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☆ Uber Eats to pay millions to Chicago restaurants for following a controversial growth playbook perfected by DoorDash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chicago investigated whether Uber Eats violated those caps and listed restaurants without consent. To keep up, rivals Uber Eats and Grubhub began adding restaurants without their consent. The settlement stems from a probe Chicago said it launched against Uber Eats two years ago. The Uber Eats investigation followed allegations that the app was listing restaurants without their consent and charging marketplace fees beyond the city's 15% cap. Some of those funds were already paid by Uber Eats last year, including $3.3 million in refunded marketplace fees.

☆ Sweetgreen is among the 12 chains Taco Bell owner, Yum Brands, could buy as the company's CFO tells investors it's hunting for an acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A Yum Brands exec said the company was "scanning categories" that don't compete with its brands. Analyst Mark Kalinowski identified 12 chains Yum Brands could target, including Sweetgreen. Habit was Yum Brands' latest acquisition — it purchased the fast-casual chain in March 2020 in a deal valued at $375 million. Zoe's Kitchen could be a buy target for Yum Brands, a veteran analyst wrote in a research note last week. "It has a market cap bigger than I would have expected, so it'd be an expensive purchase for Yum Brands."

☆ McDonald's CEO takes a 'saucy' bite of the messy McRib during a video review of iconic sandwich before it leaves the menu for good
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald's brought back the McRib nationally for a farewell tour on October 31. Today, CEO Chris Kempczinski hinted it was exiting the menu soon during a video review of the item. It was his mother's favorite McDonald's item. To mark the sandwich's purported final exit, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski released a video review Wednesday of his mother's favorite McDonald's menu item. McDonald's did not return an immediate request for comment when asked if the McRib would leave menus for good this year.

☆ McDonald's CEO takes a "saucy" bite of the messy McRib during a video review of iconic sandwich before it leaves the menu for good
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

☆ DoorDash is laying off 6% of its staff, and it's a warning for the entire food delivery business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jordan Hart | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CEO Tony Xu said DoorDash is laying off 1,250 people in a Wednesday memo, Bloomberg reports. In the third quarter, DoorDash logged a $308 million loss from operations. The Covid-19 pandemic served as a big boost for DoorDash and food delivery services like it. Hundreds of workers have lost their jobs at restaurant tech startups like Nextbite, Sunday, ChowNow, Lunchbox, Gopuff, and Reef. The company has been pouring its resources into expanding outside of traditional restaurant delivery over the past year by striking delivery partnerships with supermarkets, convenience stores, and retailers.

☆ 29 foodtech power players of 2022 revolutionizing how restaurants operate and deliver amid a looming recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rising labor and commodity costs put a squeeze on restaurants in 2022. Insider's 2022 foodtech power players are helping restaurants elevate their digital business. But sunny skies turned stormy in 2022 as the restaurant industry faced headwinds tied to market volatility, a labor shortage, and record inflation. Ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and online-ordering startups are now morphing to survive and stay relevant post-lockdown. Insider's 2022 list spotlights foodtech leaders who are helping restaurants take their digital business to the next level as they face a looming recession.

☆ Uber's polarizing surge pricing is coming for your food deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The food-tech startup Sauce allows restaurants to use dynamic pricing to raise delivery prices. Piada, a fast-casual restaurant chain, is testing dynamic pricing using the tech startup Sauce. Novak, whose VC firm Rackhouse invested in Sauce last year, said price-lowering features are often overlooked when discussing dynamic pricing. Sherri Kimes, a professor emeritus at Cornell's Hotel School, echoed Novak, saying dynamic pricing can give consumers "some control" over how they spend their money. For restaurants, dynamic pricing is still worth a shot.

☆ Most Imperfect Foods employees lost money on their stock options after the grocery startup was acquired by Misfits Market. It's a cautionary tale for startup employees.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Roughly two-thirds of employees who exercised stock options lost money in the all-stock deal. A Misfits Market spokesperson confirmed that two-thirds of Imperfect employees who exercised their options lost money in the deal. Some startups have even offered loans to employees who want to exercise their stock options. "Just because I gave you stock options does not mean that you were going to make money," Zimmerman said. For current Imperfect employees with unvested shares, stock options will still be part of their compensation.

☆ How this 27-year-old entrepreneur built his $8 million dessert empire after leaving Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

With the help of a business loan, the Wall Street analyst turned food entrepreneur bought a 16 Handles franchise in Manhattan in 2019. Taking advantage of a depressed real-estate market amid the pandemic, he negotiated favorable long-term leases and opened several 16 Handles locations. Last month, I closed on the acquisition of 16 Handles, the frozen-yogurt and soft-serve franchise with over 30 units across five states. Buying 16 Handles and growing it to a national brandAs the largest franchisee working with the franchisor, we were misaligned on what we saw as the vision for 16 Handles. A key reason for my success with 16 Handles is that I found creative solutions to what otherwise seem like impossible obstacles.

