This Week in Food Delivery & Quick Commerce (09/12/23)
Hi all,
After a week off, the newsletter is back again!
Highlights:
TikTok nears deal with GoTo
Fantuan raises $40M
If you have any questions or feedback, you can always reach me at alex.foodeli@gmail.com or on Twitter at @a_jordanov
I have a request:
If you like the newsletter, please consider sharing it and helping me reach wider audience that may benefit from it
💬 Quote of the Week
““Coming out of the pandemic, a boatload of restaurants closed. There was a lot of vacant restaurant real estate, especially in cities. There was hope that this valuable real estate could be put to use,” said John Gordon, a restaurant consultant. “Chains wanted to bring in new products in cost-effective fashion.”
Wendy’s released plans in 2021 to open 700 ghost kitchens with startup Reef Technology. CloudKitchens, a ghost kitchen startup started by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, bought more than 40 properties in two dozen cities for $130 million. Applebee’s launched Cosmic Wings, which served Cheeto-flavored chicken wings.
As people began returning to restaurants, the “mystery meal world of virtual restaurants wasn’t as necessary,” said Stephen Zagor, a restaurant industry consultant and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. “We care a lot about what my restaurant is about, and how fresh and delicious the food is.”
People have returned to eating at restaurants in person and ordering at drive-thru, and delivery growth has stalled from its pandemic heights. Additionally, many consumers are pulling back on meal delivery because of higher prices and delivery fees.
Transparency and quality issues have also been a major problem for ghost kitchens.
Consumers prefer ordering from brick-and-mortar restaurants, the National Restaurant Association found in a survey this year, with 70% of diners saying it’s important for their food to come from a publicly accessible, physical location.
The business side of running a ghost kitchen has also been challenging. Ghost kitchens rely on third-party delivery companies to deliver orders. Third-party providers charge fees, which can be as high as 30%.
Local health departments have struggled to inspect and regulate ghost kitchens, too.”
Source: CNN
📊 Infographic/Stats of the Week
Source: Rapid Delivery Analytics
🚚 Deliveries
Uber will pick up your packages for you at stores this holiday season
San Francisco Expands E-Bike Food Delivery Initiative with New Federal Funding
UK tells Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat to tighten rider account controls
TikTok nears deal with Indonesia’s GoTo to restart ecommerce business
Meituan steps up livestreaming push as sales nearly quadruple in three months: report
🚀 Q-Commerce
Instacart to focus on order efficiency to retain online grocery delivery dominance
Lotte seeks to become gamechanger in S. Korea's grocery delivery market with new fulfillment centers
Amazon makes a bigger bet on consumer appetite for grocery delivery
Zepto claims 2nd spot in monthly active customers, surpasses JioMart
🍳 Dark Kitchens / Micro Kitchens / Virtual Brands
Travis Kalanick is Building Restaurant Robots With Help of Uber’s Former Head of Self-Driving Cars
Ghost kitchens were supposed to revolutionize restaurants. They’re crashing
💰 Financing / Exits / Acquisitions
Vancouver’s Fantuan raises $40M to deliver real Asian food at your doorstep
Zappfresh Secures $4.3M Funding to Transform Indian Meat Delivery Landscape
Blink successfully closes $2.1mn Seed Funding Round. But what are their plans for the restaurant business?
Pikndel secures $285K in pre-seed round led by 100X VC, others
💻 Other
Travis Kalanick is Building Restaurant Robots With Help of Uber’s Former Head of Self-Driving Cars
McDonald's plots rapid growth with 10,000 new stores, loyalty expansion
Domino’s is launching a proprietary operating system, new website, app and more
📜 Deeper reads
Uber and Deliveroo may cost more soon: Are you ready to pay?
Ghost kitchens were supposed to revolutionize restaurants. They’re crashing
Grocery retail in Asia: Thriving in changing consumption patterns
Deliveroo could cannibalise food and drink offering, say analysts
You’re on the free list for This Week in Food Delivery & Q-Commerce. To support us, please spread the word