Grubhub Brings Grocery to its Marketplace with Mercato Partnership

Mercato’s inventory of nearly 1,000 independent grocery partners will be available on the Grubhub Marketplace

CHICAGO and SAN DIEGO, April 18, 2024 — Grubhub and Mercato, an online marketplace for independent grocery stores, have partnered to bring Mercato’s inventory of more than 950 merchants across the country to the Grubhub Marketplace. Customers can order from hundreds of locations today, with all merchants becoming available over the next few weeks. With this first-ever third-party delivery partnership for Mercato, Grubhub is expanding its Marketplace selection, and providing even greater value for its customers by now offering grocery, convenience and alcohol merchants. Mercato’s merchants can grow their business and e-commerce footprint with access to Grubhub’s millions of customers through this partnership, demonstrating the companies’ shared commitment to uplifting small businesses.

Mercato’s merchant partners span 38 states and over 320 cities, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston. Local favorites include Citarella, Kol Tuv Kosher Foods, Boston Public Market, and Eataly. Merchants pick and pack individual orders that are then picked up by customers or delivered by Grubhub’s fleet of drivers. Customers can choose from a diverse selection of merchants depending on their needs, including delis, seafood and produce markets, bakeries, butcher shops, natural foods stores, and more. 

“Grubhub started as a marketplace for independent restaurants, so it’s only fitting that as we expand into the grocery space it’s first with a partner that works with independent grocers,” said Craig Whitmer, vice president of new verticals at Grubhub. “By joining forces with local grocers, we’re not just delivering for our customers, but we’re delivering for small businesses to help grow their online presence. Our customers can now get more of what they need on Grubhub while Mercato’s merchants gain access and increased visibility among our customers.”

“This partnership represents a fantastic opportunity for Mercato merchants to reach new customers and grow their business through Grubhub’s extensive customer base,” said Bobby Brannigan, CEO and founder of Mercato. “We’ve developed a purposefully-built inventory management and order fulfillment platform for local grocers, seamlessly integrating with over 87 point-of-sale systems, thereby enabling merchants to effectively manage online orders. This collaboration will stimulate increased demand for our merchants, empowering them to capitalize on the efficient system we have developed to operate a profitable eCommerce business.”

“We’re thrilled to offer our wide selection of gourmet products, fresh produce, premium seafood and meats to even more customers through Mercato’s collaboration with Grubhub,” explained Pina Doria Soares, owner and controller of Grace’s Marketplace, an iconic neighborhood gourmet grocer on the Upper East Side. “We’re essentially expanding our online reach and increasing online sales without having to set up additional integrations, manage multiple platforms, or incur additional fees.”

“Small businesses are the fabric of our communities and the backbone of our economy. In today’s e-commerce landscape, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to have opportunities to grow through digital channels,” said Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “We are thrilled that Grubhub and Mercato are building on their longstanding commitment to supporting small businesses and providing an innovative platform for merchants to connect with more customers, grow their businesses, and fuel our economy.” 

To order, customers will select the grocery button within the Grubhub app and on web where all available merchants will populate. All of Mercato’s merchant supply will be available on Grubhub+, Grubhub’s loyalty program that provides customers access to unlimited $0 delivery on eligible orders.

For independent grocery stores interested in participating in this opportunity, please visit www.mercato.com/merchant

About Grubhub

Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com (LSE: JET, AMS: TKWY), and is a leading U.S. food ordering and delivery marketplace. Dedicated to connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, Grubhub elevates food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms, and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub features more than 355,000 merchants in over 4,000 U.S. cities.

About Mercato

Mercato is an eCommerce and local delivery platform that provides thousands of independently owned grocery stores across the country with the tools and technologies they need to stay competitive in the marketplace. Mercato was founded by Bobby Brannigan, the son of a neighborhood grocer in Brooklyn, who saw his father needed to modernize his inventory and delivery systems to stay in business and better serve his shoppers. For more information, visit Mercato.com.

*$0 delivery fees on orders that meet the applicable minimum order subtotal. Additional fees may apply and vary on orders.

Voices of Grubhub: How Legal Supports Grubhub’s Business Strategy

To showcase different perspectives and give an inside look into Grubhub, we’re spotlighting leaders across the organization. For this edition, we caught up with Katie Armistead, Vice President of Legal & Deputy General Counsel.

The legal department serves as a critical business partner, helping enable the success of Grubhub’s strategy at every level of the organization. 

You have some tenure here at Grubhub. What was your trajectory like after law school?