☆ This startup just hired a former DoorDash exec to bring robotic restaurant delivery to the masses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When it comes to amassing a large food-delivery footprint, the startup has hired a ringer in the delivery sector — the former DoorDash executive Prahar Shah. Serve's robots have the potential to be ubiquitous in our everyday lives, he said. This is "very similar to part of the playbook that we ran at DoorDash," Shah said. Most of Serve's restaurant partnerships have been with local restaurants in Los Angeles, such as Bossa Nova and Lala's Grill. As he approaches restaurant chains in his new role, he said most understand the necessity of automation.

☆ Sequoia-backed grocery startup Getir is close to buying its troubled rival Gorillas in a heavily discounted deal said to be worth less than $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Grocery-delivery startup Gorillas is set to be acquired by its major rival Getir, sources say. Gorillas' valuation is expected to collapse from $3 billion to less than $1 billion, with layoffs anticipated. Beleaguered grocery delivery startup Gorillas is set to be acquired by Turkish rival Getir in a cash-and-equity deal that is expected to close in the coming weeks and at a substantially lower valuation, Insider understands. Gorillas' investors and shareholders will be paid out in cash while others will be offered preferred stock in Getir, the people said. Most of Gorillas' senior management is expected to stay on with with Getir shares as part of their package.

☆ Keurig Dr Pepper just invested $50 million in Athletic Brewing, the brand dominating the nonalcoholic beer sector. Here's how the founder started and grew his brewery after leaving the hedge-fund worl
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The investment gives Keurig a minority position in the beverage startup, which controls over half of the $328.6 million nonalcoholic-beer market. He quit his position at Point72 Asset Management in 2017 and cofounded Athletic Brewing a year later with the head brewer John Walker. Athletic Brewing now controls 45% of the non-alcoholic craft beer market. Athletic Brewing said it distinguishes itself from big beer brewers by being the only brewery in the country dedicated solely to nonalcoholic craft beer. The restaurateur Danny Meyer and Chang serve Athletic Brewing in Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, and Momofuku Ko.

☆ Burger King's owner just opened a delivery-focused food hall where customers can order from Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and other chains. The company is one of many expanding the ghost kitchen model to r
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. And recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Wonder is part ghost kitchen, part food delivery van, part meal-kit provider. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

☆ As the rapid-delivery segment collapses, Food Rocket is betting on delivering restaurant meals and opening 'dark warehouses' for walk-in customers as a way to survive
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Circle K-backed startup is opening up its dark warehouses to walk-in customers. Food Rocket, backed by the owner of Circle K, offers about 3,000 grocery and convenience-store items. Eventually, he sees Food Rocket delivering more than convenience goods. With "Food Rocket" marquee signs visible to walk-in customers, Alexandrov said the startup won't have to invest in money-losing promotional ads like rivals. Food Rocket plans to launch rapid-delivery services in North Carolina.

☆ Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens startup is cutting jobs as a pandemic-era surge in food ordering subsides
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Nancy Luna | Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CloudKitchens, the richly valued startup founded by former Uber chief Travis Kalanick, is cutting jobs as a pandemic-era boom in online food ordering subsides and a recession looms. The ghost kitchen operator has shed corporate recruiting employees, a move made to get closer to profitability, according to a person close to the matter. On November 1, employees on the recruiting team were asked to attend an impromptu Zoom meeting, described as a "global update." Tunna said Kalanick's goal is for CloudKitchens to be profitable next year, and with that, the startup has to make some changes, according to the witness. CloudKitchens raised about $850 million last fall from backers, including Microsoft, in a round that valued the startup at $15 billion.

☆ DoorDash Analysts Optimistic on the Firm's Grocery and Retail Growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Expanding selection has made DoorDash resilient as restaurant-delivery growth declines and recession worries grip consumers, analysts say. "DoorDash's greater selection, convenience, and value are proving resilient," Andrew Boone, a JMP Securities analyst, said in a note earlier this year. Last month, DoorDash surpassed 75,000 retail stores on its platform, up from 40,000 a year ago. DoorDash opened the first DashMart in 2020, and the convenience stores have grown to 25 locations in cities in the US and Canada. "DoorDash is going to strangle Instacart using their own system," the grocery and supply-chain consultant Brittain Ladd told Insider.

☆ DoorDash is making 7 keys moves to dominate retail and grocery delivery after conquering restaurants — and creating new rivals in Instacart and Gopuff
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In August 2020, DoorDash launched retail delivery with chains like 7-Eleven and Walgreens. Lately, DoorDash has its sights set on a new prize — dominance in retail and grocery delivery. DoorDash has leaned heavily into grocery, convenience-store, and retail delivery since launching these expanded services in 2020. "We have more retail stores, grocery included, than any other platform in North America today." DoorDashDoubleDashA year after launching grocery delivery, DoorDash introduced DoubleDash.

