Brizo Data cooks up a data-driven approach to help food companies

Founded: 2020
Sector: Software
Program: Scale AI, Growth Acceleration Program
Services: Value Proposition, Pricing Strategy, Marketing Intelligence

Extensive workshops led by a MaRS advisor helped the team revamp their pricing strategy, value proposition and target customer profile.

By nature, the food industry involves razor-thin profit margins, shifting consumer preferences, rising costs and operational challenges. Any successes are hard won, and for those navigating such a complex set of variables, data can provide a much-needed edge.

Ian Delisle, who has three decades of experience building data-driven companies, wanted to make it easier for manufacturers, distributors and providers of tech and goods to sell to restaurateurs and hospitality managers. The serial entrepreneur developed an AI platform that provides food vendors with key information, such as menu pricing, ingredients and software platforms, launching Brizo Data in March 2020.

The timing proved auspicious: within weeks, restaurants and food companies were scrambling to pivot to online platforms during COVID-19 lockdowns. “It became a race to be data driven,” says Delisle.

Over the past five years, Brizo has experienced massive growth. Through the platform, vendors can access detailed information on more than two million food service establishments across the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, which they can use to inform their outreach strategy. A protein producer like Tyson Foods, for example, can leverage Brizo’s data to determine which products and price points might give them a competitive edge when pitching food establishments.

The challenge: To really scale the company, Brizo needed to super-size its client roster. But while vendors who use Brizo have seen an increase in leads and new accounts secured, the company was struggling to convey the full return on investment of its offering to prospective adopters. “Our value proposition wasn’t clear. It was all over the board,” says Delisle. “There are so many things we can do, but it was hard to have one clear message.”

The strategy: Over the course of 2023 and 2024, the team worked closely with MaRS advisor Mike Abramsky, who helped them establish the core qualities that define their ideal customer profile, provided assistance in identifying the main challenges facing the restaurant and hospitality industry and a competitive pricing plan, which allowed Delisle and his colleagues to refine their pitch strategy.

“We wanted to test the market with different things to determine the right pricing, messaging and value proposition,” says Delisle. “Mike really helped us evaluate the options. It’s a lot better based on his feedback.”

The impact: After several tactical sessions with Abramsky, Brizo developed a more effective value proposition and target customer profile, and optimized its pricing strategy. The result? The company has secured contracts with most of the largest online food delivery services in North America, including DoorDash and Skip the Dishes.

“I wish MaRS existed 30 years ago,” says Delisle. “It makes such a difference.”

What’s next: As small- and medium-sized businesses in the food and restaurant industry face increasing pressure with inflation, the rising costs of food and rent and tighter margins, Brizo is fine-tuning its marketing strategy for 2025 and beyond. “We are transitioning to sell almost exclusively to enterprise customers and we could not have done that without Mike’s help,” says Delisle.

MaRS programming is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and by the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.