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🛵💵 Food delivery startup secures funding boost. Wonder, a delivery-centric food hall concept, has secured a significant $700 million in funding to support its ambitious growth plans. Founder and CEO Marc Lore noted that $100 million came from his personal investment alongside contributions from both new and existing investors. With this latest funding round, Wonder has raised a total of $1.5 billion in equity to date. This substantial capital infusion has propelled Wonder's rapid expansion, transforming it from a "cold start" in January 2023 to a chain of 11 locations across three states today. Each Wonder location offers a variety of food options from up to 30 restaurant menus, which are available for delivery, pickup, or dine-in. Food preparation occurs at a central commissary, with final preparations completed in-store using minimal equipment. With the new financing, Wonder aims to accelerate its expansion plans, intending to grow to 35 locations by the end of the year and scale up to 90 locations by the end of 2025, focusing on the Northeast region. The company plans to invest in various areas, including improving cook times, introducing new menu items and restaurant brands, implementing technology to reduce food waste, and enhancing its delivery network to ensure timely courier services. Wonder's recent achievements include the acquisition of meal kit company Blue Apron, the launch of a B2B division in partnership with Nestlé, and a collaboration with Walmart to open potential locations within Walmart stores. Lore also highlighted that Wonder has achieved three key goals he set for the company, including delivering all 30 menus from one location in under 30 minutes on average, achieving a Net Promoter Score of 60 or higher, and attaining profitability at the unit level. More information in the full article: https://lnkd.in/eUV5NuNa #ForwardFooding #funding #fooddelivery #foodtech #foodservice #innovation

Joe Guszkowski Restaurant Business Online updates us on what's happening with Ashwin Kamlani and JUICER. "Dynamic pricing startup JUICER has raised $5.3 million as it looks to bring its pricing optimization technology to more restaurants. The seed funding found was led by venture capital firm York IE. San Francisco-based Juicer uses AI, machine learning and historical sales data to adjust restaurants' menu prices in real time. Its products include a dynamic pricing tool that can automatically change a restaurant’s prices on third-party delivery apps based on demand. The system raises prices during busy times and lowers them during slower periods. The data-driven approach has caught the industry’s attention as restaurants try to strike the delicate balance between driving traffic and protecting margins with their menu prices. Meanwhile, the growth in online ordering and digital menus has made real-time price adjustments feasible. “Juicer is at the forefront of a fundamental shift in how restaurants operate and compete,” said Marshall Everson, VP of investments and strategy at York IE, in a statement. “They are solving immediate pain points by helping restaurants navigate the narrow canyon between rising cost and consumer price sensitivity.” Everson is joining Juicer’s board as part of the investment. Dynamic pricing has been in the spotlight since Wendy’s said it planned to test the technology next year. The news sparked backlash over the prospect of Uber-like “surge pricing” in restaurants, and Wendy’s later clarified that it will only use digital menu boards to offer different items and deals throughout the day. Juicer said it is not a surge pricing company but instead gives restaurants the ability to offer “data-driven happy hours.” Customers can benefit by getting lower prices at off-peak times, or pay a “modest premium” for faster service during busy times, when higher prices help limit bottlenecks, Juicer said. The company said this flexible pricing strategy can increase same-store sales by 5% to 10%. As for consumers' willingness to accept fluctuating prices, Juicer said that it has seen no pushback from customers. A recent report on restaurant technology by the National Restaurant Association found that 61% of adults have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of dynamic pricing...read more." #QSR #Entrepreneur #Restaurants #Franchise #Franchising #FranchiseChat Chainformation Altir Industries, Inc. Franchise Pipeline Franchise Development Outsource Ned Lyerly Joe Caruso Michael (Mike) Webster PhD Anders Hall Jonathan Martin Michael Scherr Augment Ventures Muditā Venture Partners Athletic Greens Kat Cole, KAYAK Paul English 16 Handles Solomon Choi Postmates by Uber Andreas Lieber Two Roads Hospitality Jamie Sabatier Kitchen Fund

