Demand For Contactless Solutions and An Evolving Industry Spark Partnership and New Crowdfunding Raise
Piestro, the startup automating artisan pizza creation, recently announced it is partnering with PopID, the facial recognition payment company, to offer consumers a faster, easier and safer way to pay. As Piestro kicks off a second crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine, the partnership between Piestro and PopID will offer consumers the ability to pay with their face at Piestro’s automated pizzeria locations and on mobile devices. The partnership comes on the heels of growing demand for contactless solutions amid the pandemic and growing demand for low-touch, easily accessible food options.
The restaurant industry continues to be challenged by shifting consumer attitudes towards health and safety measures. When dining in or out, the ‘new normal’ has evolved consumer expectations for how food should be cooked, handled and delivered to a table or home. Struggling to keep doors open, food service providers are turning to automation and low-touch solutions to maintain high quality, expedite the time from ‘order to fork’ and cut down operational expenses. Piestro’s approach – a standalone, fully integrated cooking system and dispenser – creates an automated pizzeria that combines the freshest ingredients and custom recipes to build quality pizzas, giving restaurateurs access to the futuristic technology they need to bring delicious meals closer to any door and satisfy consumer demands for fast, hot and delicious menu items.
PopID’s advanced facial recognition technology complements Piestro’s low-touch automation, speed and access expectations for consumers. Key benefits of the partnership include:
- On-site Contactless Ordering and Payment: PopID-compatible Piestro machines will feature full software and hardware integration, allowing customers to select and utilize PopID’s PopPay solution as a payment method on the same screen they viewed Piestro’s menu and placed their order. Customers can still pay via traditional credit/debit cards if they do not have a PopID account.
- App Ordering and Payment: Piestro customers will be able to use PopID as a payment method on Piestro’s app for placing pre-orders for pickup.
- Customer Confirmation: For pre-orders made through the Piestro app, customers will have the option of verifying their identity with PopID to retrieve their order. The customer’s face can be scanned and authenticated to dispense the pizza.
- ‘Powered by Piestro’ Integration: For operators that choose to deploy their own branded Piestro machines, they will have the option to integrate PopID into their automated pizzerias.
“As we navigate our way out of the pandemic, the demand for contactless ordering and payment options is not going away any time soon,” said John Miller, Chairman of Cali Group. “PopID is the go-to universal gateway for contactless payment applications and will enable Piestro to offer an innovative user experience that exceeds customer expectations. We are thrilled to enter into a partnership that will get pizza lovers their favorite creation faster – all they need is their face to pay.”
“Integrating PopID into our system will allow our customers a safe and reliable way to pay for their pizzas while also expediting the overall process from ordering to eating,” said Massimo De Marco, CEO of Piestro. “We want our customers to experience our deliciously crafted pizzas as quickly as possible, without sacrificing the quality of the product or their health and safety. PopID does that, and we are excited to partner with them to give customers the payment experience they deserve.”
The demand for low-touch concepts and operator solutions that align to pandemic-fueled industry shifts has led to huge interest in Piestro. As a result, the partnership with PopID coincides with Piestro’s second funding campaign raise on crowdfunding platform StartEngine. The platform gives more everyday investors an opportunity to tap into the highly watched field of intelligent automation and capitalize on the $46.3 billion U.S. pizza market. Now more individuals can be part of shaping the future of the food industry by investing in intelligent automation.