Backing up a bit, I went to law school out East and made my way to the Midwest after graduating. My first job out of school was at Jones Day, a large international law firm. I spent three and a half years there before I moved in-house and joined Grubhub. My seven year anniversary was last week! And it’s funny, I’ve been here seven years and I feel like I’m at a new company every six months since there’s always a new initiative that’s important to Grubhub or a new legal risk which makes this job so fun yet challenging. My team is always having to stay up to date on business initiatives and what’s happening in the industry which keeps us constantly learning and evolving as legal professionals.

There’s a common misconception that legal teams can be a blocker to great ideas. How do you fight off that perception?

We consider ourselves real business partners and are here to support whatever the business needs. That’s been true since day one when we were a small but mighty team to today where we are a much larger function. Generally speaking, the legal team at companies can often get a bad reputation and is viewed as the “no” team more often than not. That’s not our goal or the team we want to be. I make sure that my team is part of every conversation from day one so that we can identify risks early on while learning about the opportunities an effort presents. 

It’s easy to call out what can go wrong, but identifying what can go right and help the business and our partners grow is equally important and something we place a lot of emphasis on. To do that, my team spends a lot of time building relationships with folks across the business to understand their priorities so we can best advise them and be viewed as a trusted partner.

The best analogy someone on my team said was that we are the pit team during a NASCAR race. When you’re watching NASCAR, you see the cars go around the track and then stop so that the pit team can come in and fix the car so it’s ready to race. That’s the legal team. We consider ourselves the pit team — we went to be helpers.  

Talk to me about work-life balance. As a lawyer and mom of two (almost three), how do you prioritize personal time and work and promote that within your team?

As a mom of a four-year-old and a two-year-old with another on the way, I have a lot going on in my life. Here’s my take: we all have other things that make us who we are outside of work, and when the team comes to work, we ask them to bring their full selves. We aren’t robots, so there’s no need to show up to work on Monday and immediately dive into contract negotiations. I want to hear about your weekend and the things you’ve been up to. Or, if you’ve been going through some challenges, I want you to know I’m here to support you. 

I’m a believer that a full personal life makes you a better lawyer, and I tell our lawyers that sometimes the best ideas I’ve had about our legal challenges have happened when I’m on a run or out to brunch with my girlfriends. 

What advice do you have for people who are pursuing a career in the legal field?

I hear a lot from more junior female attorneys and women in law school who want to know how they can get to where I’m at now. And I tell them all the same thing — work really hard and try to have some fun. The legal profession can be a lot of fun, but it has a bad reputation for being too hardworking or having too many naysayers which I mentioned earlier. You also need to work somewhere that aligns with your values.

One of the reasons I love Grubhub is because the people here are just so fabulous. Our leadership — specifically our chief legal officer, is an incredible leader and really champions junior lawyers. Loving the team you’re on makes coming to work every day fun and easy, and I would encourage people getting into the law profession to seek out law firms and companies that match their values and interests. You have to love what you do considering how much time you spend doing it.

You’re known within your team for having a lot of catchphrases. What are some of them?

Oh boy, there are a lot. Two of my favorites are “How many tacos did this cost us?” and “Lean into the chaos.”

 

Grubhub Debuts the Nuka-Blast Burger Meal to Celebrate the Series Premiere of Fallout on Prime Video

On April 11, fans can become part of the Fallout universe with an exclusive dining experience that is high on spice and level zero radioactivity 

CHICAGO, APRIL 8, 2024Grubhub is bringing the highly-anticipated Prime Video series premiere of Fallout to life with the limited-edition Nuka-Blast Burger Meal. Featuring a one-of-a-kind collector’s delivery box, the meal includes iconic staples from the show’s post-apocalyptic universe. Fans in select areas of New York City and Los Angeles can order the Fallout-inspired meal beginning Thursday, April 11 from the Nuka-World Café, available exclusively on Grubhub. 

Delivering Exclusive Experiences with “Tune In & Takeout”
The Nuka-Blast Burger Meal comes complete with the Nuka-Blast Burger, a side of fries and the iconic Nuka-Cola Victory SPECIAL RELEASE from Jones Soda. Inspired by the Nuka-World theme park before the Great War, Grubhub’s take on the meal will help consumers experience the show in real-life while satisfying their hottest cravings.

  • The burger gets its distinctive heat from ingredients such as Calabrian chilis, fire-roasted jalapeño peppers, cayenne spices, and a specially crafted spicy dipping sauce made with ghost chili peppers. Fries are there as the perfect pairing to help handle the spice. 
  • Nuka-Cola Victory SPECIAL RELEASE peach mango soda is the ultimate thirst-quenching flavor for any Fallout fanatic. 

“The exclusive Nuka-Blast Burger Meal is just one of the ways we are excited to expand our ongoing Grubhub relationship. Fallout has a robust history of notable recipes and fan-favorite food items from the franchise, and we feel that Grubhub and Prime Video are bringing this innovative offer to life in an explosive way!” stated Greg Coleman, Head of Integrated Marketing, Amazon MGM Studios. 

