Restaurants it’s time to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone Again

 

Consumers move forward, want change, but don’t like it, drive change but don’t know it according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “Restaurant operators must step “outside of their comfort zone if they want to keep pace with consumers.”

Now here we go more new stuff.  Have you heard of Flytrex, one of the leaders in on-demand drone delivery for food and retail? Flytrex announced it has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand its delivery radius from one to two nautical miles across all its operating stations in North Carolina and Texas.

So, deliveries will be made in cooperation with longtime partner Causey Aviation Unmanned, offering food, drinks and other goods to approximately 100,000 eligible customers that can opt into the service – a substantial increase from the 40,000 customers that were previously eligible. Flytrex and Causey will conduct all flights while maintaining the highest safety standards.

In case you did not know, this approval is the latest of several achievements for Flytrex, including the recent expansion of its drone delivery service to Granbury, Texas, just outside of Dallas-Fort Worth. Flytrex also has three operational stations in the state of North Carolina: in Fayetteville, Raeford, and Holly Springs. With a rapidly growing list of collaborations with leading restaurant and retail chains, Flytrex completes thousands of deliveries every month. This approval enables Flytrex to vastly expand operations and reach significantly more customers with its fast, efficient, and sustainable on-demand delivery.

Yariv Bash, co-founder and CEO of Flytrex, stated, “Drone delivery at scale is finally taking off, and this approval from the FAA positions us squarely at the forefront of that movement,” .. “This approval allows us to reach roughly 100,000 customers with our ultrafast delivery, and we look forward to continuing this exciting flightpath to one day bring three-minute delivery to the tens of millions of backyards across the US.”

So you know, the process for ordering delivery via drone will remain the same at each location. Eligible customers will be able to purchase a wide variety of food orders and goods from nearby stores and local restaurants and cafes. Orders are placed using the Flytrex app, which updates customers regarding their order status along the route until the package is lowered safely by wire into their backyards.

Regular readers of this blog know that Flytrex successfully launched the world’s first fully autonomous urban drone delivery system in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2017. Flytrex has been working closely with regulators to help ensure the highest safety standards in getting drone delivery off the ground. It has participated in the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP), which concluded in October 2020, and continued in the FAA’s subsequent initiative, BEYOND, working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to help tackle the remaining challenges of UAS integration.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Is Jersey Mike’s Subs Flying Blind

 

Food delivery has outright changed the retail food world according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Driven by the never-ending adoption of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.

Recently, Jersey Mike’s Subs announced it has partnered with Flytrex, a leader in on-demand, ultrafast delivery for food and retail, to deliver food orders via drone in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Orders from Jersey Mike’s will be delivered via the skies to front and backyards of local residents, with a flight time of just five minutes. 

The service is operating in cooperation with longtime Flytrex partner Causey Aviation Unmannedunder a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver allowing a delivery radius of one nautical mile – potentially reaching thousands of homes. Orders are placed using the Flytrex app, which updates customers regarding their order status along the route until the package is lowered safely by wire into their backyards. Flytrex and Causey conduct all flights while maintaining the highest safety standards.

Jersey Mike’s is one of the country’s fastest growing franchises, ranked #4 on Entrepreneur’s 2022 Franchise 500. The sub shop’s premium meats and cheeses are sliced on the spot and piled high on in-store baked bread. Jersey Mike’s fans crave their subs made Mike’s Way with the freshest vegetables – onions, lettuce and tomatoes – topped off with an exquisite zing of “the juice,” red wine vinegar and an olive oil blend. Authentic cheesesteaks are grilled fresh.

“Our goal is to ensure our customers get their authentic Jersey Mike’s sub sandwiches how they want them, when they want them,” says Scott Scherer, CIO, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc.“Partnering with Flytrex, we’re thrilled our fans can enjoy the freshest sub sandwiches flown directly to their backyards – it truly is a sub from above.”

The partnership with Jersey Mike’s follows a series of additional milestones for Flytrex. Most recently, the ultrafast drone delivery company launched in Granbury, Texas, just outside of Dallas-Fort Worth. Flytrex has also been operating in the state of North Carolina since September 2020, beginning in Fayetteville, and expanding to the town of Raeford. In October 2021, Flytrex launched its third drone delivery station in the ‘First in Flight’ state at the Holly Springs Towne Center. Flytrex’s delivery service is now available to 10,000 homes across North Carolina and Texas. The pioneering company has already completed thousands of drone deliveries – more deliveries via drone than any other company in the U.S.

“We’re excited to team up with Jersey Mike’s to deliver subs throughout the skies of North Carolina and look forward to expanding our partnership everywhere they deliver their delicious food,” says Yariv Bash, CEO and cofounder of Flytrex. “Drone delivery is accelerating quicker than anyone could have anticipated, and we are thrilled to be at the forefront of that movement – using our technology to ensure retailers and restaurants can stay ahead of the ultrafast delivery curve.”

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Are Flytex Drones the Next Gen Restaurant Delivery Platform

 

Are you still looking for drivers to delivery your meals?  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated, “third party delivery companies can elevate you brand on the informational digital highway for much less than you can hire a driver. Drone delivery will be the next big thing in many suburbs, cities, and at malls.” 

Did you know that Flytex has been working with restaurants including It's Just Wings and El Pollo Loco and plans to keep expanding?  Do you have a problem getting drivers to deliver meals?

So, drone delivery company Flytrex has raised $40 million to help expand its service throughout the U.S. Restaurants including El Pollo Loco and Brinker International's virtual restaurant concept, It's Just Wings brand have been using autonomous Flytrex drones to deliver food in some locations. It also works with retailers including Walmart, and plans to use the funding to recruit more partners.

The Tel Aviv-based Flytrex began operating in North Carolina in September 2020 and now has three launch stations there. It has completed thousands of deliveries in the state, and its order volume has increased tenfold since February.

Flytrex was also operating in Southern California through a pilot with El Pollo Loco, dubbed Air Loco. Recently Flytrex said its drones can deliver food more efficiently than a person in a car. It's especially focused on suburbs, where traditional delivery is less efficient because of the longer distances.

CEO Yariv Bash, stated “You have a human being driving a 1-ton car to bring you a hamburger and some fries,” ... “As you can imagine, that’s pretty expensive.” El Pollo Loco said it believed drones would reduce the cost of delivery by as much as 30%.

Flytrex started delivering chicken wings from It's Just Wings in Holly Springs, N.C.so if you live near give it a try.

Brinker CEO Wyman Roberts, stated, "You go online, you order your wings and it shows up what, 100 feet above your backyard?" … "This drone stuff is very interesting, and it's getting commercialized. And we're at the front end of it, and we'll see." Consumers are dynamic not static.  Your customers are moving forward, are you?

Drone delivery is still highly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Flytrex has been collaborating with the agency to help ease some of those limits. Our delivery options are expanding. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter