News Briefs

Starbucks Coffee Company and DoorDash Inc. announced the expansion of their partnership with new delivery service launching today in Northern California, Texas, Georgia, Florida and other select markets. Starbucks delivery with DoorDash will expand to additional markets over the coming months, with full nationwide availability anticipated in all 50 states by March 2023.   

This expansion follows on the heels of positive feedback from a successful pilot in Atlanta, Houston, and Sacramento, and additional market expansion in Seattle, Portland and New York City last year. Through the partnership and as the largest local commerce platform in the country, DoorDash provides a delivery platform to enable increased, convenient access to Starbucks nationwide.  

Starbucks Reveals Roadmap for Reinvention

“As customer behaviors evolve, we continue to innovate the Starbucks Experience to connect with them through meaningful and valuable digital experiences.   Our partnership with DoorDash allows us to provide our customers with another convenient way to enjoy Starbucks wherever they are, said Brooke O’Berry, Starbucks senior vice president of digital experiences. “Delivery continues to represent a significant growth opportunity for Starbucks, and we’re excited to reach more customers by partnering with DoorDash, a company known for their best in-class service.”  

“Our partnership with Starbucks connects even more neighborhoods across the United States with their favorite beverages and bites,” said Sanjay Kotte, DoorDash head of strategic partnerships. “When you combine the exceptional quality of Starbucks handcrafted beverages and food with the logistics power and geographic scale of DoorDash, the result is extraordinary for coffee lovers nationwide.” 

Convenience for Customers   

In the U.S., customers will be able to access Starbucks delivery via DoorDash on iOS and Android devices, in addition to DoorDash.com. Key features of the delivery program include:  

New Packaging Solutions: Starbucks has developed packaging solutions to help ensure the quality of hot and cold menu items including stickers for beverages to avoid spilling, tamper-evident packaging, and delivery-specific cup holders. 

Customization: Starbucks will offer approximately 95% of its core menu items on DoorDash, and just as they would at Starbucks, customers can customize their orders within the DoorDash app.

72% of millennials and 66% of Gen Z adults say purchasing takeout or delivery is now essential to the way they live.

DashPass, DoorDash’s monthly membership program, provides customers ordering from Starbucks on DoorDash with $0 delivery fees and the lowest service fees available on each order of $12 or more. Standard delivery and service fees apply to all other orders. 

Focus Brands says dual branding is the future of QSR, and the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, is leading the charge. Today, the Focus Brands portfolio boasts 175-plus open dual branded units with at least 65 more in various stages of development across the country. 

Drive-Thru Convenience

The Focus Brands portfolio brands have signed agreements to open more than 50 dual and tri-brand locations in the coming year, many of which include drive-thrus for added convenience as interest in dual branded franchise opportunities continues to surge.

Flexible Store Formats

Focus Brands is among the brands introducing new store formats, including Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box and Panera Bread, which opened its Panera To Go, solely offering Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery shelves where guests and delivery drivers can easily pick up orders.  

Focus Brands has long pioneered the concept of dual branding, predominately in malls and non-traditional locations with Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. Now, the company’s portfolio brands have found new opportunities with streetside dual branded units, which is paving the way for immense franchise growth. 

“Dual branding is the future of our brands, especially on the specialty side of the business,” said Brian Krause, Chief Development Officer at Focus Brands. “There will always be a place in malls, but there is an immense amount of growth opportunity in streetside venues, and, by dual branding, there is more opportunity for enhanced revenue.”

The company invested heavily in consumer research to identify how to create combinations of its iconic brands to resonate with consumers and meet them where they want to be met.

Focus Brands has identified four dual-brand concepts:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon/Carvel
• Auntie Anne’s/Jamba
• Cinnabon/Carvel – Cinnabon Swirl. 

While key consumer benefits vary by dual-brand combination, one consistent benefit has been convenience. Having these brands together in one location makes them far more accessible than they are individually. This convenience also creates opportunity for franchisees, as co-branding leads to an expansive menu that drives enhanced unit-level volume. 

 

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux is making its largest technological investment in brand history.

Walk-On’s is implementing a systemwide aggregator to consolidate third party orders, partnering with Lunchbox to upgrade its online ordering platform and guest loyalty program, and introducing a partnership with Toast to level up its POS management system.

71% say the ability to integrate with other systems is driving their POS purchase decisions, according to HT’s2 2023 POS Software Trends Report.

