As opposition to third-party delivery continues and more businesses choose to turn off the middleman and try out offers on their own terms, third-party vendors have begun to offer new features like tiered pricing. This month, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash announced new bells and whistles like new ordering options in stadiums and airports, search page ads, and finding food using emojis.
In more tech news this month, Sam Nazarian’s C3 has secured a $ 10 million investment, and tech partnerships are numerous: Wendy’s is now working with Google Cloud and SevenRooms has partnered with Olo.
Tech Tracker rounds up what’s happening in the technology sector of the restaurant industry, including news from restaurants, vendors, digital platforms, and third-party suppliers. Here’s what you need to know:
Uber Eats Launches Searchable Pickup Cards With Emojis; Order ahead at airports
As the demand for convenience grows, Uber Eats customers can now find their food cravings by entering emojis into new searchable pickup cards. While these don’t seem to be available yet, Uber Eats is aimed at international travelers who may not know the word for “burger” or “pizza” but can use the respective universal emoji symbols for what they’re looking for.
Earlier this month, Uber Eats also introduced the airport pickup feature for pre-order orders. Customers can order their food and pay in the app from a participating airport vendor, then roll up and collect their food before hitting the runway.
Grubhub starts picking up orders in the sports stadium
In September, Grubhub announced a partnership with the Washington Football Team that will allow football fans to use mobile at 20 participating FedEx Field vendors using the Grubhub app on their phones – or the QR code on the back of the seat in front of them Pay to order food and then skip the concession lines to collect your food. At this time, Grubhub will not be delivering hot dogs and beer directly to customers’ seats (we can imagine that this poses some technical challenges).
Grubhub says the average waiting time for fans has halved after implementation. Grubhub has not indicated whether they would transfer this partnership to other stadiums.
DoorDash introduces sponsored offers
DoorDash is now offering sponsored self-service listings for restaurant operators. DoorDash says operators only pay for orders placed through their ad, not for ad clicks or impressions. Sponsored entries appear higher in the search results for guests who use the DoorDash search function.
Operators can set up their own advertising campaigns via the Merchant Portal and click through under the “Grow Your Sales” tab.
“From day one, our goal has been to empower the local economy by providing access to opportunity,” said Toby Espinosa, vice president of DoorDash Ads, in a statement. “[…] Sponsored Listings and our suite of ad solutions will help highlight relevant content to consumers at the time of purchase and, in turn, help brands succeed. “
C3 grabs a $ 10 million investment
The food technology platform C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) is growing again – this time with an investment of 10 million US dollars by the Swiss Lurra Capital AG. The partnership will support C3’s growing digital infrastructure with over 40 brands and over 250 digital kitchens and help expand its presence internationally.
“Lurra believes in developing ghost kitchens and developing strategic partnerships with gamers and content creators,” said Tyron Birkmeir, Founder and CEO of Lurra Capital Trends Today. “
With this partnership, C3 will expand its presence with new platform partnerships such as Chowly in the US and other international delivery platforms in new markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Wendy’s works with Google Cloud
Wendy’s is now working with Google Cloud to improve the customer experience through access to customer data and artificial intelligence. With data-driven insights from Google, Wendy’s will be able to focus more on customer personalization.
The company has stated that future capabilities that could emerge from this partnership include improving business analytics and reporting, creating new ways to order groceries via mobile and other touchless technologies, and creating a next-generation store experience that runs in part on AI .
“We are committed to delivering the best possible experience for our customers, and our partnership with Google Cloud sets new standards by allowing us to tailor the experience to their preferences,” said Kevin Vasconi, CIO of Wendy’s, in a statement. “We believe that Google Cloud’s AI and data analytics solutions will enable Wendy’s to find innovative ways to create fast, smooth and fun interactions that are redefining the way customers visit and enjoy our restaurants. “
SevenRooms joins Olo. together
Hospitality technology giants SevenRooms and Olo announced a partnership this month that will enable customers of both platforms to more seamlessly merge their order channels and guest details.
Operators can record their guest data with Olo technology and create guest profiles with SevenRooms, which enables a more customizable, personalized digital customer experience. Operators will be able to identify guests’ habits and preferences as part of their digital profile and create marketing campaigns for those specific guests.
“This partnership enables better operational efficiency and online data collection and ultimately helps operators optimize the profitability of their delivery and take-away businesses while strengthening customer relationships,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO and founder of SevenRooms, in a Explanation.
Reef acquires the last mile company Bond
The last mile delivery service Bond is now the operating system of the growing ghost kitchen giant Reef. With this partnership, Reef will be able to “ensure faster delivery” to its delivery customers as an “end-to-end solution” for digital ordering for restaurants and other types of services.
“This acquisition will unlock the full potential that we have seen so clearly in this partnership and will allow us to expand our integration with eCommerce platforms and offer brands a turnkey solution to get their products to customers in minutes “Reef Senior Vice President of Product, Philippe Saint-Just, said in a statement.
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