The two digitalisation specialists kamasys and qnips are joining forces. This strategic merger will create a new company that will support catering businesses along their entire value chain with a single digital platform. Our new company is operating on the market under the name menio GmbH.
Holistic platform meets system expertise
Data is increasingly becoming a decisive competitive factor in contract catering. In order to efficiently manage guest services and operational processes, a consistent database across all digital touchpoints is required. For technology partners such as kamasys and qnips, this means providing customers with comprehensive support across each of these touchpoints.
With this merger, the two companies are positioning themselves as a central solution provider for this task by combining two complementary areas of expertise. While qnips has developed a modern platform architecture for digital guest services, kamasys has extensive experience in the integration and operation of complex system landscapes in catering companies. Together, they are creating a platform on which front-of-house data is centrally collected and can be used across the board.
The three managing directors of both companies are redistributing tasks and organising the merger:
“kamasys and qnips have been on equal footing in the market for many years. During our discussions, it quickly became clear that we have a very similar vision of how the digital infrastructure of communal catering will develop. The merger is therefore a logical step: together, we are a team of over 70 employees and can implement this vision for our customers much more quickly and effectively. We look forward to our future together,” explains Christian Brützel.
“The market increasingly demands integrated solutions instead of isolated systems,’ adds Marcel Konrad. ‘With the merger, we are creating the organisational and technological basis to provide our customers with comprehensive support – from project planning, installation and commissioning to support and field service for our own solutions or products from our partner network.”
He makes it clear that technology partnerships remain a central component of the corporate strategy. The platform has been deliberately designed to be open and enables the integration of external systems and specialised solutions via standardised interfaces.
Artificial intelligence is a key competitive factor and lever for efficiency and cost-effectiveness in commercial catering. However, forecasts, sales management and optimised production planning require a consistent and reliable data basis. In many companies, relevant information is scattered across different systems – and therefore only manageable to a limited extent.
“With the merger, we are closing the circle in the front of house,’ emphasises André von Hören. “By integrating our own checkout and POS solution to complement orders via app or web, self-order kiosks and connections to vending machines or autonomous stores, we are bringing all transaction-relevant touchpoints together on a common platform. The data is stored centrally in a consistent model and made available. The addition of profile and user data, menu and master data, and contextual information such as calendar data, building utilisation or weather creates the conditions for the profitable use of AI models,” explains von Hören.
A signal to the industry
With the merger, the new company is positioning itself as a technology-driven infrastructure partner for communal catering – with the clear aim of creating the conditions for data-based, automated and AI-supported operating models. The merger is therefore not only an organisational decision, but also a clear strategic signal to the industry:
The future of contract catering is platform-based, integrated – and data-driven.