The Nuka-Blast Burger Meal is part of Prime Video and Grubhub’s ongoing “Tune In & Takeout” series.

  • “Tune In & Takeout” helps people decide what to eat while watching their favorite shows and movies on Prime Video through Grubhub food pairings and promos.
  • Since 2022, Grubhub has delivered exclusive experiences for its growing list of subscribers, including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Candy Cane Lane and Shotgun Wedding. 

“The launch of the limited-edition Nuka-Blast Burger Meal is just one example of how we are continually providing one-of-a-kind experiences for our customers,” stated Marnie Kain, Vice President of Brand at Grubhub. “Through our ‘Tune In & Takeout’ partnership, in collaboration with Amazon Prime and Prime Video, we deliver even more relevance, value and out-of-this-world experiences to both Grubhub and Prime members, which is what Grubhub is all about.”

How to Order the Nuka-Blast Burger Meal
The Nuka-Blast Burger Meal will be sold for $12 (before taxes, tips and fees) and available for delivery via Grubhub on April 11 until supplies last. Orders are limited to select areas in New York City and Los Angeles. With a limited quantity of meals available, orders are restricted to one per customer. Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Prime members in the U.S. enjoy savings, convenience and entertainment, all in one single membership. Members in the U.S. can sign up for a Grubhub+ trial membership, free for one year, by visiting amazon.com/grubhub. In addition to $0 delivery fees on eligible orders, Grubhub+ members get access to member-only perks and rewards from thousands of participating restaurants across the country, additional fees apply. For more Grubhub+ details and terms see here.

About Grubhub
Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com (LSE: JET, AMS: TKWY), and is a leading U.S. food ordering and delivery marketplace. Dedicated to connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, Grubhub elevates food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub features more than 365,000 restaurant partners in over 4,000 U.S. cities.

About Fallout
Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time from acclaimed developer Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them. The series comes from Kilter Films and executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan directed the first three episodes. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner serve as executive producers, writers and co-showrunners. The series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins. Fallout will be available in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

About Prime Video
Prime Video is a one-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one application available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can find their favorite movies, series, documentaries, and live sports – including Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies Saltburn, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Reacher, The Boys, and AIR; licensed fan favorites Dawson’s Creek and M3GAN; Prime member exclusive Thursday Night Football; and programming from partners such as Max, Crunchyroll and MGM+ via Prime Video Channels add-on subscriptions, as well as more than 450 free ad-supported (FAST) Channels. Prime members in the U.S. can share a variety of benefits, including Prime Video, by using Amazon Household. Prime Video is one benefit among many that provides savings, convenience, and entertainment as part of the Prime membership. All customers, regardless of whether they have a Prime membership or not, can rent or buy titles, including blockbusters such as Barbie and Oppenheimer, via the Prime Video Store, and can enjoy content such as Jury Duty and Bosch: Legacy free with ads on Freevee. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favorite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access. 

For more info visit www.amazon.com/primevideo.

Over $1 Million Distributed to New and Established Restaurants Nationwide From Grubhub and The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund

BOSTON, MA –Grubhub and The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund are pleased to announce over $1 million in grants have been distributed to 140 small business restaurants across the nation. Made possible by the Grubhub Community Fund, the latest cycle of the Restaurant Strong Grant aims to bolster new restaurants and longstanding establishments alike.

In their fourth year of partnership, the Restaurant Strong Fund and Grubhub continue to recognize the challenges faced by small businesses and remain dedicated to supporting their journey toward success. The latest grant cycle has taken a special interest in supporting new restaurants, those in operation for three years or less, giving more than $350,000 to aid in their introduction to the restaurant industry.

Independent restaurants play an essential role in the local communities nationally, offering not just meals but unique culinary experiences, fostering connections, and contributing to the economic vibrancy of our cities and towns. To date, the Restaurant Strong Fund and Grubhub have distributed over $17M in grants to restaurants across the nation.

The 140 selected grant recipients from this cycle will receive muchneeded resources for their small businesses. Funds will assist a spectrum of needs including, technology upgrades, equipment enhancements, marketing and public relations services, staff training programs, incentivized wages, maintenance and updating to current infrastructure, and construction or expansion of outdoor seating areas.

