Joseph Stock’s decades of experience in hospitality have taught him plenty of lessons. Now, he’s looked at one of the most significant pain points of running a café with the goal of making it stress-free.
There is no better way to understand the café and hospitality industry than by being embedded in it. Joseph Stock knows the trials, tribulations, and pitfalls of existing in this fast-paced space and wanted to create change in what he found to be one of its most stressful and convoluted aspects.
A pastry chef and venue operator with more than 20 years of experience, Joseph launched wholesale supply ordering platform Stokd to try and remove some of the roadblocks he has experienced in his time working in different cities around Australia and New Zealand.
“Stokd is a clean connection between venues and suppliers no bloat, no hidden fees, just time saved,” says Joseph.
“We built this platform to eliminate that noise. Its smart, seamless ordering is designed to give operators their time back and give suppliers a modern channel to grow. We’ve placed a significant focus on usability, affordability, and transparency from day one, and have worked to do this in a way that doesn’t punish the people making the product.
“We’re not trying to be a marketplace or a gatekeeper. Stokd is an infrastructure layer – a clean pipeline between buyer and supplier, where everything from product availability to cost analysis to invoice reconciliation just works.”
Despite the desire to create this new platform originally being born from his long-held frustrations as a venue operator, Joseph says there is still a priority on streamlining the ordering process for suppliers.
“What suppliers want is not complicated: it’s simply a clean, transparent way to receive and manage orders without the bloat,” he says. “This is a supplier-first ordering system built by venue operators who were fed up. We have done our best to construct a platform that is built by hospo, for hospo, and keep it straightforward.
“From confusing fees to rigid ordering logic, many suppliers feel digital ordering systems are more of a cost centre than a tool to grow their business. Stokd allows suppliers to keep control over their pricing and data.
“The platforms that were meant to simplify trade have instead distanced suppliers from their customers and inserted themselves into the middle of the process. Stokd isn’t a venture studio project or investor-backed guesswork – it came from the same spreadsheets, fridge scribbles, and supplier WhatsApps that every venue knows too well.”
That focus on suppliers, however, has not come at the expense of the goal of providing venues with a more streamlined ordering platform.
“Your expectation as a venue is you can get what you want when you want if you see it on your supplier’s system, and when you can’t it’s really frustrating. Having that visibility about which products are available is crucial,” says Joseph.
“I’ve consistently seen suppliers give the wrong product or miss products on delivery, and I’ve used clunky ordering systems or multiple apps and websites that have led to so much lost time chasing suppliers.
“With Stokd, we can streamline the process for both suppliers and operators across hospitality, whether that’s cafés, restaurants, or bars. We want every aspect of the ordering process to be easier.”
Joseph launched his new platform at Melbourne’s Foodservice Australia tradeshow in May 2025 before making it available across Australia. The response to that initial reveal was, according to Joseph, humbling.
“Our launch at Foodservice Australia was a strong validation of what we’ve built – not just from operators but also from suppliers who’ve long wanted better systems without more admin,” he says.
“Stokd is built by people who live the day-to-day struggles of the industry, and we want to make lives easier.
“In hospitality time is the most valuable resource, yet most ordering platforms still force venues to juggle multiple systems, manual updates, and clunky workflows. Suppliers maintain control of their data, pricing, and fulfilment logic. Venues gain visibility, speed, and clarity. Everyone saves time.”
Stokd has been developed as an end-to-end ordering solution that spans multiple suppliers and is also integrated with Xero, MYOB, and Quickbooks.
“We’re not here to change the industry with hype,” says Joseph. “We’re here to fix what wastes its time.
“In hospitality, time is the most valuable resource. Stokd gives it back.”
For more information, visit stokd.com
This article appears in the October 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
