Today in Food Commerce: Unilever Brings Ice Cream Shop to Consumers’ Doors; Sweetgreen Touts Subscription Success

Sweetgreen

Today in food commerce, Unilever launches an ice cream shop that can be hailed Uber-style, and Sweetgreen looks to integrate subscription commerce into the business on a more permanent basis. Plus, financial results show aggregators picking up steam.

Unilever Rolls out Hail-Able Ice Cream Truck

Typically, when consumers order an item for delivery, they expect to have the product delivered from the store to their door, not to have the store itself arrive outside their home. However, consumer packaged goods (CPG) giant Unilever is bringing the ice cream shop to consumers with its new initiative.

Aggregators’ Growth Shows Delivery Habits Buck the Great Reopening

The great reopening — of restaurants, of pharmacies and groceries — has not dented consumers’ desire to get doorstep delivery of essentials. That sentiment is borne out by recent results from DoorDash, Uber and others, indicating that double-digit growth has been the norm even as the pandemic recedes a bit and restrictions and lockdowns are lifted.

Sweetgreen Rethinks Loyalty with an Eye Toward Subscription Commerce

Sweetgreen, the Los Angeles-based, health-focused fast-casual chain with over 150 restaurants, is looking to combine a subscription model with more traditional restaurant rewards to boost loyalty with digital customers going forward. On a call with analysts Friday (May 6), Jonathan Neman, the brand’s co-founder and CEO, spoke about the success of the company’s “Sweetpass” subscription product.