The small business restaurants receiving grants from the Restaurant Strong Fund include:

New Restaurant Grant Recipients
$15,000 Grant Recipients
Awaze Ethio Fusion & Vegan, Artesia, CA
Casablanca Mediterranean Grill, Philadelphia, PA
Dongne: Korean Cuisine, Chicago, IL
Gotti’s, Houston, TX
Ojai Burger, Orange, CA
Plazita Mexico Tacos, Wakefield, MA
Tatit’s Mediterranean Saveur, West Fargo, ND
The Gumbo Gourmet, Atlanta, GA

$10,000 Grant Recipients
4th Street Standard, Steubenville, OH
An An, Portland, OR
Café on Eighth, Augusta, GA
Chimba, Miami, FL
Dim Sum King, Sunnyvale, CA
Il Milanese, Chicago, Il
Lily’s Soups and Scoops, Cranston, RI
Luckey’s BBQ Place, Marietta, GA
Michaux Brewing Company, Waynesboro, PA
Orchid House Café, Trenton, NJ
Pepper Pot Philly, Philadelphia, PA
Pleroma Cuisine, Laurel, MD
Tea Dojo, Vacaville, CA
$5,000 Grant Recipients 
Aji Omakase, Chicago, Il
Bab AlYemen Restaurant, Boston, MA
Bangkok Thai & Japanese Restaurant, Liverpool, NY
Bar Vianzo, Brooklyn, NY
Cozy Café Bakery & Bistro, Ellicott City, MD
Don & Gigi’s, Attleboro, MA
Fruitrition Smoothie and Fruit Bar, Ridgeland, MS
Gigi’s House of Pizza, West Bridgewater, MA
Goodtimes Brewery, Chicago, IL
Hardheads, Crystal Beach, TX
Hummingbird Nutritious Eats, Haverhill, MA
Kayode Restaurant Mirage, Brooklyn, NY
Meagwich, Milwaukee, WI
Ocean Prime, Maspeth, NY
Patty Palace, Oakland Park, FL
Pho King and Noodle Bar, Houston, TX
Pizza x, Astoria, NY
Playground ATX, Austin, TX
SaborNM Kitchen, Albuquerque, NM
Soriano’s Pizzeria, San Diego, CA
The Cheese Shop, Carrboro, NC
Zait & Za’atar, Saint Paul, MN

Established Restaurant Grant Recipients
$15,000 Grant Recipients
Blue Hawaii Lifestyle, Honolulu, HI
Fix & Repeat, Bend, OR
Genova Pizza, Audubon, NJ
Lakeview Café, Royersford, PA
Sunbliss Café, Corona, CA
The Other Side, Crystal Lake, IL
Stephens Heads or Tails, Marksville, LA
Tipicos Ay Caramba Restaurant, Houston, TX
Treats by TYGR, Pearland, TX
Yung’s Kitchen, Holly, MI

$10,000 Grant Recipients
Autumn Court Chinese Restaurant, Phoenix, AZ
Bites Restaurant, Forest Grove, OR
Brentwood Social House, Austin, TX
Casa Real Mexican Grill, Loveland, CO
Clifton’s Jamrock, Fairburn, GA
Comeketo Brazilian Steakhouse, Leominster, MA
FreshTwist, Steubenville, OH
Hue Asian Kitchen, Milwaukee, WI
LAN HandPulled Noodles, Seattle, WA
Lemon Café, Deerfield Beach, FL
Lionhead, Seattle, WA
Maya Indian Bar & Grill, Wakefield, MA
McCall’s Chicken and Ribs, Sharon, PA
Neutral Ground, Chattanooga, TN
Pierogi Mountain, Columbus, OH
Quick Sub Mini Mart, Trenton, NJ
Romanian Garden, Sunnyside, NY
Seoul Sausage, Los Angeles, CA
Sobik’s Café at Maxwell Garden, Orlando, FL
Taqueria Los Portales, Chicago, IL
The Bayou, West Hollywood, CA
The Original Las Brisas Mexican Food, San Pedro, CA
The Slice Pizzeria, San Antonia, TX
The Stones Common House, Stoneham, MA
Time Café and Market, Alexandria, VA
V’s Italiano Ristorante, Independence, MO
Venture Sandwich Company, Ventura, CA

