Issue #118 – OnTrend Concepts

November 10, 2022

Peter Cook, Editor

Yes, we have the article about CloudKitchens’ layoffs, but the vast majority of the news and articles this week are positive. Great to see the innovation, partnerships, and deals continue! It is still a great time to be in the ghost kitchen, virtual brands, and delivery space!

A few other bits of news to highlight:

Yours truly will be a part of the November 30 episode of TrendTalk by RATIONAL Session 10 – “Ghost Kitchens: Safe Harbour in Stormy Waters?“ register here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dJH38EX
As you may know, OnTrend Concepts also has a vertical focused on restaurant drive-thru. In addition to our weekly newsletter (Drive-Thru Digest), we just announced the Drive-Thru Leadership Summit (being held in Atlanta on January 19), and just launched the Drive-Thru group on LinkedIn. For those of you focused on off-premise and drive-thru, please check them out!

Some big announcements from Chili’s, Restaurant Brands International, Dog Haus, Door Dash, Wow Bao, Food Rocket, Rebel Foods, Helbiz Kitchens, talabat, Muncher, Hangry, Capriotti’s, Wing Zone, and even My Belly!

And now, the news…

Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens startup is cutting jobs as a pandemic-era surge in food ordering subsides

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.

Restaurant Brands International Opens a Digital Food Hall in Former Burger King

KYLO Food Hall in downtown Miami offers items from Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse as well as local concepts. Customers can order from all of them at once.

Chili’s launches its first delivery, takeout-only restaurant

Chili’s off-premise business reached $1 billion annually and makes up one-third of company sales, Wade Allen, Brinker International SVP and chief digital officer, said in a statement.

A Virtual Brand Sits on Top of the Top Fast Casual Brands to Watch in '23

Bad-Ass Breakfast Burritos, a virtual restaurant concept powered by Dog Haus, sits on top of the 20 #FastCasual Brands to watch in 2023!

Restaurant Delivery: $380,000,000,000 globally

It seems that this figure has already been exceeded, but with a very important concentration at the geographical level since the 10 main countries in the world in terms of Delivery weigh 90% of the total.

Multibrand Restaurant Companies May Hold the Key to the Ghost Kitchen Model

Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International is the latest conglomerate to stack its concepts in a digital-only format. Here’s why the idea is a slam dunk.

A Conversation with Christopher Payne, President of DoorDash

Christopher Payne, President of DoorDash, discusses the characteristics of entrepreneurial businesses, how to lead at scale, how to compete and the importance of putting customers at the heart of everything you do.

Wow Bao to Launch Metaverse Vending Machines

Wow Bao, a leading fast-casual Asian concept, laid out its phased Web3 strategy, which will include an NFT-based extension of their Bao Bucks rewards program and the launch of metaverse vending machines.

Hooters opens Chase Elliot’s chicken tenders virtual brand

The delivery-only menu will operate out of 200 restaurant locations nationwide.

How dining out has changed

Restaurants are crowded again, but customers complain of high prices and spotty service. Is this a new normal? Here's everything you need to know.

The Emergence of Cloud Kitchens post the Covid-19 Pandemic

A nice overview of the industry and its adoption around the world.

WSJ: Autonomous Delivery and Work Drones Will Still Need a Human Minder

Development of autonomous technologies is attracting billions of dollars, but industry executives say remote operators will likely always be needed.

Food Rocket Bets on Fast Delivery and Ghost Kitchens

Fast delivery startup Food Rocket, backed by Circle K, is betting on walk-in customers and ghost kitchens like Gopuff to win the 20-minute delivery wars.

Ghost Kitchens Are Evolving

These phantom operations aren’t so ghostly anymore.

Podcast: NRN editors discuss restaurant earnings week plus ghost-kitchen players

This week NRN editors Holly Petre, Sam Oches and Leigh Anne Zinsmeister spoke about the earnings palooza that occurred this week and the end of last week.

UAE: Ralph’s Kitchen launches F&B incubator and portfolio of virtual brands

The dark kitchen’s own homegrown portfolio offers a range of culture inspired cuisines.

UAE: Talabat UAE extends dark-store management solution to retail partners

The launch of the quick-commerce-as-a-service (Q-CaaS) store is in collaboration with Aswaaq Retail.

UAE: Original Café Isan in JLT goes delivery-only as founders look to diversify business

The birthplace of one of Dubai’s great culinary success stories goes dark, Café Isan looks to the future.

EU: In My Belly raises €1.5 million from Elevation Capital Partners and accelerates its multichannel strategy

With its 10 kitchens/points of sale in France and 6 brands in its portfolio, including the very recent Junk, the culinary group In My Belly is accelerating by moving away from the traditional dark kitchen model.

EU: Helbiz Kitchen Announces Partnerships with Deliveroo and Glovo

Helbiz Kitchen claims to be the largest international ghost kitchen in Italy.

South America: Dark Kitchens Foodtech Muncher Raises US$27 Million in a Series B

With the new funds, the Colombian company plans to increase the number of kitchens on its platform and strengthen its presence in LatAm, mainly in Mexico and Brazil.

APAC: Hangry flies the cloud kitchen flag as recession beckons

Amid the worry of inflation and gas price hikes, will the same positive trend continue for Hangry and other cloud kitchen providers in the country?

India: Cloud Kitchen Unicorn Rebel Foods Secures $12.5 Mn Debt Funding From Innoven, Trifecta

Foodtech Unicorn Rebel Foods has raised $12.5M (INR 100 cr) in a debt funding round from InnoVen Capital and Trifecta Capital.

India: Village Food Courts signs a multi-unit license agreement with Capriotti’s & Wing Zone in India

The deal includes the exclusive rights to launch both brands within VFC’s food court venues and select delivery kitchens.

Our newsletters are a collection of all the news from the previous week related to each digest topic. The focus is on trends, deal announcements, technology, and other industry disruptors and innovations.

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