I’ll be honest, a small part of me wanted to turn this entire post into a list of all the ridiculous holiday swag from QSRs that’s out this holiday season. One-piece loungewear from Dunkin’? A fire log that burns the scent of KFC fried chicken? What’s not to like?
Don’t answer that. Instead, feast your eyes on the usual fare of restaurant-tech news from around the web this week, including funding news, more instant pay for employees, and marketing schemes almost as perplexing as fried chicken fire logs.
Delivery Service Glovo Raises Nearly $170M
Barcelona, Spain-based delivery startup Glovo, best known for its restaurant food delivery services, said this week it raised $150 million euros (~$167 million USD), with the investment led by Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. The round, which also saw participation from Lakestar, Idinvest Partners and Drake QSR. The new funds mean Glovo’s valuation is now at $1 billion and its status notched up to that of “unicorn.” Glovo said the capital will go towards growing the company’s workforce and hiring 300 new engineers and developers by 2020.
Chipotle to Pay Your Delivery Fees — For Anything
Chipotle’s just took its focus on all things delivery to places no other fast-casual restaurant chain has yet to go. According to an announcement, Chipotle’s “Free Delivery Interception” campaign gives Twitter users the chance to win free delivery on any product, not just Chipotle food: “Expedited shipping on last-minute holiday gifts? Delivery on a California king mattress from college? Chipotle is in position and ready to intercept those fees.” To enter the contest, Twitter users can reply to this tweet using #ChipotleFreeDelivery and #Contest, and include a picture of your receipt and your Venmo handle. The chain is picking as many as 100 winners per day from now through December 22.
Takeaway.com Ups Its Bid for Just Eat
In what’s become an all-out bidding war for delivery service Just Eat, Takeaway.com has raised its takeover offer to “nearly £6.3 billion in stock,” according to Axios. The offer comes on the heels of Naspers-backed Prosus making multiple hostile bids over the last several weeks — all of which so far have been rejected by Just Eat. As Axios points out, Takeaway.com looks to be emerging as the winner of this battle, but it’s a fight where the details are changing quickly. Just last month, Takeaway.com said it wouldn’t raise its bid, and its stock proposal may be the higher number, but Prosus is offering cash. Shareholders have until January 10 to vote. Stay tuned.
