deepens its commitment to providing independent sellers with services that make it easier for them to grow their business," Square said in a statement.
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While terms of the transaction weren't disclosed, The New York Times pegged the all-stock deal at $90 million. Talks between the two companies were first reported by TechCrunch in early July.
Caviar could serve as another source of revenue for small food businesses using Square (of which there are a total of 50,000, it said) that don't already offer delivery. In turn, the company charges customers a flat delivery rate of $9.99, and takes a 10 to 25 percent cut from each participating restaurant, according to Recode.
This isn't Square's first stated food foray. Launched in May, an app called Square Order enables users to order and pay for food at eateries utilizing Square, and then receive notification once their food is ready for pickup. Square has also recently toyed with other expansions beyond payments, including Square Capital, which offers cash advances to business owners.
Caviar differs from traditional food delivery services like Seamless and Grubhub in that it only works with a handful of restaurants in seven major cities. The company has thus far raised $15 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Winklevoss Capital, among others.
Related: Square Ramps Up Its Offering with a Merchant Cash Advance Program
