News Briefs

Chris Kung has joined Zaxby's as its new Chief Digital Officer. He will lead the transformation and acceleration of the company's Loyalty and e-Commerce initiatives.  

"Zaxbys rapid expansion requires the investment of world-class leaders and resources," said Bernard Acoca, Zaxbys CEO. "Chris's expertise in e-Commerce and loyalty programs will help drive incremental growth and enhance the Zaxbys experience as digital touchpoints continue to proliferate throughout the customer journey. His arrival will help us build stronger relationships with our guests by deepening our understanding of their needs and rewarding their patronage with personalized experiences." 

Growing Loyalty

Kung brings over 20 years of innovation and strategy experience to Zaxbys and most recently served as Chief Digital Officer at Dollar General, where he led initiatives that transformed the company into a digital innovator. Kung played a central role in creating the myDG loyalty program. Under his leadership, the company's e-Commerce sales grew 40x in three years, app usage surged from 1.8 million to 7 million monthly active users, and the DG App earned the distinction of the #1 couponing app in America.

Prior to Dollar General, Kung held key leadership positions at Macy's Inc., where he drove omnichannel technology and innovation.

Zaxbys is establishing a new Loyalty & e-Commerce Team, which will report to Kung. This new team will spearhead efforts to make Loyalty and e-Commerce significant contributors to its growth. The creation of the Chief Digital Officer role will open capacity and drive focus for Mike Nettles, Chief Technology Officer, and Patrick Schwing, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, who both previously oversaw a portion of this role.  

New York-based robotic kitchen startup, Aniai, has announced the deployment of 15 hamburger grill robots across burger chains in South Korea, including the hamburger franchise brand Lotteria (part of Lotte GRS, a food affiliate of Lotte Group).

Aniai's robotic solution, Alpha Grill, helps restaurants automate the burger cooking process. It not only wears many of the same features as clamshell grills – with its dual-sided griddle, pre-set recipe configurations and precision output, but also boasts an impressive speed and serving automations. Capable of cooking 200+ patties per hour, Alpha Grill's robotic spatula cooks patties, brings them to a warming tray and then self-cleans saving customer's precious seconds with each use. 

After employing Alpha Grill for six months, Lotteria reduced their traditional six-step patty cooking process, which required approximately five minutes of cooking time, down to a single step and exactly one minute and fifty seconds, allowing their staff to allocate more time to value-added tasks while removing physical burdens. 

"The impact of Alpha Grill extends to creating a safer working environment," noted a Lotte GRS Representative. "By reducing the time our kitchen staff spend in front of hot grills, which is traditionally a risk for burns and heat-related injuries, Alpha Grill enhances workplace safety."

As Aniai continues conversations and live demos with major American and NYC-based burger brands, they look to the technological advances and rapid adoption of Alpha Grill in South Korea. Aniai's Co-founder and CEO, Gunpil Hwang, is enthusiastic about their partnership with Lotteria and other prominent burger chains where they've deployed 15 grills today, and 500 pre-orders for the future.

"It's truly exciting to witness the rapid adoption of our automation technology, and the happiness it brings among kitchen staff," notes Gunpil Hwang. "We want to ensure that not only are our customers eager to innovate with us, but their staff reap the positive benefits Alpha Grill brings to them. We have proved that our solution works in the commercial kitchen in South Korea; and now, we are taking this momentum to expand deployment to the US."

Pictured right:  Aniai Deploys 15 Hamburger Grill Robots Across South Korea’s Leading Burger Chains, Including Lotteria

Portillo's Inc. is piloting kiosks in select restaurants. This strategic test represents a step forward in Portillo's ongoing commitment to embracing technology that will enhance the guest and Team Member experience, while optimizing operational efficiency. The company has installed its first state-of-the-art, 24-inch Bite kiosks at two Chicagoland restaurants, offering Portillo's guests an additional layer of convenience and choice, and freeing up Team Members to support other areas of the restaurant and focus on exceptional guest service.

• According to 2023 HT’s Customer Engagement Technology Study, 55% of consumers are very or somewhat satisfied with restaurant self-ordering technologies such as kiosks.

Guests at Portillo's restaurants in Downers Grove (1500 Butterfield Rd) and Chicago's River North neighborhood (100 W Ontario St) will have the first opportunity to trial the kiosks, which were custom-designed in partnership with Portillo's technology team and Bite. As part of the pilot program, Portillo's plans to install additional kiosks at its restaurants in California later this month. Pilot locations will serve as testing environments, providing valuable insights to guide potential future kiosk implementations.

