Meet Chipotle's Robotic Bowl Maker
Peapod's new apps, Zedify's ads, Instacart's post-IPO woes
While many people like watching a worker assemble their burrito, bowl, salad or hoagie (keep in mind at Subway those folks are called sandwich artists,) there’s no need to witness the operation if you’ve ordered ahead for pickup or delivery. That gives creative companies the chance to automate more of the prep process, as we see in a recent announcement by Chipotle. We’ve also got some new innovations by Peapod and Zedify, plus some stock market doldrums. Read on!
By the way, this newsletter will be taking next week off — enjoy Indigenous Peoples' Day — see you on the 16th.
Today:
Chipotle & Hyphen Trial Robotic Makeline
Peapod Premieres New Grocery App
Chart Time | Instacart’s Stock Stumbles
Zedify’s Bold Ad Business
AUTOMATION | Chipotle Trials Hyphen Robotic Makeline
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it’s testing the use of Hyphen’s digital makeline. Bowls and salads are created by an automated system that moves the entrees through the bottom makeline where ingredients are dispensed automatically. At the same time, a Chipotle team member can leverage the top makeline to create burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and kid's meals for the same, or other, orders. Completed bowls or salads are raised from the bottom makeline, where a Chipotle team member places a lid on the item and adds necessary sides. Finally, it’s moved to an in-restaurant pickup shelf, walk-up window, or Chipotlane. The system works for digital orders placed on the Chipotle app, Chipotle.com, or a third-party platform.
The Big Picture: Chipotle has made a big push into technology, as last year digital sales represented 39.4% of food and beverage revenue; of those sales, 65% are for bowls or salads. As the company looks to pump up throughput and lower labor costs to support that transition, it’s also made investments into interesting solutions like the Vebu Autocado.
1PD | Peapod Launches New Mobile App for Grocers
Peapod Digital Labs has released a rebuilt app for its grocery partners, including Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Giant Food. As part of the transition to the Ahold Delhaize-owned company’s PRISM platform, each grocery brand is getting a fully native app to power its ecommerce and delivery operations; previously each banner ran a wrapped mobile website, impeding speed and performance. The new PRISM app simplifies the process for customers to place, track and modify their delivery and pickup orders. It also simplifies reordering, adds personalized recommendations, and adds digital coupons / loyalty cards to Apple and Google wallets.
The Big Picture: Peapod Digital Labs (formerly just Peapod) has long been an innovator in the grocery tech space. The company first launched its online delivery services in 1989, adding a website in 1996. In 2000 it was bought by international mega-grocer Royal Ahold, which also operates domestic brands like Hannaford, Martin’s and FreshDirect; it’s the 10th largest supermarket chain in the United States.
CHART TIME | Instacart’s Tough Three Weeks
As we push through Friday, this marks the end of the third week that Instacart’s been publicly listed, and the story ain’t exactly amazing. Since listing on the 19th, the stock (above in blue) has fallen about 26%, while competitors like Uber (green,) DoorDash (black,) and the overall Nasdaq Composite have seen much shallower declines.
ADS | Zedify Pushes Into Branded Cargo Bikes
UK cargo ebike delivery platform Zedify is unlocking a new revenue stream: advertising. Across its nine U.K. markets, passersby may now notice the company’s fleet decked out in ad wraps for partner brands. Beyond eye-catching graphics, Zedify is also offering co-branded customer delivery notifications, showing customers how much CO2 the participating company has saved the user. “They were a no-brainer. We don’t have massive marketing budgets to invest in out of home, so having mobile billboards showcasing our brand prominently on the busy streets of London has been a great way to create added visibility and awareness of our product. We’ve had all sorts of business and customer enquiries come through as a result” said Martin Holden-White, CEO of meal kit co Grubby.
The Big Picture: We’ve seen more and more companies in the delivery sector turn to advertising as an ancillary business. Uber makes about $650M off of ads, while Instacart raked in $406 million from it last year. And while we also see ad wraps on delivery robots like Tiny Mile and Serve’s, that real estate can’t quite compare to the square meter or so size of each Zedify cargo bike. Will the company grow that into an internal core capability, or look to outsource ad sales to a specialty agency / broker like Nickelytics?
A Few Good Links
Kaiser Permanente studies expanded food access with Instacart. Amazon backtracks, lowers minimum order size for free grocery delivery. Walmart previews holiday deals, delivery incentives. LA may ban cashless restos. Restaurant / bar employment finally returns to pre-pandemic levels. How CA’s $20 fast food minimum wage came to be. How NYC’s $18 delivery minimum wage came to be. Inside Starbucks’ ghost kitchen strategy. JD Food turns to Pepper for digital ordering. Metropolis raises $1.7B for parking digitization. NY porch pirate uses DoorDashing as cover story. Flexport to cut 30% of staff.
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