Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), which has long been an alchemist in the online-only restaurant world, has a new offering for maximizing delivery efficiency: a tech stack that sits on top of middleware platforms called Linked Eats, which it has spun into its own company.
VDC had a rough year in 2023, with its much-publicized lawsuit and counter-lawsuit with former partner MrBeast, which is still winding its way through the courts. But VDC has been notching some wins lately. In May it announced a partnership with IHOP. And now this news.
VDC says Linked Eats can help restaurants enhance revenues from third-party delivery partners, such as DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats. It deploys AI to analyze and assess inputs in financial reporting, marketing, pricing, and more. It’s set up to help avoid errors and provide real-time demand-driven dynamic pricing.
The company estimates that it can recover 80 percent of lost revenue caused by errors and mistakes on delivery orders. It also says Linked Eats can automate an operator’s digital marketing programs, which can result in more customers, increased loyalty, and faster review responses.
Dynamic pricing can be invaluable for an operator to deploy, if it can learn to harness the technology and apply it in a savvy way, and not slip into a PR flame like Wendy’s did.
Robbie Earl, president of Virtual Dining Concepts. Photo by Rich Polk.
If the tech seems tricky to set up, Linked Eats says don’t worry about it. It can onboard a restaurant in 15 minutes.
“This represents the culmination of all our learnings in managing delivery businesses at scale, which are built into an easy-to-use product,” said VDC founder Robbie Earl in a LinkedIn statement. “We’ve already helped our clients add millions of dollars in savings, revenue, and incremental profits.”
In a business in which every penny counts, Linked Eats could be the definition of software as a service.
