Custom FoodTech
Software Development

A working MVP — functional core features, production-ready infrastructure, basic integrations — typically takes 3–4 months. A full-featured product with advanced analytics, multi-location support, loyalty integration, and complete third-party connections is more commonly 5–8 months. The honest answer depends on scope: we've shipped a production rider app in 2.5 weeks (Sizl), and we've run 18-month enterprise platform builds. Discovery defines the timeline — which is why we start there.

Discovery and requirements mapping come first — defining what the product does, what it doesn't do in version one, and what the architecture needs to support in version two. Then UX/UI design and clickable prototypes, reviewed and approved before any code is written. Development in two-week sprints with demos. QA and load testing before launch. Then a phased go-live — soft launch to validate against real users, full activation once the system proves stable. Post-launch, ongoing support and iteration.

The core difference is ownership. SaaS platforms give you access to a shared feature set — you pay monthly, you follow their roadmap, your guest data lives on their servers, and your integrations are limited to their partner list. Custom software means you own the code, own the data, pay nothing per transaction or per location after the build, and build features your competitors can't replicate because they exist only in your system. The break-even against SaaS fees typically comes in 2–4 years — after that, the cost advantage compounds.

Yes. If you have a product team and need specific expertise — a mobile developer for a feature your team doesn't cover, a backend engineer to accelerate a build, a QA specialist for a release cycle — we can embed dedicated developers into your workflow. They work in your sprint cycles, in your project management tools, with your team's processes. The arrangement works particularly well when you need capacity without the overhead of a full agency engagement.

Stack decisions are project-specific, not religion. For mobile, we work in React Native (cross-platform), Swift (iOS native), and Kotlin (Android native). Backend is typically Node.js, Python, or Go depending on the performance and integration profile. Frontend is React or Vue. For infrastructure, we default to AWS and GCP with containerized deployments. Database choices depend on the data model — PostgreSQL for relational, MongoDB for document-heavy applications, Redis for caching and real-time features. We integrate with any third-party API that exists — no lock-in to our preferred vendor ecosystem.

Third-party delivery platforms charge 20–30% commission per order, according to data from the Independent Restaurant Coalition. For a restaurant running 3–5% net margins, that turns a profitable delivery order into a loss. A custom ordering app moves those orders to a direct channel where you set the fee structure — typically credit card processing at 2–3% plus whatever delivery cost you build in. You also own the customer relationship: the guest data, the re-marketing capability, the ability to run promotions without the aggregator's permission or cut. Aggregators remain useful for customer acquisition. The goal is to convert aggregator customers into direct customers — and that requires a direct channel worth switching to.

Support packages cover bug fixes (prioritized by severity — production outages get same-day response), security updates, hosting and infrastructure management, and performance monitoring. Feature development — new capabilities, integrations, or product evolution — runs as a separate engagement under the same team that built the original system. You can also take ownership of the codebase internally: we document the architecture, hand off to your team, and transition to a consulting relationship. The code is yours.