International startup could help Hungarian restaurants become more profitable

Restaurant technology startup Choice has raised $7.1 million in a new funding round and is expanding further across Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, where the company is building a local team and strengthening partnerships with key industry players.

The round was led by Portuguese venture capitalist Alea Capital, with participation from VC Smartlink, Reflex Capital, and J&T Ventures. With this investment, Choice’s total funding now reaches $11.6 million.

Choice is developing a B2B SaaS platform that allows restaurants to manage their digital presence, delivery channels, online sales, and customer relationships in one place. Today, the company works with over 30,000 registered restaurants, including over 7,000 paying customers in nine European markets.

Choice is actively investing in Hungary and building its local presence. The company is actively recruiting new employees, expanding its sales, onboarding and customer service capacity.

We aim to provide strong support to Hungarian restaurants, while building partnerships and adapting the platform to local operational needs.

E-commerce in Hungary has grown dynamically in recent years: domestic online retail turnover reached approximately HUF 1,900 billion in 2024, and food ordering is also playing an increasingly important role. The rapid spread of digital ordering channels opens up new opportunities for restaurants, but many players still pay significant commissions to marketplaces. In this environment, Choice’s platform helps restaurants build their own online sales channels and combine orders from marketplaces with more profitable direct orders.

According to Choice itself, their main mission in Hungary is to help restaurants reduce their costs and improve their profitability.

The platform allows restaurants to launch their own website with a commission-free ordering option, manage reservations, operate loyalty programs and centralize customer data – making it easier for operators to increase direct sales and be less dependent on expensive marketplace commissions.

In Hungary, Choice integrates with major delivery platforms, including Foodora, Wolt and Bolt, allowing restaurants to manage all market and direct orders in one system.

Restaurants can also use the courier services of these partners to deliver direct orders placed on the website, thus combining market demand with more profitable direct channels.

Choice is also developing strategic cooperations in Hungary, including with Teya and with Wolt to develop attractive joint offers for restaurants.

These partnerships serve to simplify digital payments, delivery and operations, allowing restaurants to implement modern technologies faster, while maintaining predictable costs.

Choice positions itself as a fully integrated restaurant platform that can replace many standalone tools.

For a monthly fee, restaurants can use the following services:

●    branded website with commission-free ordering

●    takeout and delivery management

●    table reservations

●    QR menus, ordering and payment

●    CRM and loyalty programs

●    integration with delivery platforms, courier services and POS systems

All of this works in a single administrative control panel, consolidating customer data and simplifying restaurant operations.

According to Choice, a significant part of the new investment is in the development of AI-based features