Restaurant Powerhouses Turn Focus to Cult Sweet Treats Brands

Quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant McDonald’s is looking to drive sales by teaming up with sweet treat brand Krispy Kreme, exploring selling the latter’s donuts at its restaurants. The QSR chain announced Tuesday (Oct. 18) that it is adding these to the menu at nine locations in the Louisville, Kentucky area.

Through this partnership, if it proves successful, McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme can each benefit from the other’s loyal fans and widespread name recognition, and the former can create additional occasions to draw consumers in its doors.

“McDonald’s is always looking for ways to give our fans more of what they crave, and we often conduct tests to inform future menu decisions,” the QSR brand said in the press release. “This small-scale test will help us understand how offering new bakery items like Krispy Kreme could impact operations in our restaurants.”

The reference to “items like” these donuts additionally suggests that the QSR chain may be interested in exploring other such partnerships to expand beyond its typical menu offerings while benefitting from the relationships other brands have built with their customers.

Danny Meyer’s EHI Invests $10M in Cookie Chain

McDonald’s is not the only restaurant powerhouse looking to drive profit from consumers’ demand for sweet indulgences. Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), a growth equity firm affiliated with celebrity restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), recently invested $10 million in emerging cookie brand Chip City Cookies, as the latter announced Friday (Oct. 21).

“At EHI, we are always looking for businesses that have created craveable products and have earned a tribe-like following. Chip City checks both of those boxes in a significant way,” Meyer, who is a co-founder and managing partner of EHI, said in a statement. “Beyond the cookies, which speak for themselves, we are excited to support the growth aspirations of the passionate team behind Chip City, who exemplify our values of hospitality and community.”

The New York City-based cookie brand currently has 14 locations in the New York area, with plans to expand to New Jersey and Florida. In addition to its physical stores, the cookie brand is also garnering a digital audience across its direct-to-consumer (D2C) site and Uber Eats, the latter of which powers both on-demand delivery and nationwide shipping for the chain.

Robot Burger Vending Machine Raises $10M in Seed 2 Round

In addition to backing sweet treats, investors are also keeping their focus on restaurants’ staffing challenges, with an eye on businesses promising to meet consumers’ ready-to-eat needs without the typical steep labor costs.

For instance, New Jersey-based tech company RoboBurger, which creates a robotic vending machine that cooks and puts together burgers within a few minutes, announced Thursday (Oct. 20) that it has secured $10 million in its Seed 2 funding round in partnership with London-based private equity firm Promethean Investments.

“We have received an overwhelming amount of interest from around the world. This new round of funding will allow us to rapidly scale up and keep up with the incredible demand as we continue to roll out RoboBurger units across the U.S.” RoboBurger CEO Audley Wilson said in a statement.

According to data from the 2022 edition of PYMNTS’ Restaurant Readiness Index, which drew from a survey of more than 500 managers of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and full-service restaurants (FSRs) across the country, nearly half of all restaurants have been facing hiring and retention challenges. Consequently, 56% report that they are paying their employees more.

As such, automated vending machine models such as RoboBurger’s, if they prove successful, may be able to meet consumers’ food needs with significantly higher profit margins.

Popeyes Targets Holiday Sales with Turkey Delivery

Popeyes is looking to drive sales with convenience-seeking consumers this Thanksgiving, by offering, for the first time, delivery of its cooked Cajun-Style Turkey, as several outlets reported Tuesday (Oct. 18). The menu item has been available in previous years, but this year marks the first in which consumers can order the turkey to be brought to their doors.

The news comes as consumers increasingly expect to be able to get their food needs met on demand. Research from the July edition of PYMNTS’ ConnectedEconomy study, “The ConnectedEconomy Monthly Report: The Rise of the Smart Home,” which drew from a May survey of roughly 2,700 U.S. adults, found that 43% reported having ordered from an aggregator in the previous month. Plus, more than half of those consumers did so once a week or more.

See more: New Data Shows Convenience Drove Smart Home Upgrades for 83M Consumers in 2022