$5,000 Grant Recipients
702 Churros and More, Las Vegas, NV
Alex’s Fresh Kitchen, Casselberry, FL
Allegra California Café, Culver City, CA
Autentica Taqueria, Miami, FL
BHop Food, Watertown, MA
Cancun Mexican Restaurant, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Capezzuto’s Pizza, Pittsburgh, PA
Carroll’s Pizza, Raleigh, NC
Chamoun’s Way, Cliffside Park, NJ
Crazy 4 Falafel, Edison, NJ
Crazy Rock’N Sushi, Irvine, CA
El Viejito Mexican Restaurant, Wichita, KS
Pho World, Renton, WA
Encontro North Park, San Diego, CA
Essen Kitchen, Cincinnati, OH
Famous Uncle Al’s Dog House, Virginia Beach, VA
Fiskies Café, Dorchester, MA
foraged. a hyper seasonal eatery, Baltimore, MD
Fortune House, Annapolis, MD
Four Café, Los Angeles, CA
Good to Go, Evanston, IL
Grafton Grill, North Grafton, MA
Green Diamond Grille & Pub, Barberton, OH
Hillside Farmacy, Austin, TX
House of Falafel, Cupertino, CA
Inna’s Kitchen, Newton, MA
Jerk. Jamaican Barbecue, Chicago, IL
Kamara African Restaurant, Rochester, NY
L’Oca d’Oro, Austin, TX
Lalo Chino Latino, Cincinnati, OH
Las Brasas Charcoal Chicken, Houston, TX
Le No 2 Seafood, Houston, TX
Masu Sushi, Portland, OR
Mosun’s Kitchen, Gaithersburg, MD
Mr Bartley’s Burger Company, Cambridge, MA
New India Restaurant, Columbus, OH
North Street Grille, Boston, MA
Peachtree Grill, Nashville, TN
Pepperoni’s Café, New Orleans, LA
Pikey’s Pizza, Whittier, CA
Romano Pizza, Weehawken, NJ
Rome’s Pizza, San Antonio, TX
Seoul Eats, Fullerton, CA
STIX, San Francisco, CA
Sushi Kappo, Boston, MA
T&P Munchies, New Orleans, LA
Taqueria Amigo Chino, Chicago, IL
Taste of India, Freemont, CA
Tavolo Ristorante, Dorchester, MA
The Corner Beet, Denver, CO
The Draft Room at Berwick, Savannah, GA
The Fusion Café and Bar, Winooski, VT
The Landing Restaurant, Marblehead, MA
The Taste of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Tiki Tavern, Safety Harbor, FL
Toffee Traditions, Highwood, IL
Zhivago Restaurant, Skokie, IL

For more information about The Restaurant Strong Fund and its commitment to supporting the restaurant industry, please visit www.restaurantstrong.org

About The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund
The Greg Hill Foundation responds to the immediate needs of families that have been touched by tragedy. Since its inception in 2010, the foundation has provided over $29 million in grants to families and individuals in need. The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund was established in March of 2020. The fund was created to help aid the Hospitality Industry as restaurants closed and employees were left out of work due to Covid19. The Restaurant Strong Fund provides various grant opportunities available to Restaurant Employees and Restaurant Owners.

About Grubhub
Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com (LSE: JET, AMS: TKWY), a leading global online food delivery marketplace. Dedicated to connecting more than 32 million diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, Grubhub elevates food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub features more than 365,000 restaurant partners in over 4,000 U.S. cities.

The Impact of “PayUp”: Unpacking Seattle’s Damaging New Delivery Law

Seattle’s experimental new minimum pay ordinance for delivery couriers, first passed by the Seattle City Council in 2022 and implemented in January 2024, was intended to help Seattle-based couriers earn substantially more than the city’s minimum wage of $19.97. The legislation – primarily advocated for by individuals who no longer serve on the Council – raised couriers’ earnings to $26.40 an hour, guaranteed, before tips. Unfortunately, Grubhub data and news reports show the law has had swift, adverse consequences for the very people it was meant to help.

Grubhub delivery partners are now waiting over 1½ hours between orders

Seattle’s ordinance restricted marketplace platforms’ ability to run their businesses effectively. On Grubhub, this has led to far too many delivery partners being available for the number of orders available. As a result, delivery partners are now waiting an average of 102 minutes between orders, an increase of 437%. 
Chart showing the difference in courier wait times between orders pre- and post-implementation of Seattle's "PayUp" wage ordinance. Two columns, one labeled "Before PayUp" showing wait times under 20 minutes, and a second column labeled "After PayUp" showing wait times over 100 minutes.

Tips are down 26%

When delivery partners are on a delivery, they are getting paid more for the duration of that delivery – but because of Seattleites’ knowledge of delivery partners’ new extreme pay, the increased costs associated with delivering in Seattle, and changes we’ve had to make to our platform in response to the law, tips on those orders have dropped by 26%. This is despite Grubhub keeping tipping in the checkout flow (as opposed to moving it post-delivery.)

Fewer, smaller orders are being placed

PayUp has hurt merchants in Seattle, too, and is disproportionately impacting smaller mom-and-pop restaurants. We are seeing fewer orders being placed overall, and the orders that are being placed are smaller in size. This could be because diners in Seattle feel delivery is no longer an affordable option for them, and even if the law is fixed, it’s possible these customers are gone for good – hurting Seattle businesses in the long term.

