News Briefs

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. 

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. 

 

Star Micronics, a manufacturer of mobile, point-of-sale (POS), and customer engagement technologies, is excited to present its latest POS hardware and technology at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2023 conference, held in New York City from January 15th to January 17th, at the Javits Convention Center. 

NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show is the prime opportunity for those in the retail industry to cultivate thriving and rewarding business relationships with hardware manufacturers and software solution providers.

Star has launched a variety of modern POS and self-service solutions since the last NRF conference and will be showcasing:

• The new mC-Label3 with the faster SteadyLAN+, CloudPRNT, & brand-new TetherLAN capabilities – an optimized label and receipt printing solution that does the work of multiple printers in one.

• Brand new high-resolution barcode scanners.

• The latest mPOP® (mobile point-of-purchase) with direct iOS MFi connectivity; power and data transfer for all-day use.

• The acclaimed TSP143IV in two models; the TSP143IVUE with Android Open Accessory (AOA) support and a USB/LAN dual interface, and the TSP143IVUW with USB-C and dual-band WiFi connectivity.

• A kiosk printing solution that uses repositionable linerless label paper, the SK1-311 SK.

• The mG-T series of POS scales: the mG-T30 & mG-T60 models; ideal for shops, grocery stores, and farmer’s markets.

• The extensive new line of mUnite modern tablet display stands and mounts.

• New WiFi-loving models of the popular mC-Print2 & mC-Print3 series; two thermal printing solutions from the state-of-the-art mCollection®.

• A wide variety of popular accessories, consumables, and portable thermal printers.

Want to see Star outside of the tradeshow floor? Star hosts a Sunday night reception on January 15th, from 8 – 11 pm: Star’s Rooftop Soiree against the breathtaking NYC skyline! 

“Star Micronics has been investing in several areas to help channel partners succeed. Following our ‘Always Leading, Always Innovating’ decree, this includes diversifying and expanding our product offerings and bolstering our supply chain operations and sourcing,” said Mike Hanson, Executive Vice President of Star Micronics America. “Globally, Star has been strategic, expanding manufacturing capacity aggressively… Star is dedicated to providing our channel partners with a full solution suite.”

Uber and Visa announced a new program designed to support small-and medium-sized businesses in their transition to green and sustainable packaging solutions, as part of a broader year-long effort to support SMBs who use Uber Eats to grow their businesses. 

Together, the two companies will make $1 million accessible to qualifying Uber Eats restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Madrid to be used towards funding sustainable packaging solutions to help transition to a greener future, which hospitality industry research indicates is a top priority for 2023.

Uber and Visa have launched this new initiative in Davos, Switzerland, where the companies are highlighting impact from their shared 2022 Grants for Growth program that has supported US small business owners still recovering from the pandemic and other unexpected events. Merchants received microgrants of $10,000, used for payroll, paying outstanding debt to vendors, upgrading payment technology infrastructure, and other immediate operational costs.

SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE PLANET

Sustainability matters to today's consumers and restaurant operators. Two out of three (66%) consumers surveyed feel it’s important that restaurants are open about their practices to limit food waste. According to the National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot Culinary Forecast, sustainability will continue to influence menus and how restaurants make decisions.

"Building on the success of our shared support for small and medium-sized businesses, I'm very happy to be turning our efforts with Visa towards how we can help restaurant owners reduce packaging waste and contribute to the fight against climate change," says Pierre-Dmitri Gore-Coty, SVP and Global Head of Delivery for Uber. "Single-use packaging is used in nearly every takeout order worldwide—with Visa and our restaurant partners we can work towards reducing waste and helping small businesses thrive."

"With consumers continuing to express desires to live more sustainably, businesses across sectors have a notable opportunity to adopt more sustainable practices to meet this demand," said Douglas Sabo, Chief Sustainability Officer, Visa Inc. "Visa is excited to expand on our partnership with Uber Eats to help small businesses to not be left out of the sustainable business transformations this moment requires."

A 2022 study by the US National Restaurant Association indicates that while the transition to sustainable packaging is a priority to many restaurants, the cost—and continued supply chain issues faced by the hospitality industry—make it difficult. It's the hope of Uber Eats and Visa that this new program is a small step in a positive direction for small business owners. Details of the new partnership, including how restaurants can qualify and apply for funding will be shared here in the coming months.

In 2020, Uber made the ambitious commitment to be a zero-emission mobility platform by 2040. To learn more, visit https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/sustainability/. Visa has committed to net-zero emissions by 2040, and in 2020 achieved carbon neutrality and transitioned to 100% renewable electricity across its operations. To learn more, visit https://www.visa.com/esg.

