Publicly traded restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Wingstop are just a few of the mega brands that were early adopters of delivery. Others, like Chipotle, Starbucks and the Yum Brands trio of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut were later adopters. As part of its latest quarterly restaurant update, research firm Stephens dove into how delivery is working out for the biggest restaurant brands, with the included insight that many brands have evolved from focusing on delivery’s incrementality to now referring to it as a pillar “or even backbone” of […]
There is only one delivery dude in this industry, and he’s the CEO and founder of the namesake Delivery Dudes, a Florida-based regional restaurant delivery surface that claims to be on the verge of profitability as it explores bringing CBD (a derivative of cannabis) product delivery to its network of 500,000 customers. Jayson Koss, who signs every email with The Big Lebowski quote “the dude abides,” is known for his sharp criticism of the large-scale delivery providers. He reserves his most acerbic scorn for DoorDash, the largest U.S.-based delivery provider […]
Grubhub this week announced new functionality dubbed “perks.” The new in-app feature means new options for diners and restaurant owners to better tailor the experience and potentially entice diners to order from them. It might not seem like a huge deal, but for a long time, restaurant operators have been clamoring for some extra incentives via third-party delivery networks and a way to reward customers even if they’re not in the restaurant’s ecosystem. Why is that such a big deal? Well it’s two of the most important topics in the […]
DoorDash has announced its official launch in Melbourne, Australia, through a post on the company’s blog. It’s the largest U.S.-based delivery brand’s first expansion outside of North America. In preparation for the launch, DoorDash has already added thousands of restaurants to the platform, including partnerships with national brands like Nando’s, Salsa’s, Boost Juice and Betty’s Burgers. As part of its “celebration” of the news, and a new international front in the great delivery coupon wars, DoorDash is offering free delivery in Melbourne for orders greater than $10 during the first […]
Postmates has made it much, much easier to order with friends, coworkers and anyone else with its new Group Orders option. In another notable app functionality update this week (along with Grubhub adding “perks”), Postmates created a new way to order as a group. With the addition of a Group Order button, diners can start an order and then send it out via text, email or social media. The new tool also allows for a spending limit per person. This simple button solves an annoying part of large group orders […]
Speaking to Food On Demand from Israel, before jetting back to the U.S. for a whirlwind circuit including New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, Bringg CEO Guy Bloch is busy leading a company that helps restaurants and other businesses “Uberize” their companies by bringing goods and services directly to customers. Jetting around the world, as he explained, is just part of the deal for a fast-growing delivery-logistics brand in 2019. With $25 million of investor funds and a staff that’s quickly eclipsing 140 employees, with expectations to hit 500 […]
Whether it’s Costanza-style worlds colliding or a meme-era “mashup,” a new delivery-only restaurant from Lettuce Entertain You and Grubhub is both the first restaurant solely focused on the restrictive Whole30 diet craze and also the first time a third-party delivery provider is cutting out the middleman by developing its own restaurant. Called Whole30 Delivered, the delivery-only restaurant will be operated by Lettuce Entertain You and will be focused on helping Chicagoland-area diners reset their metabolism with prepared meals tailored to the wildly popular diet. Lettuce and Grub are both based […]
A couple weeks after acquiring Caviar, DoorDash made another acquisition. This time the fast-growth delivery company acquired automation and remote-driving startup, Scotty Labs. Don’t fret if the company’s name doesn’t ring a bell. The young startup was founded in March 2017 and didn’t make a ton of noise, although it was able to raise $6 million in a series A funding round. The company is comprised of seven PhDs and researchers, and was largely focused on the nerdy stuff behind the robots, as cofounder Tobenna Arodiogbu wrote in a Medium […]
Dave Ferguson, one of the co-founders of Nuro, said there’s no “Rosie” in sight yet, but automation companies like his are the first step toward a massively automated future. Ferguson is one of the cofounders of the automated-delivery vehicle maker that is currently delivering groceries in several test markets. He discussed the big push toward autonomous operations on The Wall Street Journal’s The Future of Everything podcast. Since falling in love with a “red trashcan-style robot” in college, he’s been all-in on automation. And the company he founded lives by […]
With delivery reportedly accounting for 7 percent of Panera Bread’s sales—handled in-house by its own drivers—the fast-casual, soup-and-sandwich chain announced it’s expanding its delivery program to include DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Panera’s own employees will still be responsible for handling the deliveries that come through the third-party channel. Roping in the loyal customer networks of the major third-party delivery providers is yet another unique delivery strategy from a mega-restaurant brand. A leader in delivery, Panera already has a huge number of its customers enrolled in its loyalty program. After […]
