St. Louis food technology startup GiftAMeal will expand its footprint in parts of Missouri and North Carolina as part of a deal it's inked with a group of frozen custard restaurants.
GiftAMeal said it has formed a partnership with a franchisee of Andy’s Frozen Custard that includes 16 locations of the frozen custard chain joining the St. Louis startup’s platform. The two companies said their partnership begins Saturday with the start of the new year.
Through the partnership, Andy’s locations in the St. Louis region, North Carolina, Osage Beach, Missouri, and Columbia, Missouri, will join GiftAMeal’s platform. That comes as the startup has placed a focus on expanding its footprint beyond the St. Louis region and earlier this year raised $500,000 from investors to pursue growth in new cities.
Launched in 2015, GiftAMeal has developed an app that provides a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo on its app at a partner restaurant. The startup works with local food pantries to distribute the meals. GiftAMeal, led by founder and CEO Andrew Glantz, says its app includes more than 290 restaurants and has helped provide over 800,000 meals to those in need. Restaurants pay a fee to be listed on the app, which GiftAMeal says provides the establishment with an additional marketing tool and a chance to be involved in giving back to the community.
“We are ecstatic about this partnership with GiftAMeal,” said Carolyn Handtke, marketing manager for the Andy’s franchise. “Our franchise locations of Andy’s Frozen Custard are notorious for local community involvement and joining with GiftAMeal was a perfect fit for us. Offering our customers the opportunity to give back to their friends and neighbors by simply sharing photos of their treats coincides with our mission and values, and was a simple way to make an impact locally."
Together, GiftAMeal and Andy's said they hope to provide more than 20,000 meals in the next year through their partnership. GiftAMeal’s partnership with the Andy’s franchisee is the second-largest deal with a restaurant group. Earlier this year, it announced 32 corporate-owned Lion’s Choice locations in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas joined its app.
In addition to raising fresh funding and signing new restaurant customers, GiftAMeal in recent months has hired for roles it says are crucial to its ongoing geographic expansion efforts.
