Ashwin Ramdas and Christopher Todd launched Repeater in Denver and Boulder last year with the goal of reducing plastic consumption by eliminating single-use plastics used by restaurants.
Their startup partnered with restaurants in both cities to offer Repeater's reusable takeout containers as an option for diners when ordering takeout or delivery. Diners who choose to use the containers must return them to a Repeater drop-off bin within 10 days in order for restaurants to reuse them.
The characteristic feature of Repeater is its tracking system that identifies each container and pinpoints where it is, either at a restaurant, in a bin or with a customer. Now, the startup has the opportunity to take that technology nationwide.
Repeater was recently acquired by DeliverZero, a New York-based startup that wants to use Repeater's tech in its platform.
"We have developed the technology to make reuse effortless and extremely convenient for customers and restaurants," Ramdas said in a statement. "We are eager to launch it under the DeliverZero brand, reaching thousands of customers across the country.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With the acquisition, Ramdas became DeliverZero's chief technology officer, and Todd is its new VP of operations and logistics, the companies announced Tuesday.
The restaurants on Repeater's platform will now be listed through DeliverZero. Repeater worked with 17 restaurants in Boulder and another 17 in Denver, including The Green Collective, Senor Bear, Just BE Kitchen and all four Chook Charcoal Chicken locations.
DeliverZero has a similar premise to Repeater and partners with hundreds of restaurants, mostly in New York City. It's working to expand nationwide, the company said.
"By joining forces with Repeater, which has established restaurant and customer enthusiasm in Colorado, we are continuing in our mission to make reuse easier than recycling for more Americans across the country," CEO Lauren Sweeney said in a statement.
DeliverZero's new tech allows customers to opt-in to receive an order with DeliverZero containers, which cost them a 99-cent fee added to their bills. If they opt in, customers receive text updates about the number of containers they received and how they can return them. They also have the option of scheduling a container pick-up.
Restaurants can either handle dishwashing themselves or pay a fee to DeliverZero to wash the reusable containers.
Sweeney founded DeliverZero in late 2019 and took a three-month pause when the Covid-19 pandemic temporarily shuttered many restaurants. When DeliverZero relaunched in June 2020, it quickly scaled from 30 to 100 restaurants, Sweeney said.
Sweeney, as well as Ramdas and Todd, said they thought the acquisition deal would help drive the use of reusable containers.
According to Upstream, a nonprofit zero-waste organization in the United States and Canada, about 561 billion single-use food service items are used every year in the U.S., resulting in 4.9 million tons of waste.
"This acquisition will take reuse to the next level," Todd said in a statement. “Ashwin and I founded Repeater because we know our neighbors in Colorado were getting frustrated with how much single-use packaging came in their food delivery and takeout orders. We’ve experienced great success in Colorado, from onboarding dozens of restaurants to working with our state legislature to incentivize reuse."