Restaurant365 orders in $175M at a $1B+ valuation to supersize its food service software stack  The edifice manufacture successful the U.S. is expected to walk $1 trillion successful sales for the archetypal clip this year, contempt wider economical pressures connected consumers. Now Restaurant365, a startup gathering tech to negociate those businesses, has raised a blistery circular of $175 cardinal to capitalize connected that growth.  The backing is being led by ICONIQ Growth with KKR and L Catterton besides participating, each existing backers of the company. Restaurant365 is not disclosing its valuation with the round, but Tony Smith, the co-founder and CEO, confirmed to TechCrunch that it is an upround. “We’re excited that it continues to turn and that we person precise supportive investors down us,” helium said. For immoderate context, past twelvemonth – erstwhile the startup raised $135 million – it disclosed that it had passed a $1 cardinal valuation.  The startup is besides not disclosing immoderate updated figures connected usage. Last year, we reported that its bundle was being utilized successful 40,000 locations, and that is inactive the fig it is sharing today. It looks similar successful 2023 the institution generated $100 million successful revenues, based connected per-location pricing that starts from $469 per determination per month. Based retired of Irvine, CA, Restaurant365 competes provides an all-in-one level for edifice businesses of antithetic sizes to negociate their accounting, inventory and workforce, on with an analytics suite to assistance recognize trends wrong the concern – everything fundamentally extracurricular of constituent of merchantability transactions. Smith said that the program volition beryllium to usage the wealth to proceed expanding its suite of products, arsenic good arsenic its lawsuit basal connected the heels of the institution buying and digesting ExpandShare, a edifice grooming platform, successful April 2023. “We are besides earmarking immoderate funds for aboriginal acquisitions,” helium added. Although Restaurant365 is utilized by some autarkic restaurants and larger chains, different large absorption volition beryllium gathering tools catering to “major hospitality brands,” helium said.  Unlike a batch of radical who leap into the satellite of gathering solutions for concern users, Restaurant365 does not person its DNA successful the satellite of nutrient work per se. “By the clip I graduated assemblage I’d had 12 jobs [only] 1 of which was astatine a pizza restaurant, truthful I wouldn’t accidental my edifice acquisition was robust,” Smith said.  Rather, helium was a techie who saw an accidental to code a wide problem. “My archetypal occupation retired of assemblage was successful exertion and it was breathtaking to spot the abor...

More and more Buffalo Wild Wings are flying out the door via delivery and takeout orders. That has the purveyor of chicken wings shifting its strategy towards quick service locations and away from the traditional sports bar. It's also sign of a bigger trend as casual dining continues to struggle, while takeout and delivery continue to be the breakfast of champions for customers. Chances are you've experienced or part of this trend. On most school nights, many restaurants are essentially empty, yet enjoy a decent if not vibrant takeout and delivery business. If anything, bustling dine-in restaurants can often feel like the exception than the norm these days. So the popularity of BWW on the go shouldn't come as a surprise, and no, it's not just a tech bro's dream. The chain just opened its 100th Go location, which unlike its multiplex sports bars are smaller and focus only on takeout and delivery orders. For context, a typical BWW sports bar is around 6,000 square feet on average, while a Go location is 1,500 square feet, meaning cheaper real estate that’s faster to build and easier to operate. What's interesting about chicken wings is they're kind of an offshoot of the chicken sandwich wars that swept the nation like K-pop and Taylor Swift. The past two years have seen some of the biggest chains flying the coop to come up with their own chicken sandwiches, leading to a poultry shortage. Chicken Wings are the next farmyard frontier with other chains now looking to launch their own versions to bolster their sales. In essence, there are two trends in flight. For one, the struggles of in-restaurant dining has restaurants flocking to delivery and takeout. Even if you don't completely agree, the reality is that people are dining out less. The other more tasty trend is chicken continues to be the "It" food. From sandwiches to wings, we can't seem to get enough...unless, that is, we're just really into ranch and blue cheese dressing https://cnb.cx/4arPp9h #restaurant #fastfood #chicken #buffalowildwings #poultry #delivery #takeout #culture #consumers

