The Latest News
Engineering a Sustainable Delivery Model
Restaurant delivery consultant Scott Landers, co-founder of Figure 8, connects a farming and engineering to the complex, interconnected systems of meal delivery.
RobotLab, Bear Robotics Partner to Expand Server Bot Accessibility
The partnership will expand the availability of Servi and Servi Plus Robots in restaurant and hospitality spaces.
U.S. Online Grocery Sales Dip to $6.9 Billion
Online grocery sales in the U.S. this May dipped a slight 3.4 percent compared to the previous year according to new research from Brick Meets Click and Mercatus.
Grubhub Teams with Joco to Open “Rest Stop” for NYC Delivery Workers
Grubhub and shared e-bike platform Joco have partnered to create space for food delivery workers in NYC to rest and recharge.
Zuul Diversifies into Multi-Concept Ghost Kitchen Tech
Zuul is now moving into the restaurant technology space with the release of its ZuulOS that helps operators manage multi-brand restaurant and ghost kitchen operations. It’s an increasingly crowded space, as the restaurant software industry reacts to the fast rise of ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants.
As Delivery Matches Rides, Uber Posts $968M Quarterly Loss
Uber announced its fourth-quarter financial results, which also included full-year results for 2020. The prime highlights are year-over-year delivery bookings up nearly 130 percent as food delivery has pulled even with its ride-sharing business. Even so, Uber reported a net loss of $968 million for the quarter.
Restaurant Vets Launch OrderB4 Ghost, Virtual Kitchen Management
As the very definition of a restaurant is in flux, legacy point-of-sale providers and cloud-based upstarts are scrambling to build technology that makes it easy to keep multiple brands humming without manually entering data between platforms never intended to work together.
For Virtual Hopefuls, More Options Pop Up
The industry can add two more novel virtual restaurant companies to the list. The first, a revenue-sharing model, Trivr Eats. The second is the first legally defined virtual restaurant franchise: Local Culinary. Both emphasize speed to market and a focus on...
Grubhub Announces Full Year 2020 Earnings
Grubhub announced fourth quarter and full-year earnings in potentially its last year as a private company. Earnings from the Chicago-based company were somewhat mixed, but Grubhub’s overall revenue was up significantly.
Food Dudes Finds Delivery Volume in the Smallest Towns
Food Dudes is a restaurant delivery service that’s finding success in cities and towns that are much smaller than any burg served by the biggest players in the industry. With a lean team and a remote headquarters team, Food Dudes is profitable, growing across the prairie and looking to maintain its independence amid a blizzard of mergers and acquisitions.
DoorDash Grabs Majority of Surging Convenience Market
DoorDash is leading the online convenience category by a country mile, according to new transaction data analyzed by Edison Trends. After 2020, in which consumer spending at online C-stores grew by 346 percent, DoorDash ended last month with 58 percent share over second-place goPuff with 24 percent of the market.
DoorDash Provides Discounted Rapid Tests to Independent Merchants
As a grim but practical sign of the times, DoorDash has partnered with Cellex to make discounted COVID testing available for partnered independent restaurants with three locations or fewer. This new program is a direct result of feedback the company gathered through its Restaurant Advisory Council.
Outstanding Operators
Food On Demand Outstanding Operators features restaurant brands with innovative operations that are taking creative paths to success with delivery and all things off-premises.
Food On Demand Topics
Finance
Panera, Cheesecake Factory Target Delivery Growth in 2017
By Laura Michaels Panera is ready to double down on delivery in 2017. With 15 percent of the system already in the delivery business, Panera Bread Co. will expand that figure to 35 to 40% by the end of 2017, said company President Blaine Hurst. In a February 8...
Research
Olo CEO Says Delivery’s Incrementality Is Waning
Olo CEO Noah Glass said restaurants should expect deteriorating levels of incrementality, meaning that fewer truly new customers will be up for grabs in the coming year. The insight is part of the “Delivery Expert Series Volume VI” report from Cowen.
The Deliverers
Panelists Discuss How Dynamic Pricing Can Attract Customers and Boost Sales
The founders of Sauce and Juicer, as well as a Dog Haus franchisee, discussed bringing dynamic pricing to restaurants.
Best Practices
What are your peers doing in delivery? Get some of the best practices out there.
Ottonomy Brings ‘Context’ to Robotic Delivery
Ottonomy is approaching robotic delivery with a mind toward scaling where it can operate now as the broader robotic delivery industry matures. CEO Ritukar Vijay has a deep background in robotics, working for nearly 14 years on unmanned aerial drones, warehouse...