Aerial drones may represent an incredible leap in foodservice technology, but there is still plenty of work to be done before we collectively get there. Uber’s Elevate division recently painted a picture of what that future model might look like as it announced its new drone prototype. It’s a cool drone, with six rotors that turn for more efficient distances, essentially turning a typical drone rotor 90 degrees and creating lift with a wing to save precious battery power. By doing so, the drone can fly for up to 18 […]
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Andrew Martino bootstrapped his way to opening a ghost truck-themed, multi-concept, delivery-only kitchen in New Jersey that offers a more refined delivery and takeout experience with nine in-house concepts operating out of a tiny space. Six months in, Ghost Truck Kitchen is turning a modest profit, even while giving a sizable portion of each order to third-party delivery providers. The key to much higher profits for the self-funded facility, however, lies in guiding its customers to order through its own channels, so the business doesn’t have to divert nearly as […]
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A new week has brought yet another major financial blow to the third-party delivery landscape with Uber posting a $1.2 billion loss during the third quarter on the heels of the mobility giant’s epic $5.2 billion loss during the second quarter. Its stock price fell from the low $30s toward the high $20s, suggesting that Wall Street is generally unmoved by the red ink that some analysts said was smaller than expected as reports suggest SoftBank has lost a combined $6.5 billion on its WeWork and Uber investments. With revenues […]
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The first day of November marked the completion of DoorDash’s acquisition of Caviar, the largest in the spate of DoorDash acquisitions the company took on last year. DoorDash and Square, which previously owned Caviar, first announced the $410 million deal in August of 2019. In all, it looks like a good acquisition for the company valued at $12 billion by way of equity fundraising. Along with the completion, DoorDash released a summary document known as an 8-K that provides a closer look at what exactly DoorDash received with the purchase. […]
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Minneapolis’ StarTribune newspaper reports that Louisiana-based Waitr Holdings laid off the majority of employees at Bite Squad’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters. Waitr acquired Bite Squad in late 2018 for $321 million. The move is the latest shakeup for Waitr, which has exited some underperforming markets, weathered waves of high-profile executive departures, seen its share price plummet toward zero and installed Adam Price as the new CEO, replacing Founder Chris Meaux. Waitr declined to release details about market closures ahead of its quarterly results, and said that it was not closing its […]
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Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney and President Adam DeWitt were clear the company’s third-quarter financial results were a disappointment—putting it lightly—but the execs of the one-time top U.S. delivery brand kept returning to the mantra that nobody should focus too much on the latest results, because “we’re going to make a lot of money next year.” Industry watchers, investors and analysts didn’t take the bait, as Grub’s stock cratered more than 40 percent, and The Wall Street Journal called the results a “gut check” for the food-delivery industry. At press time, […]
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To shine more light on its recently introduced pickup feature where customers pre-order meals that they collect at the restaurant or then eat inside the dining room, Uber Eats has launched Pickup Guides Powered by Jump, a discount to allow its Jump-branded e-bike customers to hop between various restaurants. Those embarking on their own “food discovery” can use promo codes for discounts on the bike or scooter, as well as their Uber Eats orders. While this sounds rather confusing on the surface, it’s part of the company’s effort to broaden […]
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Previously a $15/month fee, Amazon Fresh has now been recast as a free benefit for the e-commerce giant’s Prime subscription members, meaning even more U.S. consumers now have access to one- and two-hour grocery delivery in more than 2,000 cities and towns. “Grocery delivery is one of the fastest growing businesses at Amazon, and we think this will be one of the most-loved Prime benefits,” said Stephenie Landry, VP of Grocery Delivery at Amazon. “Given the rapid growth of grocery delivery we expect this will be a popular benefit.” To […]
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The world of food delivery gets a lot of attention for being a flexible way for people to find work without much effort. It might seem to most people that a potential driver just signs up and starts driving, but there is still a lot of recruitment happening for the delivery networks. Fountain, a recruiting platform for gig and hourly workers, has been working in this little-known corner of the space since it was founded in 2015. Now, with a fresh $23-million capital injection, the Bay Area-based company is poised […]
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Lyft and &pizza, the tech-savvy fast-casual East Coat pizza brand, announced a new partnership to bring &pizza employees in Washington, D.C. a reliable late-night transit option. This isn’t exactly news in the off-premises world, but is another step forward in ride-hailing brands teaming up with restaurants for the benefit of their employees or getting new customers in the door. The new “Lyft for Late Nights” program is the first dedicated flat-fare rideshare program for late-night workers in the nation’s capital, will provide &pizza employees who travel between 11 PM and […]
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