In today’s fast-paced business world, efficient billing isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Make the smart choice for your business visit us https://lnkd.in/dK5pkgie #Effiasoft #justbilling #pos #possoftware #retail #androidapp #bakery #billing #foodie #food #foodindustry #startups #management #womeninbusiness #smallbusiness #baking #pricing

What on earth is a FAKEAWAY? Not only did I fall for it..I fell in love with it 😍 I picked up this pizza in Waitrose & Partners, wondering what wicked restaurant or brand was behind this new pizza? 🤔💭 Carbonara pizza topped with pasta, and a Detroit-style cheeseburger pizza with beef, bacon and gherkins. 🍝🥩🍔🤤 “The urban pizza scene is booming, with restaurants opening all around the world, so we wanted to give our customers the same great taste and trends at home” said Zoe Simons Turns out it was a Waitrose own brand! Hats off the Waitrose team for tricking me! And it turns out not only was the branding wicked… but it was the best supermarket pizza I’ve ever feasted on… 🍕 It’s a cheaper way of enjoying a takeaway pizza, and interesting how Waitrose are taking inspiration from cool businesses like One Planet Pizza, and also influenced by concepts like Crisp and Bad Boy Pizza Society. Have you ever had a FAKEAWAY? 👇LMK #waitrose #pizza #startup #branding #marketing #startup #fandb #matcha

From The Verge - Science News: Instacart is getting restaurant delivery — thanks to Uber Eats https://bit.ly/3UOmgPT #DataDrivenDecisions #InformedBusinessChoices #BoostEfficiency #SustainabilityMatters #StrategicPlanning #ResilientBusinesses #InnovativeSolutions #BusinessOwners #Entrepreneurs #SmallBusinessOwners #BusinessLeaders #BusinessStrategies #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessGrowth #EntrepreneurMindset

Industry Innovator Uni-one Secures $10M to Expand Food Supply Chain Tech Across Canada, U.S. A Vancouver-born startup innovating food supply chains with a technology-based platform has raised financing to expand its offering across North America. Uni-one announced this week that it has secured $10 million in a Series A round from Celtic House Asia Partners, Red River Investments, Banyan Pacific Capital, and others. The round values the company at $60 million. The Canadian company aims to provide a one-stop digital shop for restaurants, grocers, and wholesalers alike. Uni-one’s online app, which is powered by a proprietary intelligence system, allows users to browse products, place orders, and track trends. “Restaurants and grocers in North America must manage hundreds of suppliers every day . . . it’s even worse for franchises,” CEO Neil Gu told the Vancouver Tech Journal. “Despite massive leaps in tech, North America’s food supply chain industry has been slow to adopt them, which I believe is due to outdated mindsets and complacency.” The B.C. company has earmarked the Series A capital for market expansion and strategic mergers and acquisitions (Uni-one has already completed four acquisitions with more planned) as it works toward “critical milestones,” including reaching all Canadian provinces and cities through its distribution network as well as penetrating the U.S. market. Uni-one was founded in 2017 by Gu alongside fellow Simon Fraser University graduates Kevin Men and Jun Wang. Since then, the firm has raised more than $20 million and now boasts over 100,000 square feet of warehousing space in Canada. Today, the rapidly growing company services more than 15,000 annual deliveries, working with over 100 brands including notable chains such as H-Mart, T&T Supermarket, and Loblaws. As Uni-one grows, the company continues to bolster its team with local talent, according to Gu, both on the tech side and across their warehouses and sales departments.

🍗 Chicken is big business these days, and brands are thinking about how to adapt to shifting customer habits as digital becomes the dominant way to order Take Buffalo Wild Wings. Their spinoff, BWW Go, now has 100 locations… - Increased demand since launch, with plans for 150 locations by year-end - 65% of BWW Go's orders are online, reflecting a shift towards off-premise - With strong franchise interest, 600 more units are set to open, highlighting the success of smaller digital-first restaurants 🤔 Between BWW, Chick-fil-A, and others leaning into smaller digital-first locations, how is their success shaping your strategy for 2024? Check out the full story in Restaurant Business https://bit.ly/3xx3nbl