Starting this month, US restaurants partnering
with Uber Eats can easily add brand licensed virtual restaurant
concepts for plug-and-play operations.
SAN
FRANCISCO, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Uber
Eats (NYSE: UBER) announced a new Certified Virtual Restaurant
Program. This initiative, launched in partnership with leading
brand builders Virtual Dining Concepts, Nextbite and Acelerate,
aims to make virtual restaurant operations more streamlined and
effective for merchants, and to create a more consistent, reliable
virtual restaurants experience for consumers who use Uber Eats.
Certified VRs allows merchants to tap into
virtual restaurant concepts curated to meet high-bar standards on
Uber Eats.
The program is part of an ongoing effort at Uber to refocus its
virtual restaurant operations—which has accelerated massively in
the wake of the pandemic to over 40,000 virtual storefronts—with an
emphasis on quality for the benefit of consumers and merchants
across the country.
The Certified Virtual Restaurant Program allows merchants to tap
into a pipeline of virtual restaurant concepts curated by Uber and
vetted to meet high-bar standards in menu quality, operations, and
branding.
"With the boom in virtual restaurants over the past several
years, we've noticed a wide range of approaches to creating virtual
restaurant brands," says John
Mullenholz, Uber's head of Virtual Restaurants and Dark
Kitchens for the US & Canada.
"We're excited about launching this program to connect the best
virtual brand builders in the industry with small businesses across
the country–and to bring the very best virtual brands to consumers'
doorsteps."
By participating in the program, independent restaurants will
have access to virtual concept creators' account management and
customer success teams, and can leverage their expertise in
operating quality virtual restaurants successfully on Uber
Eats—whether operated out of an existing brick-and-mortar
restaurant or a delivery-only kitchen. This program, developed in
partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts, Nextbite and Acelerate
includes successful brands including MrBeast Burger (VDC),
Huevorito (Nextbite) and Scratch Chicken (Acelerate), with more to
come.
"We are proud to partner with Uber Eats' Certified Virtual
Restaurant program," said Stephanie
Sollers, CEO of Virtual Dining Concepts. "This initiative
benefits every member of the VDC ecosystem, including our kitchen
partners, the creators, celebrities and media groups with whom we
collaborate with to develop our brands, and consumers, many of whom
are loyal fans of the talent behind our brands. For all parties,
this program adds a layer of verification and transparency for
customers, certifying that their food is coming from high quality
kitchen operators, giving the customer an added level of comfort
when ordering from Uber Eats."
"Helping restaurants succeed is at the heart of our business and
we're looking forward to partnering with Uber Eats to do just
that," says Lindsay Barlow,
Operations at Acelerate. "We're excited for customers to get their
hands on Scratch Chicken! Inspired by nostalgic snack food, these
craveable tenders, seasoning dusts, signature drizzles and dipping
sauces were specifically designed and tested for delivery."
Certified Virtual Restaurant partners who add one of
these established brands to their business operations for delivery
will benefit from their focus on quality across menu, operations,
and branding. Each Certified Virtual Restaurant's menu items are
designed especially for delivery, allowing merchants to leverage
their existing supply chain, kitchen equipment and inventory to
produce scalable, replicable and
consistent orders. With professionally established brands with
strong online presences, participating restaurants can plug into
marketing that translates across consumer-facing channels in- and
out-of the Uber Eats app.
About Uber Eats
Uber Eats is an on-demand app and website that helps bring
millions of people around the world the things they want, at the
tap of a button. We partner with over 890,000 restaurants and
merchants in more than 11,000 cities across six continents. From
specialty local favorites to national brand names, groceries to
household essentials and more, Uber Eats has what you want when you
want it.
Contact
press@uber.com
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SOURCE Uber