"We've studied best practices across the restaurant industry to identify a next-generation ordering system as a thoughtful addition for both our guests and our Team Members," said Keith Correia, Chief Information Officer of Portillo's. "By offering an alternative ordering experience, we're giving guests another way to get their Portillo's however they prefer, while creating flexibility for our teams to focus on what they do best – making delicious food and providing fun, welcoming service. It's about carefully integrating technology to enhance the classic Portillo's experience that has delighted fans for over six decades."

Crucially, this technological addition is designed to complement, not disrupt the Portillo's dine-in experience. The kiosks work alongside existing ordering channels, providing guests with more ways to order. This approach enables Portillo's to strategically redistribute Team Members to other high-value areas of guest service, fostering new opportunities for meaningful guest interactions and Team Member development.

Moreover, these kiosks allow Portillo's to thoughtfully showcase both core menu items and new innovations. Large 24-inch video screens not only facilitate an easy ordering process, but also offer a visual journey through Portillo's full menu to encourage guests to discover new items, potentially leading to increased check sizes and higher guest satisfaction.

Portillo's partnership with Bite, a leading restaurant kiosk provider, underscores the company's commitment to quality. The kiosks will be evaluated based on specific success metrics, including line reduction, order accuracy, check size, guest satisfaction, and importantly, Team Member satisfaction. This pilot program reflects Portillo's dedication to mindful tech integration that genuinely benefits the overall Portillo's experience for Team Members and guests.

J.P. Morgan Payments announced an expanded relationship with PopID to deploy in-store biometric payments to pilot merchants across the United States.

The pay-by-face biometric payment solution allows shoppers to complete transactions more seamlessly, removing the need for customers to pull out their phones or credit cards. Biometric loyalty program check-in and payment provides a swift ordering and checkout experience for merchants and customers alike. PopID research has shown the platform decreases ordering and check out times by up to 90 seconds per transaction and can increase ticket size by 4 percent.

“This is a giant step forward in helping our clients reimagine the entire retail experience for their customers and bringing best-in-class biometrics payments solutions to the market,” said Jean-Marc Thienpont, Managing Director, Omnichannel & Biometric Solutions at J.P. Morgan Payments. “We offer something that is hard to match - the stability, scale and trust of a world-class bank combined with the technology and agility of a fintech.”

Clients will also benefit from the expanded collaboration between J.P. Morgan Payments and PopID. Whataburger, which already accepts biometric payments through PopID’s solution, plans to extend biometric payments with payments processing powered by J.P. Morgan Payments.

“We are excited to continue to embrace biometric payments to help us revolutionize the way our customers purchase their favorite food reliably and securely,” said Jerry Phillips, VP of Technology, Whataburger. “At Whataburger, we believe in innovation, and this marks a significant step forward in enhancing our overall dining experience. This new offering allows us to provide a faster, safer and seamless checkout process for our valued guests, backed by the stability of an established financial institution.”

Whataburger has already seen a positive impact with faster checkout times and increased loyalty engagement at the counter and on self-ordering kiosks. After registering for biometric loyalty and payment in the Whataburger mobile app, guests no longer need to pull out their mobile phones and scan the QR code to check into the loyalty program or further authenticate payment, which is done through a biometric scan.

How it works

The J.P. Morgan Payments biometric checkout solution is powered by PopID, which uses enhanced facial identification technology to create a secure, reliable and convenient method for customer identification and payment authentication. During enrollment, the customer takes a photo of their face that is converted into a template, encrypted and securely stored in the PopID cloud. When a purchase is initiated, the template of the transaction is matched against the template stored in the cloud and informs the result of the match to the merchant. As a merchant-agnostic solution, customers can utilize their facial biometrics at any participating pilot merchant once they enroll. The solution is consent-driven and customers can opt-in and out of the program at any time at their discretion.

Related:  Steak n Shake Deploys Biometric Check In

“We are thrilled to continue working with J.P. Morgan Payments to deliver enhanced biometric check in and payment solutions to merchants,” said John Miller, CEO at PopID. “We’ve seen a remarkable increase in speed and a rise in customer loyalty when biometric technology is available. Allowing people the freedom to authenticate loyalty and pay how they want, while leveling up security, is critical to today’s consumer.”

South Florida Motorsports (SFM), the organizers of the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX, was the first client to use J.P. Morgan Payments’ biometric payments solution, which debuted in retail stores at the Miami International Autodrome during the 2024 race May 3-5, 2024. 