Walk-On’s new loyalty program and app, designed by Lunchbox, are scheduled to launch in the first half of 2023 with an improved interface and back-end integration that will create a more seamless user experience for guests and operators alike. 

Continuing with marked enhancements to the guest experience, Walk-On’s is also partnering with BOWEN to modernize the brand’s website presence and streamline the online ordering experience. 

In addition to the upgraded Toast POS system, Walk-On’s is installing Toast Kitchen Display System, and rolling out Toast Go 2 mobile handheld POS devices for tableside and curbside use at current and future locations. 

Walk-On’s will implement a phased rollout across all current locations throughout 2023 and begin immediate implementation at all new restaurants in their development pipeline. 

Akia, a customer experience automation platform,  announced a $6 million Series A funding round.

Since launching in 2019, Akia has consistently achieved 3x year-over-year growth, operating primarily in hospitality. The current market conditions, ongoing labor shortage, and post-pandemic impact have increased demand for Akia's automated customer engagement framework. Akia has helped thousands of businesses eliminate monotonous paperwork, automate processes and drive engagement to better serve consumers and increase efficiency.

Mighty Minis

According to industry estimates, 75% of app downloads are not used more than once. Akia’s Mini Apps are mobile experiences that don’t require download or login. From the business perspective, where native apps fall short - costs, maintenance, and engagement challenges - Mini Apps fill these gaps with better accessibility and usability. Companies using Akia’s platform produce more results by leveraging Mini Apps to automate and expedite day-to-day processes like identity verification, security deposit collection, or even contactless hotel check-in.

The shift towards a contactless first approach and the ongoing staff shortages have created a prime opportunity for Akia to make a splash in the market. Akia is well-positioned to take advantage of these favorable conditions and will continue to expand its reach and impact.

Beaconstac, a QR code customer engagement platform,  announced $25 million in Series A funding led by Telescope Partners, with participation from existing investor, Accel. The funding underscores the strong market demand from businesses for Beaconstac’s SaaS platform resulting in profitable revenue growth of 200% over the course of 2022.

Over the past 12 months, Beaconstac has helped businesses of all sizes create and track 1.8 million QR codes that were scanned over 150 million times by consumers. These numbers will continue to accelerate as the number of unique US smartphone users scanning a QR code is poised to reach 99.5 million by 2025. 

This new funding will enable Beaconstac to further develop its platform, build a world class team, and ultimately enable new and existing customers to adopt QR codes as a means to create personal connections with a wide audience at scale, and bridge physical world customer experiences to digital. 

Beaconstac is trusted by large enterprises such as Marriott, and is a leading QR code platform on G2 reaching 20,000 customers in September 2022.

shiftNOW announced the launch of its software solution designed to connect hospitality's finest brands to quality talent.

Founded in 2022, shiftNOW provides a flexible solution to one of the hospitality industry's greatest challenges - talent. The industry is plagued by a labor shortage that is causing a ripple effect on businesses' operating hours, revenue, and overall success. According to the National Restaurant Association, 72% of operators ranked recruitment and retention of their workforce as their top challenge. Fractures in the industry's workforce have only been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic and compounded by other macroeconomic factors, like inflation and the "Great Resignation". 

With shiftNOW, hospitality businesses can remove the hassle from hiring by streamlining open shifts and controlling how their business is resourced. The easy-to-use platform enables businesses to post open shifts and select the best candidate from a network of qualified, vetted talent. Every verified candidate undergoes a thorough, one-on-one vetting process led by the shiftNOW recruitment team.

"Hourly workers are increasingly seeking autonomy over when, where, and how they work, making it challenging for businesses to find consistent, quality employees," said shiftNOW founder and CEO, David Wise. "shiftNOW is fulfilling a critical need in the hospitality industry - qualified talent that's available and ready to work. We're making shiftNOW synonymous with quality – we want our clients to have the best workforce and our users to have the best experience."

Exclusive hourly opportunities with competitive pay are now available to qualified individuals through shiftNOW's mobile app. Individuals seeking hourly opportunities can browse the Shifter by shiftNOW app for available shifts in their area and get matched based on their experience.

With a focus on serving restaurants and bars, hospitality groups, event venues, golf courses, and country clubs, shiftNOW is dedicated to bringing high-quality talent to premier establishments.

shiftNOW is currently operating in Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina with plans to expand throughout the Southeast and beyond.

To learn more about shiftNOW, visit www.shiftnow.com.

Hourly shift workers can download the Shifter by shiftNOW mobile app through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.