It’s not too late to help delivery partners, in Seattle and across the country

While efforts are under way to fix the law, the fallout of PayUp serves as a stark warning to other jurisdictions considering similarly misguided legislation. To be clear, Grubhub supports better pay for delivery partners, but the policy must be written and implemented properly, with all stakeholders at the table. 

Voices of Grubhub: Grubhub Corporate Accounts Continues to Set Industry Standard

To showcase different perspectives and give an inside look into Grubhub, we’re spotlighting leaders across the organization. For this edition, we caught up with Jeff Mirmelstein, Vice President of Corporate Accounts, to share some background on our corporate accounts function.

Building best-in-class products and services for campus and corporate clients is one of Grubhub’s focuses for the year. Our corporate accounts team partners with thousands of businesses across the country that use Grubhub to feed employees for company-wide lunches, team celebrations, virtual meetings, and everything in between.

The last few years have been interesting for the delivery industry, especially for corporate accounts. Tell us what the horizon has been like pre-COVID to post-COVID. 

COVID had an inverse impact on our team compared to the rest of Grubhub. Pre-COVID, most of our Corporate Accounts business was focused on in-office dining, including catering, scheduled team orders, or even late-night, weekend, and overtime meals. When people stopped going into offices, it was no surprise that our business initially declined. 

Interestingly, but also not surprisingly, COVID also presented a slew of different and unique use cases to serve clients and their employees in their homes, with things like team celebrations, webinars, virtual meetings, and virtual town halls. As people started to return to the office and we were able to leverage the use cases we built during COVID, our business rebounded and quickly returned to growth. While a large portion of our in-office business was paused in early 2020 due to Covid, we’ve more than rebounded. We’re now much larger than we were before the pandemic as we service clients’ in-office and at-home use cases.

Beyond COVID, you’ve seen the competitive landscape shift in corporate accounts as more players have entered the space. As a result, what has your team done differently? 

Over the last few years, we’ve seen new players aggressively enter the corporate accounts space. Our focus is always going to be solidifying Grubhub as the best meal perks provider for clients. It’s that simple. Companies need dedicated tools and services to meet their demands, and we’re constantly making updates and adding new features. We’ve increased our focus on Fortune 1000 companies and how we can be the best service provider to those large, sophisticated organizations. Our institutional knowledge of serving corporate accounts since 1999 has given us a significant advantage, so we know what they want and need to serve them best. 

Additionally, in the last few years, we’ve introduced a self-service product, allowing medium and small organizations to quickly sign up for a corporate account and start placing orders the same day. This frees up the enterprise team to spend more time building relationships with prospective clients and makes the onboarding process clearer and quicker for our SMB clients.

What are the key priorities your team is going after in 2024? 

Loyalty will continue to be a big one for us. We have our loyalty subscription program, Grubhub+, and we’re thinking through new ways about how it could be a complementary benefit for our Corporate clients.  

And as I mentioned earlier, we’re focused on maintaining our position as the platform of choice for businesses of all sizes. This includes large, complex accounts that require a more granular look into how their organization is spending, to a small, single-digit person office for their weekly lunches.

For more information on Grubhub Corporate Accounts, please visit here.

New Grubhub Fund Added to the American Heart Association’s Chicago Social Impact Funds

Chicago, March 5, 2024 – Last year, 1 in 5 Chicago Metro area households and 1 in 4 households with children were considered food insecure[1]. As a social determinant of health, food insecurity can lead to numerous health problems, such as heart disease or high blood pressure[2].

The American Heart Association, which is marking one hundred years of service saving lives, today announced the addition of the Grubhub Fund to the Association’s Social Impact Funds in Chicago. This infusion of funding, supported by the Grubhub Community Fund, will in turn enable local organizations to tackle systemic social issues that affect food security and economic development with a focus on technology-driven solutions. The Grubhub Community Fund’s support will allow for several funding opportunities to social enterprises and nonprofits implementing innovative and scalable solutions to create meaningful change in local neighborhoods across Chicago and also New York through 2025.

“We are committed to strengthening the communities for our diners, restaurant partners and delivery partners,” said Brianna Morris, senior manager, community impact for Grubhub. “We are excited to support the American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds and elevate this work through the Grubhub Community Fund. Supporting organizations working to create meaningful change in local communities is a key part of our work, especially in our hometown of Chicago.”

Local Chicago organizations are invited to submit a formal expression of interest to the Association’s Social Impact Funds through April 25, 2024. A window for New York area organizations will open later this Spring. Applicants can be at any business stage and can be non-profit or for-profit social enterprises. A virtual “town hall” information session will be held on March 13, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Central. Community members and American Heart Association staff will unite to discuss the fund and application process to ensure available funds are focused to address the greatest local needs. Register here to join the discussion.

