Pico

What Pico does

PICO Hospitality Inc. is a Canadian-headquartered, privately held manufacturer of temperature-controlled foodservice products, operating from Vaughan, Ontario since 1991. The company produces chafing fuels (wick-based and gel-based), butane gas cartridges, wax and oil candles, catering accessories, and flameless, water-activated heating solutions marketed under two proprietary brands: LeoLight (performance chafing fuel, candles, and catering essentials) and VidaCasa (flameless instant-hot catering systems). Underlying technology centers on proprietary fuel chemistry and wick engineering — most notably the LeoLight C600 wick fuel, which the company claims maintains food-safe temperatures up to six times more efficiently than traditional options — together with clear-can designs that expose remaining burn time.

The business is B2B-led, with primary revenue derived from wholesale distribution to hotel chains, caterers, restaurants, venues, healthcare facilities, and retail food operators across North America. Direct enterprise sales are supported by a field-rep model (Find My Rep), while Amazon storefronts in the US and Canada capture SMB and consumer demand. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated through wholesale and direct relationships. The company is led by CEO Chris Rasmussen, employs between 11 and 50 people, and operates without disclosed external venture or private equity backing based on available information. Revenue figures, ownership structure, and headcount trends are not publicly reported, making the company a deliberately low-disclosure private operator in a niche consumable category.

Name

Pico

Legal name

PICO Hospitality Inc.

Website

https://picohospitality.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PICO Hospitality is a Canadian private manufacturer of chafing fuels, flameless heating systems, and catering candles serving hotels, caterers, restaurants, venues, healthcare, and retail foodservice operators across North America via wholesale, direct sales, and Amazon.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foodservice Warming Equipment

NAICS

Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)

SIC

Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580)

akta.pro primary industry

Catering Equipment, Rentals & Setup (Non-decor) (HSACAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Commercial Refrigeration & HVAC (Foodservice) Wholesale (AFAIALAI)

Keywords

• Chafing fuel
• Food warming equipment
• Catering supplies
• Flameless heating
• Hospitality disposables

Headquarters

HQ city

Vaughan

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Chafing Fuel Sales: Sale of wick chafing fuel and gel chafing fuel products to foodservice operators

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pico manufactures and distributes foodservice warming products, including chafing fuels, candles, and catering essentials under the LeoLight brand, as well as flameless heating solutions under the VidaCasa brand. The company supplies hotels, caterers, distributors, and event planners with disposable and reusable warming products for buffet and catering operations.

Product overview

PICO Hospitality is a manufacturer and supplier of food warming and ambiance solutions for the hospitality industry. The company operates two primary brands: LeoLight (premium chafing fuel, candles, and catering essentials) and VidaCasa (flameless heating systems). LeoLight products include wick chafing fuel (V-Series, C-Series), gel chafing fuel, wax candles, and oil candles. VidaCasa offers water-activated, flameless instant hot catering solutions. The product portfolio serves foodservice operations including hotels, restaurants, catering companies, venues, healthcare facilities, and retail establishments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LeoLight: Premium chafing fuel brand featuring wick and gel chafing fuel, catering essentials, and candles - engineered for efficiency, safety and zero waste
• VidaCasa

Products and services

• LeoLight Chafing Fuel

Quantifiable outcome

• LeoLight C600 wick fuel maintains food-safe temperatures up to six times more efficiently than traditional chafing fuels

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Chef Specialties: Chef Specialties makes tabletop accessories and foodservice items including warming-related products sold through the same hospitality distribution channel as PICO.
• Cal-Mil Plastic Products: Cal-Mil focuses on buffet presentation and food display solutions for catering and hospitality — overlapping with PICO's VidaCasa and catering essentials categories on the presentation and warming side.

Broad incumbents

• Vollrath Company: Vollrath is a large established foodservice equipment manufacturer offering buffet warming, chafing dishes, and catering supplies — broader portfolio but overlapping core product categories with PICO.
• American Metalcraft: American Metalcraft manufactures a wide range of tabletop, buffet, and foodservice presentation products serving the same hospitality and catering buyers as PICO.
• Carlisle Foodservice Products: Carlisle is a major broad-line foodservice supply manufacturer covering buffet, catering, and tabletop categories that overlap with PICO's catering essentials and warming solutions.

Direct peers

• Tomlinson Industries: Tomlinson manufactures commercial foodservice equipment and tabletop warming solutions, with chafing fuel and catering accessories that overlap PICO's product line.
• Hollowick: Hollowick manufactures liquid fuel cells, candle lamps, and tabletop warming solutions for foodservice — a near-perfect direct competitor to PICO's LeoLight candle and chafing fuel lines.
• Update International: Update International offers chafing fuel, food warmers, and catering supplies distributed through foodservice channels, directly competing with PICO's core SKU portfolio.
• Sterno Products: Sterno is the dominant direct competitor in chafing fuel and foodservice warming products, with overlapping wick, gel, and flameless SKUs sold to the same catering and hospitality customers as PICO.
• TableCraft Products: TableCraft supplies catering and buffet equipment including food warmers, chafing accessories, and tabletop solutions to the same hospitality and foodservice channel as PICO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/picohospitality
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/picohospitality

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pico