Management news

• Blue Apron has announced a long-term operations and logistics partnership with FreshRealm in a strategic shift to an asset-light model. As part of the transaction, Blue Apron will transfer its operational infrastructure to FreshRealm, including fulfillment centers, equipment, know-how, and personnel. Blue Apron will still continue to focus on its core D2C business and does not expect changes to its revenue streams. (May 16, 2023, Press release )

• Grab ’s co-founder and former chief operating officer, Tan Hooi Ling, has announced plans to step down from her current operational role in Grab in order to move to an advisory role by the end of the year. (May 25, 2023; CNN )

Partnerships

• Uber partnered with Amazon to enable the tracking status of Uber Eats orders in the US using Amazon Echo devices. (May 04, 2023; Press release )

• Chowly , a provider of integrated order management solutions, has launched its "Smart Pricing” solution to enable restaurants to maximize digital ordering profitability. (May 09, 2023; Press release )

• Uber partnered with its spinout robotic sidewalk startup, Serve Robotics, to deploy up to 2,000 AI-powered sidewalk delivery robots for Uber Eats deliveries across multiple US markets. (May 30, 2023, Press release )

Industry news

• Wolt is to pay a fine of NIS 8.5 million (~USD 2.3 million) upon admitting that the company has violated Israel’s competition law. As per the Israel Competition Authority, the main claim against the company was the promotion of specific restaurants on the main page of its delivery application. (May 04, 2023; CTECH )

Earnings/results

• Muscle Maker reported consolidated revenue of USD 213 million in Q1 2023 (71x higher than the Q1 2022 revenue). The increase in the revenue can be attributed to the revenue from commodity sales from the company’s newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary, “Sadot.” The revenue from commodity sales accounted for 98.8% of the total revenue. Meanwhile, the total revenue from muscle maker’s restaurant sales and franchises dropped 10.9% YoY to USD 2.6 million. (May 09, 2023; Press release )

• Olo ’s non-GAAP loss per share in Q1 2023 worsened to USD 0.03 per share, compared with USD 0.01 per share in Q1 2022. This was higher than the consensus estimate of USD 0.01 per share. The company’s revenue improved 22.2% YoY to USD 52.2 million (2.9% higher than the analyst estimates). Olo’s shares closed 0.6% higher than its opening price on the 9th, following the earnings release. (May 09, 2023, Press release )

M&As

• Deliverect has announced the acquisition of ChatFood, a provider of mobile ordering and marketing solutions for hospitality brands. Deliverect plans to integrate ChatFood’s technology into its offering to offer “Deliverect Social Media Ordering” and “Deliverect Order & Pay” solutions for restaurants. (May 09, 2023, Press release )