“Our mission to end cardiovascular disease is directly tied to addressing its root causes including social determinants of health,” said Brittany Walsh, region senior vice president and executive director for the American Heart Association in Chicago. “The Social Impact Funds provide critical funding helping empower local organizations to create scalable solutions that help provide access to health care, healthy food and other services to help overall resiliency that will ultimately lead to a healthier and more resilient community.”

The Oscar and Cathy Munoz Pave it Forward Foundation established the Association’s Social Impact Funds in Chicago in 2022. The Munoz’s gift along with support from the Tullman Family Office recently funded four Chicagoland organizations:

  • Care Advisors is a health care technology firm helping individuals gain rapid access to social services and vital healthcare by enabling interoperability and coordinating care amongst hospitals, community-based organizations clinical social workers and patients.
  • Connect Care Hero (CCH) addresses social isolation in older adults with a tech-enabled engagement platform for senior living that optimizes staff time, delivers curated health-focused content and monitors risks associated with age. CCH operates in more than 30 locations across Chicagoland and Southwest Florida.
  • DistrictZero (DZ) is a digital emotional health platform that aims to promote stronger social-emotional competencies, helping individuals manage their emotions and make responsible decisions. DZ has successfully piloted its platform across K-12 schools, bilingual classrooms, private health clinics and corporate mental health support workflows in the United States.
  • ProUnitas works with Title I schools to develop systems that address basic needs spanning the social determinants of health and connects students to the resources they might need. The Houston-based organization recently expanded into Chicago.

Since launching in 2018, the American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds have supported more than 130 local social enterprises across the country. Learn more about the Association’s Social Impact Funds here.

Grubhub Campus Sees Marketplace Orders Grow 30%, Partners Grow 20% in 2023

By Rob DelaCruz, vice president and general manager of Grubhub Campus

While the Spring semester may be well underway, we’re taking a look back at the last 12 months of order trends, innovation and then some. 

2023 was the best year yet for Grubhub Campus Dining, the higher-ed-focused part of Grubhub’s business that serves college students and directly integrates mobile ordering into campus meal plans. This integration allows universities to reimagine students’ dining experience with innovative solutions. We saw the most orders in our 10+ year history of working with campus partners, with total Marketplace orders growing by 30%. We also grew our roster of university partners by nearly 20%, adding the University of Chicago, Villanova University, the University of Mississippi, Northeastern University, Mississippi State and others. 

We know options are important and that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to dining, which is why we offer solutions for on and off-campus ordering, or a mix, depending on what our partners are looking for. The majority of our campus orders are for pickup since students tend to grab meals between classes, but over the years, we’ve seen delivery orders rise in popularity. In 2023, campus delivery orders increased by 35%.

Speaking of delivery, we offer robot delivery to our campus partners through partnerships with Starship, Cartken and Kiwibot. At checkout, customers can select robot delivery, and experience a fun and convenient new way to order food delivery. Robot delivery is available on select campuses across the country, including The Ohio State University, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Arizona. This type of delivery has been well received as adoption continues, and robot delivery orders were up 500% in the last year.

Burrito bowls, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and mac and cheese were some of the staples students were ordering. And speaking of staples, another hallmark of the college experience is the local independent restaurants in town. Independent restaurants truly make up the flavors and the fabric of local communities, and with our flexible dining options, we want to make sure students have ample dining options no matter where they are ordering from. To do this, we’ve grown our independent restaurant footprint serving these college communities by more than 24%.

In addition to adding more dining options, we are also evolving our offering to include tech-forward innovations. I talked about robot delivery already, but at the start of the 2023 school year, we expanded our campus offerings with Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology

This technology allows for a frictionless shopping experience by enabling students, faculty and staff to skip the checkout line thanks to the payment automatically being deducted from their meal plan, declining account balance or other stored payment methods linked to their Grubhub account when they leave the store. We also have a partnership with Apex smart lockers that allows restaurant team members to punch a code into one of the Apex lockers, insert the bag and send the customer a text alert with the designated locker and code for pickup. The lockers help campuses and businesses increase operational efficiencies and provide fast order pickup for students and guests, so it’s a win-win. 

For more information on our Campus Dining services, please visit here

Grubhub Expands Impact Program With New Strategic Partnerships

New report shows community impact deepened in 2023, including $1.4 Million to NYC nonprofits and more than $1.6M to nonprofits in company’s hometown of Chicago

Chicago, Feb. 27, 2024 – Grubhub invested $15 million in communities across the United States through the Grubhub Community Fund and other impact programs last year, the company revealed today in its 2023 Community Impact Report. The report also highlights that 45 states across the country and more than 500 organizations and causes were supported through Grubhub and Grubhub Community Fund programs.

