Aramark Expands To College Campuses With Good Uncle Acquisition

Aramark announced that it has acquired Good Uncle, a food delivery service app that brings freshly prepared meals to college campuses.

Aramark is a global leader in food, facilities management and uniforms, and its clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, sports teams, healthcare providers, educational institutions, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and municipalities in 19 countries around the world. This deal boosts the company’s commitment to innovation through culinary-and technology-driven solutions.

“We are pleased to welcome the Good Uncle team to the Aramark family,” said Eric J. Foss, Aramark’s chairman, president and CEO, in a press release. “As consumer dining habits evolve, we’re continually looking for new ways to disrupt the marketplace with innovative services. Good Uncle strengthens our ability to offer quality and convenience through services that allow our college consumers to order restaurant-quality food and have it delivered when and where they want it on campus.”

Launched in 2016, Good Uncle uses centralized production — along with a fleet of specially equipped vehicles — to deliver restaurant-quality meals to popular spots on and off college campuses. Its culinary team, led by a Michelin-rated chef, crafts a diverse menu of healthy items that rotates frequently. By designating pick-up locations, Good Uncle is able to deliver to multiple customers simultaneously, and it will continue to operate independently.

This isn’t Aramark’s first foray into college food delivery. Mobile food ordering app Tapingo partnered with Aramark in 2015 to launch campus delivery services during an initial rollout at 25 universities across the country. Students, faculty and staff at these campuses can order, pick up or get delivery through Tapingo’s smartphone app.

Other companies have also entered the market, with Pepsi recently partnering with Robby Technologies to deliver snacks and beverages via a fleet of self-driving robots on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. The service, which is reportedly the first United States launch of robots from a major food and beverage company, delivers healthy snacks and beverages from Hello Goodness direct to students.