Today in restaurant and grocery tech news: Blue Apron announces “Heat & Eat” single-serve meals, while Resy adds vaccination status-checking tools for its restaurant customers. Plus, Ghost Kitchen Brands President Marc Choy speaks with Karen Webster about how the company’s in-Walmart restaurants are merging consumers’ grocery and restaurant routines.
Jack in the Box: How Digital-First Loyalty Experiences Power Consumer Engagement
Timing is everything in the restaurant business, and pushing the right offer at the right time not only drives sales, but also turns buyers into loyal repeat customers. In the Order to Eat Tracker, Jack in the Box’s Ryan Ostrom tells PYMNTS that leveraging loyalty data to create personalized incentives is the secret sauce needed to attract digital-first diners.
Mobile Order-Ahead Provider Ranking Hungry for Answers to Ranking Riddles
Are we seeing the impact of the return to on-premises dining in PYMNTS’ Provider Ranking of Mobile Order-Ahead Apps? No. From the look of this latest ranking, people are still enjoying mobile order-ahead (MOA) in droves. Our guess is that this will continue.
In-Store Ghost Kitchens Turn Walmart Into Uber Eats Competitor
With its new in-store locations at Walmart, Ghost Kitchen Brands is looking to merge consumers’ grocery and restaurant buying routines into a single cross-category one-stop destination. The company’s President Marc Choy tells PYMNTS’ Karen Webster how his hybrid kitchens can seize upon the changing ways consumers shop for food.
Blue Apron’s New Frozen Meals Add Value for High-Churn Subscription Service
Blue Apron announced on Monday (Sept. 13) that it is launching “Heat & Eat” meals as add-ons for subscribers. Unlike the company’s meal kit offerings, these items are single-serving, ready-made frozen meals meant to be microwaved in five minutes or less.
POS ResTech Firm Toast Eyes IPO up to $717M
Boston-based point-of-sale firm Toast Inc., which focuses on restaurant technology, is contemplating a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) of up to $717 million, driving its value to $16.5 billion, according to a Monday (Sept. 13) Bloomberg report. The 10-year-old company intends to sell 21.7 million Class A shares for $30 to $33 each.
Resy Announces Free Health Pass Integration as Restaurants Struggle with Employee Vaccine Mandates
On Monday (Sept. 13), hospitality technology platform Resy, which is owned by American Express, announced a partnership with secure identity company CLEAR to make the latter’s Health Pass technology available for free to Resy’s restaurant customers.
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