In an exclusive interview with Food On Demand, Waitr CEO Adam Price dished it out on competing with billion-dollar players, whether the “big four” delivery brands will survive, and how a fast pivot to data-based decisions is attempting to transform the fifth-largest U.S. delivery brand from choppy waters to an industry leader—with an obsessive eye on the budget. A New Yorker who got started in the space helping big-city restaurants replace in-house delivery, Price moved to Waitr’s home of Lafayette, Louisiana, last February when he joined the company as chief […]
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In all the excitement of delivery and off-premises growth broadly, the decision of whether to go out or stay in remains a key consideration. Obviously, consumers demand convenience when they want it, but according to a new survey, they still prefer a great restaurant experience. In the survey by Vixxo, a facility-management company in the restaurant and retail space, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they still prefer restaurant dining over takeout or delivery. In the survey of 1,000 people, a total of 62 percent said they would prefer to eat […]
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With driverless grocery deliveries ramping up during the first quarter of 2020, Walmart is beginning a new autonomous delivery pilot in Houston with Nuro, the latest of several big-name partnerships for the California-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer. In an interview with Automotive News, David Estrada of Nuro said the company chose Houston due to the diversity, quality and busyness of the city’s road network. “It’s a great place to develop the technology,” he said, “and then we want to show we can make this an efficient service that can work for […]
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Amid the holiday feasting, Grubhub unveiled its annual “Year In Food” report, showing what we all feasted on throughout this year of delivery. One of the most notable highlights was the collision of the delivery trend and plant-based restaurant options. The fastest growing delivered item by far was cauliflower pizza; it grew in popularity by 650 percent. Right behind it were a slew of other plant-based menu items from Brussels sprouts with 622 percent growth; Portobello empanadas with 601 percent growth; black bean and sweet potato tacos with 514 percent […]
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In the seventh installment of analyst firm Cowen’s “Delivery Expert Series” that asks influential members of the delivery landscape about the future of the category, its panelists agreed the era of rapid expansion of delivery footprints is over, as third-party delivery increasingly becomes a commodity in the eyes of consumers. The panelists also agreed that the promotional arms race among providers will continue as the pizza delivery category remains challenged and Grubhub’s difficulties likely will persist throughout 2020. Cowen’s report includes feedback from Noah Glass, founder and CEO of Olo, […]
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In quick-service restaurants, where every second is scrutinized and monetized, taking out inefficiencies has been drilled down to the microscopic level. To reduce unnecessary human interaction and make it easier and faster for customers to pick up to-go orders, an industrial supply chain manufacturer has developed smart shelves that alert customers when their orders are ready, integrate directly with POS and shave off precious time for restaurants looking to boost their to-go business. Based outside of Cincinnati, Apex Supply Chain Technology’s so-called Order Pick-up Solutions are a modern-day version of […]
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In what is being hailed as the first cross-country delivery by an automated semi truck, Plus.ai brought butter from California to Pennsylvania—no driver required. The Cupertino-based (of course) company took three days to tow the 40,000-pound shipment from Tulare, California, to Quakertown, Pennsylvania—which is a 2,800-mile trip. The technology behind the wheel included “multimodal sensor fusion, deep learning visual algorithms, and simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) technologies,” according to the press release. That puts the technology at what is known as automation level four, where a human driver stands by […]
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Baby food delivery is one of those “why didn’t I think of that” ideas in the delivery world, especially when they announce a huge investment round like Yumi just did. Yumi is a science-based, early-childhood meal delivery program and one of a handful of startups in the baby food delivery market. It just successfully raised $8 million to fuel further expansion. So far, the company has now raised $12.1 million. According to a Techcrunch article about the fundraising efforts, the latest round included big names in next-wave foodservice like Blue […]
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After dipping spoons into delivered ice cream this summer, four members of the Food On Demand brain trust ordered burritos for lunch on a perfectly normal, 25-degree day in Minneapolis. Looking for a mix of variety and control, we ordered from two national chains and one independent, and used four different third-party delivery services for a quick snapshot of the delivery landscape. The scene was typical for early December in Minneapolis, two days after back-to-back Thanksgiving snowstorms blanketed the city. Roads were plowed, skies were clear and we were looking […]
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Chris Baggott, the founder and CEO of ClusterTruck, said after many, many conversations with restaurant owners, he found what might be the ideal ghost kitchen partner in grocery giant Kroger. ClusterTruck, the “virtual food truck” that offers everything from pad Thai to hamburgers out of four vertically-integrated delivery-only kitchens, and the largest grocery chain in the U.S. will partner to expand the reach of the delivery operations. Baggott founded ClusterTruck in 2015 as the delivery world was taking flight. He saw the blend of high-fees, low margins and third party […]
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