Coca-Cola North America, a division of Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co., is launching a digital marketplace this fall that connects its foodservice customers to pre-vetted, industry-best restaurant technologies with competitive pricing, it says. The marketplace of solutions for front of house, back of house and outside of house is powered by Omnivore, a universal point-of-sale connectivity platform that offers seamless integration into restaurants' point-of-sale (POS) systems.

The marketplace is the result of a year-long collaboration between Coca-Cola and Omnivore and one output of Coca-Cola's investment in Omnivore, announced in late 2018.

Today, restaurant consumers' expectations and use of digital technology are evolving at a record pace, creating growth opportunities for restaurants, according to the company. While third-party technology companies are innovating to provide game-changing solutions for the restaurant industry, it is challenging and costly for restaurant operators to research, test, integrate and deploy the right technologies to capitalize on this growth opportunity, it adds.

Coca-Cola's digital marketplace is addressing these concerns. Experts at Coca-Cola and Omnivore have partnered to vet today's leading foodservice technologies, taking the guesswork out of finding the best-in-class digital solutions for restaurant operators. Coca-Cola's strategic partnership with Omnivore allows for easy and affordable integration between any of the technologies in the marketplace and a restaurants' POS system, the company says. This seamless connection capability reduces the time, money and resources restaurants currently expend on technology integration, it adds.

The curated marketplace will include restaurant technologies to improve consumer engagement and optimize all aspects of restaurant operations. The following are examples of that technology:

• Front-of-house technologies (tableside ordering and payment, guest engagement, kiosk, digital menus);
• Back-of-house technologies (inventory, labor, analytics); and
• Outside-of-house technologies (online ordering, third-party delivery, loyalty and more).

"For 133 years, Coca-Cola has been focused on adding value beyond the beverage for our customers," said Billy Koehler, director of digital and payment platforms for national foodservice and on-premise marketing at Coca-Cola North America, in a statement. "Decades ago, we provided customers with value-adds like Coca-Cola-branded cash registers and static Coca-Cola signage. In the 21st century, combining our expertise in foodservice and digital to offer tangible technology solutions provides the most value for our restaurant partners who always welcome an edge to increase their revenue. The marketplace is just one example of the digital solutions we'll be rolling out for customers in the months to come."

Coca-Cola and Omnivore are collaborating with today's leading technology providers for inclusion in the marketplace, which is set to launch in September. Access to the marketplace and technology integration through Omnivore is free for Coca-Cola customers. Cost to a restaurant for technologies in the marketplace will vary by technology, but more competitive rates will be available for Coca-Cola customers, it states.

Coca-Cola has been focused on providing digital solutions for their customers the past few years. After forging a partnership in 2018, this spring Coca-Cola and Omnivore launched the Menu Management Solution (MMS) app, a single source of truth software that allows restaurants to own their digital menu content and control their brand across any digital platform.

"Our year-long collaboration with Coca-Cola and select restaurant operators has helped us validate and develop additional digital solutions that contribute to profitable growth for restaurants," said Shane Wheatland, chief marketing officer at Omnivore, in a statement. "These solutions align well to consumer needs as well as common barriers experienced by restaurant operators as they digitize and build a competitive advantage for their brand. We look forward to the launch of Coca-Cola's marketplace, and continuing to foster agile and affordable access to meaningful third-party solutions."

Coca-Cola's strategic partnership with Omnivore and the launch of the digital marketplace are important milestones in Coca-Cola's long-term vision of building a digital ecosystem that connects Coca-Cola, foodservice operators and consumers, the company says. This ecosystem, which has been in planning and development over the last two years, will be fueled by proprietary technologies, analytics and tools available only for Coca-Cola customers aimed at optimizing customer business operations and driving their profit growth. It adds.