☆ Reef quietly exits Houston as the SoftBank-backed ghost kitchen continues to face operational issues and loses partnerships
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Houston officials say Reef is no longer operating in the city, where it once had 29 trailers. The ghost-kitchen startup Reef Technology is no longer operating kitchen vessels in Houston, Insider has learned. But in January this year, Reef temporarily closed about one-third of its food trailers as it focused on large chains that generate more revenue than independent restaurants. A year ago, Reef operated at least 29 food trailers in Houston, according to the city's health department, which inspects the food trailers. The startup has been cited for operating trailers without permits in several US cities.

☆ How the Warehouse Boom Changed the Way America Looks, Lives, and Works
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

As the US emerged from the Great Recession, cheap real estate and the rise of e-commerce collided to create a warehousing boom. Now warehouse boomtowns shoot up in places like California's Inland Empire, Pennsylvania's Lehigh County, and Columbus, Ohio, and the number of warehouse workers has nearly tripled in a decade. Here, Insider explores how the rise of warehouses and warehouse work has changed the US and its citizens as we became a Warehouse Nation. A surge in warehouse workUsing data and on-the-ground reporting, Insider looked at the opportunities and hidden costs of the rise of warehouse work. Read more from 'Warehouse Nation'A look from Insider at how the warehouse boom has reshaped America.

☆ This startup wants to democratize electric-vehicle ownership by bringing charging stations to fast-food restaurants — starting with a Taco Bell in California
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The San Diego startup is installing public charging stations at fast-food chains such as Taco Bell. It says the fast chargers at a California Taco Bell can provide a 100-mile charge in 20 minutes. Roughly 120 California Taco Bell restaurants owned by Diversified are set to add EV stations in the coming months. Tosh Dutt, the CEO of ChargeNet, said he's carving a niche for his 2-year-old startup by placing stations at fast-food restaurants. Of the 47,666 public EV stations in the US, only about 6,500 are fast chargers, according to the Department of Energy.

☆ A merger with Albertsons could bring Kroger's tech initiatives, like automated warehouses and smart carts, to over 5,000 locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Kroger is building its own tech infrastructure, including automated warehouses for delivery orders. Here are Kroger's biggest e-commerce and technology initiatives:A ClusterTruck ghost kitchen inside a Kroger in the Midwest. The delivery-focused ghost kitchen touts a Cheesecake Factory-inspired menu of 80 to 100 food items. Over the last few years, ClusterTruck opened locations inside Kroger stores in Indiana and Ohio. Another partnership, this one with the autonomous-car startup Nuro, has stationed self-driving vehicles to deliver grocery orders in certain cities since 2018.

☆ Burger King, Popeyes, and Jack in the Box cut ties with ghost kitchen Reef as the SoftBank-backed startup continues to face operational issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jack in the Box, Burger King, and Popeyes have ended their expansion plans with Reef. Burger King, Popeyes, Jack in the Box, and Del Taco have ended their partnerships with Reef Technology, a ghost-kitchen startup. Health inspectors in Austin, Texas, suspended four Reef food trailers after a recent inspection last month. In mid-September, Philadelphia inspectors cited a Reef kitchen trailer for having the wrong retail-operating license, food-safety inspection records show. Are you a Reef insider with insight to share?

Steve Ahern, KB PartnersSteve Ahern is a partner at KB Partners. Tixologi and its investors, including KB Partners, think blockchain is the answer. When used for ticketing, it can prevent counterfeiting by letting fans easily trace back to see if a ticket is authentic. While sports is a natural first market for Tixologi, Steve Ahern, a partner at KB Partners, said there's significant room to expand. "Real has done a very solid job developing a platform that keeps fans engaged around the most exciting moments in sports," Ahern told Insider.

☆ A wave of restaurant operators and high-profile chains like Chipotle and Burger King are investing millions in innovation amid a slowdown in food-tech funding. Here are 10 investing in ghost kitchens,
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"My dad says I'm taking the joy out of a restaurant," Frischling said. "If this industry doesn't keep up, we're not going to have so many restaurants," Frischling told Insider. Frischling is part of a wave of restaurant operators and high-profile chains investing millions in the industry's future. Over the years, Chipotle, Inspire Brands, and Restaurant Brands International — the owner of Burger King and Popeyes — have invested in autonomous-delivery vehicles, ghost kitchens, and digital-ordering software. IGC HospitalityThe New York restaurant company, also known as In Good Company Hospitality Group, invested in the restaurant-tech firm MarginEdge in 2021, according to PitchBook.

☆ Ghost kitchen startup Reef is facing new trailer shutdowns and violations. Insiders have long said it skirts health and safety regulations.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Austin health inspectors suspended four Reef food trailers after a recent inspection. And this month, Philadelphia inspectors cited a Reef kitchen trailer for having the wrong retail operating license, food-safety inspection records show. The company has previously said its engineless mobile kitchen vessels are difficult to inspect under existing permitting frameworks. "In every city where Reef operates, Reef seeks the appropriate permits," a Reef representative said in an email to Insider. The violation occurs when a kitchen trailer has not been authorized through the inspection process to sell and prepare food.

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