Virtual Growth as Wow Bao Expands

 Virtual kitchens, virtual restaurants, combined with a strategic partnership just might mean dynamic growth and new electricity for Wow Bao and its brand according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So, get this Wow Bao will add more than 100 delivery-only locations this year via a partnership with Franklin Junction, a so-called “host kitchen” provider that connects brick-and-mortar restaurants with virtual brands. What this means is you can expand faster for less up-front capital.

Wow Bao will add new units 50 to Franklin Junction’s partner restaurants this month in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, elevating new electricity for the brand right away.  With 50 more slated for later this year. This represents the largest expansion for Wow Bao since its founding in 2003, according to CEO and President Geoff Alexander in a statement.

The virtual brand strategy is not new for the chain. Last year, it launched its own Dark Kitchens initiative, bringing its menu to 100 brick-and-mortar restaurants nationwide as of October. As part of Franklin Junction’s stable of virtual brands, the chain will more than double its current footprint.

Aziz Hashim, founder of Franklin Junction stated “Wow Bao is a perfect addition to our host kitchen portfolio,” …. “Their off-premise model has been built to allow restaurant hosts to quickly launch a virtual concept and add to their sales and profits using prepared Wow Bao menu items that have minimal equipment requirements and low impact on host kitchen operations.”

So, Franklin: to bring host restaurants additional revenue streams via virtual concepts while also introducing those concepts to new markets. How are you driving new electricity into your brand?

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.