PopID, a biometric fintech company, and Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, retail's first choice for unified commerce solutions, have announced a partnership to integrate PopPay into Toshiba's front-end point-of-sale and self-service solutions running its ELERA Commerce Platform. PopPay enables consumers to authenticate their identity for payment and/or loyalty using artificial intelligence-based facial verification software. Toshiba will distribute the integrated solutions to the restaurant, quick service restaurant (QSR), convenience stores (C-store), grocery and other retail segments.

One of the first fully integrated solutions will feature PopPay biometric cameras incorporated with the Toshiba Pro-X Hybrid Kiosk and will be showcased at NRF 2023 in New York, on January 15-17, 2023. Customers who opt-in can scan items using the Pro-X scanner and then tender the transaction by selecting the on-screen PopPay button to have their face scanned. PopPay then authenticates loyalty and payment without requiring a card or phone.

"Whether at restaurants, convenience stores, or in other retail segments, consumer interest in non-traditional payment methods is growing exponentially across the globe with regions previously dominated by cash leapfrogging card transactions into mobile payments," says Rance Poehler, President and CEO of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. "Even in the U.S., where card payments showed strong acceptance, the adoption of non-traditional payments has seen an uptick. We know the market is ready with Gen Z and Millennials trending in this direction."

Younger consumers have learned from prior generations that revolving credit debt is risky therefore driving them to pay via debit, electronic funds transfer, or Automated Clearing House (ACH) because there are no interest fees. MX reports that reduced consumer confidence has many Gen Z respondents supporting the growing interest in mobile payments. The same report cites that most respondents (73%) have connected mobile payment apps to their financial accounts. In addition to their aversion to credit, Millennials and Gen Z also seek more convenience in their retail interactions. The Food Industry Association reports that 53% of Gen Z and 55% of millennial shoppers want greater convenience in their future grocery shopping experience.

"With nearly a quarter of America's consumer spending running through Toshiba's point-of-sale solutions, Toshiba is the largest retail-focused solutions company in the U.S. and globally," said John Miller, CEO of PopID and Chairman of the investment company, Cali Group. "This partnership will enable Toshiba's customers to use our technology to increase revenue, drive loyalty engagement, improve operations, and lower costs while enhancing the overall customer experience."

"We are excited to partner with PopID to deliver speed, ease of use, and convenience to retailers and their shoppers," continued Poehler. "We look forward to implementing PopPay in new industries to meet growing demand across retail segments."

ELERA and its suite of solutions help free retailers from legacy technology constraints. With more control over store operations, retailers can enhance efficiency and productivity at scale. Integration of PopPay for automatic payments offers the retailer offers numerous benefits like faster transactions, higher throughput, reduced stress at checkout for the shopper leading to larger ticket size, increased loyalty participation driven by automation, and lower payment processing fees when integrated into point-of-sale systems, self-ordering kiosks, and drive-thru systems at QSR chains.

WorkJam, a digital frontline workplace, and Panda Express, an Asian dining concept in the U.S., announced their partnership to empower the restaurant brand’s 50,000 associates with WorkJam’s full suite of digital workplace tools. Panda Express associates across more than 2,200 U.S. locations will be able to access all of WorkJam’s tools including two-way communication, scheduling, learning and task management capabilities in a single convenient app.

“Panda Express and WorkJam are two culturally aligned companies with a strong commitment to innovation, continuous learning and people development,” said Steven Kramer, CEO of WorkJam. “We’re thrilled to announce this partnership with Panda Express and equip the company’s tens of thousands of associates with a comprehensive suite of digital workplace features that help them better communicate and collaborate with colleagues and management, have more control and flexibility with their schedules, and access career development opportunities. Joining forces is another step in the right direction to empower the frontline workers and directly impact their lives for the better.”

Invest in Systems to Keep Restaurant Workers Motivated

“Panda Express is a people-development company and prides itself in our people-first culture. Our goal is to continue to empower our associates, especially at our restaurants, with resources and tools that help them feel engaged in our company culture and make their day-to-day tasks simpler,” said Jeff Wang, Senior Vice President of Operations at Panda Express. “We are proud to support our Panda Family, so they can reach their potential and provide excellent dining experiences for our guests.”

Today’s frontline workers are seeking greater flexibility and control when it comes to when and where they work, the tasks they perform, their career growth path, and how they communicate with others throughout their companies. WorkJam is helping enterprises such as Panda Express attract, develop and retain top talent so they can provide consistently superior customer experiences that drive loyalty and lifetime value.