How Jenifer Kern Helped Qu Redefine Restaurant Tech

On the Radar sat down with Jenifer Kern, CMO of Qu, to talk about how she helped create a new category in restaurant technology, why maintaining industry focus has been key to business growth, and what it means to elevate marketing in a longstanding industry undergoing rapid transformation.

Q: When you joined Qu, what did the industry look like?

Jenifer Kern

Restaurants were grappling with a patchwork of systems—point-of-sale (POS), kiosks, online ordering apps, third-party delivery platforms, and drive-thru windows—all operating in silos. The pandemic only made that fragmentation worse. For me, that was both the challenge and the opportunity.

Q: Qu is known for creating the “unified commerce” category. How did that come about?

Jenifer Kern

We didn’t sit down and say, “Let’s create a category.” It happened naturally. Early on, we saw restaurants straining under disconnected systems that couldn’t scale. While competitors clung to the idea of POS as the heart of restaurant tech, we argued the opposite: the future would depend on unified commerce, anchored by clean, centralized data and connected ordering channels, from on-site to online. 

We started with a tagline—beyond POS—and that evolved into a meaningful discussion that reframed industry expectations. Today, Qu is one of the few providers with an enterprise-ready unified commerce platform, and our stance continues to shape how restaurants think about technology.

Q: You’ve kept Qu’s focus narrow, even as many others in the industry try to expand quickly. Why?

Jenifer Kern

It’s tempting to chase growth in adjacent verticals like SMB or table service. But we decided to concentrate on enterprise quick-service and fast-casual chains with 25 or more locations. That’s only about 600 companies in the U.S., but the discipline has paid off.

By staying focused, we’ve been able to deepen our influence and deliver real value where restaurants need it most. That clarity also powers our ABX (account based experience) strategies, like our annual State of Digital report, which now covers more than 85,000 locations. It’s become a trusted resource and shows up in every deal we close as a key touchpoint along the journey of many attribution points.

Q: Thought leadership in restaurant tech has often been pay-to-play. How did you approach it differently?

Jenifer Kern

Most of the content in this space has been produced by a handful of media companies with pay-to-play models. Instead of paying for influence, we created our own.

People are always surprised that we self-source our survey. The sixth annual report reveals top trends from QSR and Fast Casual operators in the enterprise space and includes future perspectives, investment insights, and valuable data for benchmarking against peers. It’s our way of giving back to the industry, not putting knowledge behind a gate. That openness builds credibility in a way money can’t buy, and it helps us stand apart from competitors that often outspend us on ads and sponsorships.

Q: You’ve also worked to elevate marketing itself within the restaurant industry. What did that look like?

Jenifer Kern

When I arrived, marketing was often seen as tactical: ads, discounts and promotions, delivery fees, and last-minute campaigns. I wanted to elevate the conversation to a strategic plane and demonstrate how marketing leaders are business drivers and shapers.  

One experiment that made sense at the time was launching a podcast. It wasn’t just about content; it was about sparking conversation and giving restaurant marketers a stronger voice.

B2B tech had already elevated CMOs into the boardroom. Restaurants were behind. My goal was to help close that gap. And six years later, we’re seeing signs of progress with more restaurant CMOs at the executive level, driving strategy as part of digital transformation.

Q: Beyond strategy and positioning, what keeps you motivated in this work?

Jenifer Kern

The human impact. Restaurants are the world’s largest employer and the first workplace for millions of people, many of whom still struggle to cover basic expenses like healthcare.

When you think about how many lives the industry touches, and then you look at the role technology plays in keeping those businesses alive, the work matters on a deeper level.

It reminds me of retail’s digital revolution two decades ago, except with higher stakes. Restaurants deal with perishable inventory and razor-thin margins. Their digital transformation is more complex—and more urgent.

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your marketing strategy and stand out from the competition, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to our team to learn how REQ helps organizations like yours maximize the impact and increase market share.