Entrepreneur Marc Lore is joining forces with Scott Hilton, Walmart’s former chief revenue officer on Wonder Group, an eCommerce platform that will bring together the best elements of food trucks, ghost kitchens and fast food delivery, he wrote in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday (Dec. 7).
Lore is Wonder Group’s CEO and Hilton is CEO of Wonder, a division within the holding company that oversees a fleet of trucks equipped with mini-kitchens. The company began beta-testing its concept in May in Westfield, New Jersey; Lore and Hilton launched Envoy, a delivery service for local restaurants, earlier this year.
“It’s really a one-stop-shop for all cooked food,” Lore told CNBC. “And we think there’s a real chance to have a winner-take-all in this market. … You don’t really need another app.”
Lore and Hilton are eyeing an expansion of Wonder and Envoy into Westchester County, New York; parts of Connecticut; northern and central New Jersey; and parts of New York City. The goal is to eventually take the concept national, with 1,200 to 1,300 mobile kitchens across the Northeast by next year and close to 4,000 by 2023. The company has 60 mobile kitchens in operation today, CNBC reported.
Ingredients are prepared and packaged at a large central kitchen before being sent to kitchen hubs, where the Wonder vans access them. Once the driver arrives at a destination, Wonder completes meal preparation inside its vans, which are equipped with kitchen appliances. Each van has one trained chef onboard and is dedicated to only one restaurant, the report states. Wonder is currently working with 17 restaurants and services about 17,000 households in New Jersey.
Related: REEF to Buy 2ndKitchen Food Delivery Service
In related news, delivery kitchens, logistics and proximity hub company REEF has bought virtual kitchen company 2ndKitchen, which helps bars, breweries, hotels and other businesses partner with hyper-local restaurants for custom food experiences.
The companies say the partnership will expand their reach and allow businesses to turn on food service without physical infrastructure. The collaboration will add more tech to 2ndKitchen’s offering.
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