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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Is the Latest Chain to Embrace Direct Delivery

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf announced today via press release the launch of its newly redesigned mobile app. Among updates to the UX and improvements to the chain’s digital rewards program, the standout feature of the redesign is direct delivery.

As a quick refresher, direct delivery is when a chain can process orders made for delivery directly through its own digital properties (i.e., app and/or website), rather than having to go through a third-party service like DoorDash or Uber Eats. The big upside here is that restaurants pay a lower commission fee to third-party services because DoorDash Et al. are only handling the actual delivery of the food, not the order processing and technical logistics. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf currently delivers through Postmates to California and Arizona. 

The new app can process delivery orders directly. Other features, according to today’s press release, include an order-ahead menu for pickup orders at physical stores, the ability to scan, earn, and redeem points from the app’s home screen, and more customization capabilities for food and beverage items.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s app revamp comes at a time when digital properties are the main channel through which most restaurants are connecting with customers. A rise in COVID cases coupled with extremely uncertain economics has forced restaurants to rethink their approach to the digital realm. Keeping a customer (and their data) entrenched firmly in a chain’s own ecosystem is becoming increasingly important, and is one of the drivers behind this adoption of direct delivery. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the latest brand to adopt this strategy, but plenty others already offer a similar approach to delivery. Panda Express recently announced the launch of its own delivery service. Outback Steakhouse and Wendy’s offered direct delivery long before the pandemic.

The move towards direct delivery doesn’t just mean potentially better margins for restaurants. It’s also fueling the growth of a specific area of restaurant tech, namely delivery integrators that sell out-of-the-box tech solutions to help restaurants bring some functions around delivery back in house.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf did not say in the press release if it has redesigned its app completely in-house or if it used technology from a third party like ShiftPixy. But it’s entrance into the direct delivery space is a sign that we’ll see similar moves from other regional chains in the near future as the dining room reopening remain in a constant state of flux.

Coffee Bean Launches Mobile Program With Uber Integration

Not to be outdone by Dunkin Donut’s next generation store that emphasizes mobile ordering, L.A.’s favorite coffee chain, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, just announced mobile ordering for select company-owned locations.

Like other mobile programs, Coffee Bean’s pay ahead ordering allows mobile customers to skip the line for their drink. Those who use the feature will earn extra Rewards points and have access to special discounts. As of today, the feature is available in 191 company-owned store locations around Southern California and Arizona. Coffee Bean plans to make the feature available to franchises and “new geographic areas” in the coming year.

One added bonus: the app is integrated with Uber. That means you can use the Coffee Bean Rewards app to both pay for your drink and order a ride to your preferred store location.

Taco Bell did a similar program with Lyft last year, allowing customers to make a detour to the nearest Taco Bell drive thru en route to their destination. The move was a complete disaster; many drivers were upset at being forced to sit in long drive-thru lines during peak traffic hours, for no additional compensation. Lyft eventually had to clarify that Taco Mode, as the program was dubbed, was optional for drivers.

Uber already has a rocky history in terms of its relationship to drivers. If drivers start tweeting about spilled lattes ruining their cars and long drive-thru lines, we may have another Taco Mode on our hands. Then again, coffee and fast-food burritos tend to serve different markets. At the risk of generalizing, bad smells and messy spills seem much more likely with a late-night crowd that wants fast food en route to the club, rather than someone on their way to a meeting who needs a caffeine jolt. So Uber may fare a little better with this deal.

Nation’s Restaurant News noted that mobile payments for restaurants have jumped 50 percent over the last year. So while it seems a bit late in the game for Coffee Bean to be joining the mobile ordering movement, it’s still an opportune time to do so. Plus, Coffee Bean customers tend to be fiercely loyal, which bodes well for the company, at least for this initial rollout.