Relish Works
Relish Works is a Chicago-based human-centered design venture studio that builds and operates a portfolio of foodservice-focused companies (Back Of House, Trust20, Food Foundry, Taste Agent), serving restaurant operators, foodservice workers, and content creators in the Midwest.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Relish Works does
Relish Works is a Chicago-based human-centered design firm and venture studio focused on the foodservice industry. Founded in 2017 by Mack Tilling, the company operates with 11-50 employees from its headquarters at 1 N Dearborn, Chicago, and is structured as a holding entity over four wholly-owned sub-brands: Back Of House (restaurant operator tools), Trust20 (foodservice worker training and skills), Food Foundry (a Chicago-based food startup accelerator built in partnership with Gordon Food Service), and Taste Agent (a Chicago-land comped-meal marketplace connecting restaurants with content creators).
The company's stated core methodology is human-centered design — conducting qualitative research with operators and workers (including proprietary studies like "Dining in the Future" and Gen Z labor trends) to identify industry pain points, then iterating on solutions through R&D, market placement, and business development. Its technology footprint is light on traditional software infrastructure (no app, no API, no SDK) and is instead centered on design-led product development and a marketplace platform (Taste Agent).
Relish Works makes money through a hybrid of innovation and R&D services and portfolio company operations. Revenue streams include managed innovation services for foodservice operators and recurring/marketplace revenue from its portfolio companies (e.g., Trust20 training, Taste Agent marketplace). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is primarily regional (Midwest/Chicago-land), with GTM combining direct enterprise outreach (whiteboard sessions with operators and investors) and self-serve SMB channels (Taste Agent, Back Of House).
Relish Works firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Relish Works
- Legal name
- Relish Works
- Website
- https://relishworks.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Relish Works is a Chicago-based human-centered design venture studio that builds and operates a portfolio of foodservice-focused companies (Back Of House, Trust20, Food Foundry, Taste Agent), serving restaurant operators, foodservice workers, and content creators in the Midwest.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Relish Works is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Relish Works business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Innovation and R&D Services: Relish Works operates as an innovation arm for the foodservice industry, developing new products and technology through research and development, market placement and business development.
- Portfolio Company Operations: Relish Works owns and operates portfolio companies including Back Of House (restaurant tools), Trust20 (foodservice training), Food Foundry (accelerator), and Taste Agent (influencer marketplace).
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Relish Works product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Relish Works operates as an innovation hub and venture studio for the foodservice industry, applying human-centered design to research, iterate, and develop sustainable solutions to industry challenges. It builds and operates a portfolio of wholly-owned companies: Back Of House (restaurant management tools), Trust20 (foodservice worker training), Food Foundry (Chicago-based startup accelerator in partnership with Gordon Food Service), and Taste Agent (comped-meal marketplace connecting restaurants with social media content creators).
Product overview
Relish Works is a venture studio and innovation lab for the foodservice industry that operates a portfolio of sub-brands. The company pursues solutions through human-centered design, research and development, market placement, and business development. Its portfolio includes: Back Of House (restaurant management tools and solutions), Trust20 (foodservice worker training and skills platform), Food Foundry (accelerator program for food industry startups), and Taste Agent (influencer marketing platform connecting restaurants with content creators).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Back Of House: Provides restaurant owners with the tools and solutions to take their business to the next level.
- Trust20
- Food Foundry
- Taste Agent
Products and services
- Back Of House Provides restaurant owners with the tools and solutions to take their business to the next level.
- Trust20 Helps foodservice workers build the skills they need for the jobs they want, offering products, trainings, and resources.
- Food Foundry A Chicago-based accelerator program built in partnership with Gordon Food Service that supports, connects, and propels innovative startups reimagining the food and foodservice industry.
- Taste Agent A comped-meal marketplace that connects restaurants offering free meals with content creators in the Chicago-land area looking to grow their audience through social media promotion.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5x better engagement rate for influencers vs average food/beverage brand
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Relish Works
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Relish Works technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Relish Works partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Gordon Food ServicecoreGordon Food Service is a key strategic partner for Food Foundry, the Chicago-based accelerator program by Relish Works. This partnership enables Relish Works to leverage Gordon Food Service's established distribution network and industry expertise to support innovative startups reimagining the food and foodservice industry.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Relish Works competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator network with food and restaurant-focused programs. Larger incumbent operating the same accelerator format Relish Works uses for Food Foundry, but across many verticals.
Emerging players
- Kitchen United: Ghost-kitchen and restaurant-tech platform serving multi-brand foodservice operations. Comparable as an emerging foodservice innovation company targeting restaurant operator pain points, though focused on off-premise formats.
Direct peers
- Food-X: Food-tech accelerator program operating cohorts of early-stage food and foodservice startups. Comparable to Relish Works' Food Foundry accelerator in cohort-based food innovation support.
- Redesign Health: Healthcare-focused venture studio that launches multiple companies simultaneously from a shared platform. Closely mirrors Relish Works' model of operating multiple wholly-owned sub-brands under one studio roof.
- Plug and Play Tech Center: Global startup accelerator with a dedicated Food & Beverage vertical that runs cohort programs and corporate partnerships with major CPG/foodservice brands. Directly comparable to Food Foundry's accelerator + corporate-partner model.
- Atomic: Venture studio that builds companies from scratch in partnership with founders. Parallel model to Relish Works' venture-studio approach, illustrating comparable capital-efficient company creation mechanics.
- Foodlabs: Berlin-based food-tech venture studio that builds and invests in food and agriculture startups. Closest direct peer to Relish Works' studio model focused specifically on the foodservice value chain.
Regional players
- 1871: Chicago-based technology hub and incubator supporting early-stage startups. Regional overlap with Relish Works' Chicago headquarters and overlapping startup-supporting ecosystem role.
Others
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy. Comparable to Relish Works' human-centered design methodology applied to foodservice, but operating as a much broader, established incumbent across many industries.
- S2G Ventures: Food and agriculture venture capital firm investing across the food value chain. Adjacent capital provider and ecosystem participant in food innovation, comparable to the type of investor Relish Works' Food Foundry connects startups with.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Relish Works social profiles
Digital presenceRelish Works financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Relish Works leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Relish Works subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Relish Works funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Relish Works M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments17 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Relish Works
What does Relish Works do?
Relish Works operates as an innovation hub and venture studio for the foodservice industry, applying human-centered design to research, iterate, and develop sustainable solutions to industry challenges. It builds and operates a portfolio of wholly-owned companies: Back Of House (restaurant management tools), Trust20 (foodservice worker training), Food Foundry (Chicago-based startup accelerator in partnership with Gordon Food Service), and Taste Agent (comped-meal marketplace connecting restaurants with social media content creators).
Is Relish Works a public or private company?
Relish Works is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Relish Works founded?
Relish Works was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Relish Works based?
Relish Works is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Relish Works make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Innovation and R&D Services are the primary driver. The others are portfolio Company Operations.
Who are Relish Works's main competitors?
Techstars is listed as a broad incumbent. Kitchen United is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Food-X, Redesign Health, Plug and Play Tech Center, Atomic and Foodlabs. 1871 is listed as a regional player. Others are IDEO and S2G Ventures.
Does Relish Works have an API?
No public API is recorded for Relish Works.