Today in Food Commerce: Deliveroo Eyes Profitability; Chipotle Tests AI Kitchen Assistant

Today in food commerce, Deliveroo aims to grow its ghost kitchen presence, and Burger King looks to sell off shares of its joint venture in Russia. Plus, Checkers & Rally’s CMO Dwayne Chambers discusses streamlining drive-thrus and adapting to shifting loyalty trends.

Labor Challenges Stifling Would-Be Restaurant Boom, Paytronix CEO Says

Restaurants in many parts of the U.S. may be celebrating the end of COVID-19 restrictions, but labor difficulties are still preventing them from enjoying the resulting higher sales they might otherwise expect. In an interview with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Andrew Robbins, CEO of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) customer experience management (CXM) solutions provider Paytronix, explained how these staffing challenges are dampening the effects of surging demand for dining out.

Deliveroo Lays Out Timeline to Profitability, Leverages Ghost Kitchens, Dark Stores

As most on-demand food delivery aggregators continue to operate at a loss, Deliveroo is gearing up to reach profitability within the next two years or so. The company shared in a presentation with analysts Thursday (March 17) discussing its full-year 2021 results that it expects to reach its break-even point in the second half of 2023 or the first half of 2024.

The Highly Prized, High-Tech Restaurant Consumer

The term “high-tech consumers” refers to people who own the most connected devices. These consumers are also the most motivated to up their spending when given access to convenience-focused digital features at restaurants. When we asked consumers in survey to pick technologies that would encourage them to spend more at restaurants, some key patterns rapidly emerged.

Restaurant Roundup: Aggregators Tackle Gas Challenges; Chipotle Tests Autonomous Kitchen Assistant

Aggregators announce initiatives in response to rising gas costs; Chipotle announces a robotic tortilla-chip-making kitchen assistant; and full-service restaurants try out the ghost kitchen model.

Checkers & Rally’s CMO: Rising Fuel Costs Demand Greater Drive-Thru Efficiency

Dwayne Chambers, Chief Marketing Officer at Checkers & Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants, explains in an interview with PYMNTS how rising gas prices put pressure on restaurants to streamline the drive-thru experience.