3V Infrastructure, a new electric vehicle charging infrastructure owner and operator, announced its formation today, with a mission to accelerate widespread access to EV charging. Staffed with top-tier talent, 3V Infrastructure builds and operates Level 2 EV chargers in long-dwell properties such as multifamily housing and hotels, eliminating upfront and ongoing costs for real estate portfolio owners and managers. The company has secured a commitment of up to $40 million from an affiliate of Greenbacker Capital Management, that provides strategic growth capital to leading energy transition companies.

Currently, access to EV charging infrastructure is limited, with EV adoption quickly outpacing the supply of chargers. A recent JD Power study found that more than half of respondents cited a lack of charging station availability as a reason for not buying an EV. While there is a strong focus from private and public funding sources on building Level 3 chargers in centralized, public locations mirroring a gas station model, most Level 2 chargers are currently located in single-family homes, limiting access for drivers living in multifamily properties. 3V Infrastructure aims to address this gap by providing Level 2 chargers to a broader market, unlocking new customers and opportunities.

 “3V Infrastructure is hyper-focused on an overlooked and underfunded asset class of EV infrastructure: Level 2 chargers at long-dwell properties,” said Aubrey Gunnels, Co-Founder and CEO of 3V Infrastructure. “Consumer behavior and market signals indicate that drivers want to charge their vehicles like they charge their cell phones - when they’re at rest for extended periods of time.”

Research indicates that 27% of apartment tenants are interested in EV charging as an amenity yet fewer than 5% of rental properties offer it. Similarly, 20% of hotel guests expressed a need for EV charging stations when staying overnight. This amenity is poised to become as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi. Real estate portfolio owners and managers control access to this demand, but building and maintaining EV infrastructure is complex, time-intensive, expensive, and non-core to their operations. 3V Infrastructure eliminates substantial upfront capital expenditures and ongoing costs for property owners. In-house experts work with a trusted network of technology and deployment partners to handle operational obstacles, from permitting and utility setup to ongoing maintenance and monitoring.

 “Our team brings deep expertise in EV technology, real estate, construction, operations, energy, and public affairs. We’re a passionate group driven by a common mission to build for a future where EVs are ubiquitous,” says Ben Kanner, Co-Founder and COO of 3V Infrastructure. “3V Infrastructure believes that the right combination of technology, infrastructure, and capital will unlock the next generation of EV adoption.”

“Greenbacker is thrilled to partner with the founders of 3V to tackle the Level 2 charging space,” said Quinn Pasloske, Principal at Greenbacker and a member of 3V’s board of directors. “Working with real estate owners to deliver accessible, affordable charging to their tenants presents an extremely attractive risk-adjusted return. 3V brings an infrastructure mindset to an emerging market and, as an early mover, aims to capitalize on the long-term fundamental value of the sector.”

3V is prioritizing work with real estate portfolio owners and managers that have large portfolios of long-dwell properties, such as apartments and hotels. 3V focuses on property owners and managers with more than 20 sites in an effort to deploy projects broadly and rapidly. Property owners need support to start building today while preparing for the long-term infrastructure needed for future generations; this is what 3V was built to solve, redefine, and accelerate. To learn more about 3V Infrastructure and stay apprised of upcoming projects, visit www.3vinfrastructure.com.

Image Caption: Aubrey Gunnels, Co-Founder and CEO of 3V Infrastructure and Ben Kanner, Co-Founder and COO of 3V Infrastructure.

Ooma, Inc., a smart communications platform for businesses and consumers, announced the integration of its Ooma Office business phone service with Intuit QuickBooks, a leading global financial technology platform.

By integrating QuickBooks (https://www.ooma.com/small-business-phone-systems/integrations/quickbooks/) with the Ooma Office desktop app, inbound and outbound calls instantly present customer information from QuickBooks Online – such as customer or vendor name, most recent invoice, outstanding balance, past due amounts and notes – in a Caller ID Pop. This empowers employees to deliver exceptional customer service by having personalized information at their fingertips when interacting over the phone.

Ooma Office (https://www.ooma.com/small-business-phone-systems/), available in the United States and Canada, is a leading cloud-based phone and unified communications service offering more than 90 features curated to meet the needs of businesses of various sizes. Designed for easy installation, use and management, with no technical skills required, Ooma Office delivers powerful capabilities that include virtual receptionists, ring groups, text messaging, videoconferencing, call recording, call queuing and more.

The integration with QuickBooks was built through the Intuit Developer platform, which enables developers to integrate with QuickBooks financial and transactional data. The platform also offers unparalleled reach to small businesses through the QuickBooks app store, where millions of QuickBooks Online users can find, try and buy apps that meet their needs.