Waymo Gets Into Food Delivery
Waymo announced it’s teaming up with DoorDash to offer autonomous delivery in metro Phoenix. Known for its driverless robotaxis, Waymo has quietly explored how its tech could move goods as well as people. The company tested deliveries with UPS and Uber Eats, and once...
AI Steps In to Automate One of Restaurants’ Most Dreaded Tasks
Counting inventory is one of the most time-consuming and least-loved tasks for many restaurant operators, yet one of the most important. A growing wave of computer vision tools, including those from startups like NomadGo, are giving operators a way out. Using AI to...
Dave’s Hot Chicken Taps Matternet for Drone Delivery
Matternet is the latest drone developer making moves in the restaurant delivery space. Founded in 2011, the company started in humanitarian logistics and healthcare, transporting urgent items such as blood samples, COVID vaccines, and chemotherapy drugs. In the U.S.,...
Preventing the Custard Meltdown: Freddy’s Fix for Off-Premises Orders
You know that sinking feeling when you open a to-go bag and your frozen custard has turned into a milky puddle? Restaurants are fighting this battle more often than ever, as nearly 70 percent of orders for Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers now happen...
How ChatGPT Is Changing Restaurant Discovery and Online Ordering
Ordering food delivery just got a new middleman. OpenAI is adding apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart, and 11 others to ChatGPT later this year, letting users order food, book trips, or shop without leaving the chat. Type “tacos nearby,” and ChatGPT will pull up...
Analysts and Economists Agree: Off-premises Channels Are Productive, Permanent
This column was originally published in Franchise Times, sister publication to Food On Demand. I love stock market analysts. These maniacs listen to every earnings call and pour over every release. Then folks like me can read a report packed with charts and data and...
Steve Ells’ Counter Service Expands to NYC’s Upper East Side
Counter Service, the fast-casual sandwich concept from Chipotle founder Steve Ells, is expanding to the Upper East Side in New York City. Originally dubbed Kernel, the restaurant first made headlines as a plant-based, “robot-run” restaurant concept. A custom robotic...
When Platforms Collide: The Hidden Costs of Delivery Consolidation
Contributing editor, Peter Backman, is a long-term foodservice sector guru and founder of theDelivery.World, a platform that connects the delivery sector and makes sense of the myriad changes and challenges that affect the sector across the globe. The food delivery...Sharyn Knight, Viva Chicken
Director of Marketing, Viva Chicken Sharyn Knight is a seasoned marketing executive with over 18 years of experience leading growth strategies across consumer-facing brands, franchise systems, and multi-brand portfolios. Known for her hands-on leadership and...
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.