Food prep labeling and digital operations software maker PrepWizard has secured a strategic investment from 404 Endeavors, a private investment firm that backs technology and tech-enabled services businesses serving restaurants and multi-unit operators. Terms were not disclosed. Brown Gibbons Lang & Company served as PrepWizard's exclusive financial advisor.
What PrepWizard Does
Founded in 2019 by Doug Harris alongside his sons Cole and Eli, PrepWizard addresses one of the more persistent back-of-house pain points in foodservice: food prep labeling. The platform combines a cloud-based mobile app, integrated Bluetooth printers, and custom dissolvable and low-adhesive labels to automate use-by-date calculation and label printing — replacing a manual, error-prone workflow that most restaurant teams still handle by hand. The system lets crew members print accurate labels in seconds while maintaining consistent brand standards across locations, a meaningful advantage for multi-unit operators managing compliance across dozens or hundreds of sites.
The company's second product, WorkWizard, extends that digital-operations logic beyond the label printer. It gives operators a platform to digitize daily checklists, task management, location audits, and staff announcements — the kind of store-level workflow infrastructure that larger chains have built internally but remains out of reach for smaller or mid-size operators without dedicated tech resources.
Investment Rationale
For convenience and foodservice operators, back-of-house efficiency tools have moved from nice-to-have to operationally critical as labor costs remain elevated and food-safety compliance scrutiny has intensified. Automated labeling reduces the risk of mislabeled prep items — a liability exposure — while cutting the time crew members spend on non-revenue tasks during peak dayparts. The pitch resonates equally in c-store foodservice programs, where a lean back-of-house team is often running a full foodservice program alongside fuel and general merchandise responsibilities.
404 Endeavors' focus on multi-unit operators aligns with PrepWizard's natural customer base: chains and franchisees that need standardized, scalable solutions rather than location-by-location workarounds. Cole Harris will continue as President and Eli Harris as Chief Technology Officer under the new structure, and the partnership is described as focused on expanding the company's people, technology, and sales capabilities without disrupting existing customer relationships.
BGL's Restaurant & Retail Software investment banking team, which has advised restaurant and retail technology transactions for more than two decades, positioned PrepWizard through the process. The firm brings specific expertise in back-of-house and foodservice technology M&A, a segment that has drawn consistent private-equity interest as operators look to offset labor cost pressures with purpose-built software.
No financial terms were disclosed and no unit or revenue figures were made public in connection with the transaction.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