Corporate programs and nonprofit partnerships, supported by the Grubhub Community Fund, drive Grubhub’s community impact efforts. Diners also contribute through the company’s Donate the Change* tool. Three key impact focus areas guide Grubhub’s impact work: helping to close the hunger gap, creating more opportunity in the hospitality industry, and supporting independent restaurants.

In recent years, Grubhub has evolved its community impact approach to better guide its overarching strategy, scale impact, and identify new partnership opportunities. In 2023, Grubhub deepened its community impact in key markets by: 

  • Providing More Grants to More Organizations. Grubhub supported more than 80 organizations through the Grubhub Community Fund – a 40% increase from 2022.
  • Expanding Hometown Impact. Grubhub invested in new partnerships across its impact focus areas, supporting nearly 100 Chicagoland community-based organizations through Grubhub and Grubhub Community Fund programs.
  • Scaling Food Recovery Efforts. Grubhub hit a new milestone in its food recovery effort, partnering to recover and redirect more than 40 million pounds of food to local food banks, pantries, and community organizations across the country.

“The communities where we operate are the very heart of our business, and we have a responsibility to help strengthen them in ways Grubhub is uniquely positioned to do,” said Dave Tovar, Senior Vice President of Communications & Government Relations at Grubhub. “I am extremely proud of how we supported restaurants, especially ones that are small businesses, in the past year, and am looking forward to expanding our impact in 2024. We have a lot of work ahead of us including the launch of new funding opportunities for nonprofits, expanding our efforts to create more opportunities in the hospitality industry, and engaging our delivery partners in our impact work.”

Along with supporting local communities on the national scale, Grubhub placed an emphasis on supporting neighbors in two key markets: New York City and Chicago. In New York City, the Grubhub Community Fund gave $1,420,000 to local nonprofits and distributed more than 132,000 meals through Grubhub and Grubhub Community Fund programs.

Within its hometown of Chicago, the Grubhub Community Fund gave more than $1,600,000 to local nonprofits and distributed almost 3,900,000 pounds of food distributed via food bank and pantry partners and recovered more than 5,200,000 pounds of food in partnership with FoodRecovery.org and Rescuing Leftover Cuisine.

To further support these markets, Grubhub’s announced a new relationship with the American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds, which will support nonprofits and social enterprises driving innovative solutions to help address health and economic disparities. The Grubhub Community Fund intends to provide up to $2 million to the Association’s Social Impact Funds to support funding opportunities through 2025 to organizations working to create meaningful change in Chicago and New York City neighborhoods.

“As the American Heart Association celebrates 100 years of our life-saving mission, we know that to make a meaningful difference in our communities, we need to collaborate with the individuals and organizations who take action to bring about change,” said Marsha Jones, 2023-25 volunteer chairperson of the board for the American Heart Association, member of the Association’s Social Impact Funds Governance Committee and former executive vice president and chief diversity officer for The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. “The Grubhub Community Fund complements the efforts of the Association’s Social Impact Funds to change the face of health care and access so communities can be healthier.”

Grubhub is on a continuous journey to identify new opportunities that will strengthen and deepen its community impact. Read the 2023 Community Impact Report, and learn more about how Grubhub is engaging in strategic partnerships and funding impactful programs to make its operating communities a better place: https://about.grubhub.com/community/

*The Grubhub Community Fund is a donor advised fund at a national sponsoring organization. The Grubhub Community Fund is made possible through donations from our customers through our Donate the Change feature in the Grubhub app and website. Grubhub matches contributions on eligible orders from our Grubhub+ members.

Grubhub Grows Convenience Offering with CVS Pharmacy

Just in time for the start of daylight saving time, customers can score deals on health, wellness and other convenience items so they can spring forward with ease 

CHICAGOFeb. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ —  Grubhub, a leading online mobile food ordering and delivery platform, is now offering inventory of thousands of wellness, beauty, household and other convenience items from CVS Pharmacy on the Grubhub Marketplace. More than 6,000 CVS locations are available on Grubhub across 48 states. 

With daylight saving time around the corner on March 10, Grubhub surveyed consumers to better understand the implications of the time change. 62% of respondents said they feel the effects of the time change for at least a week, and 51% said the time change makes them tired for a few days.* So to help customers spring forward with ease and fight any grogginess from losing that hour of sleep, Grubhub is delivering a little bit of joy with a Daylight Saving Essentials promotion where customers can score free health and wellness favorites to help them bounce back from that hour less of sleep.

From March 9 to March 13, customers who order from CVS Pharmacy on Grubhub can get a free item from an assortment of Daylight Saving Essentials with delivery orders of $20 or more.** You can find the Daylight Saving Essentials as a special menu category from CVS on Grubhub featuring energy-boosting must-haves including coffee, protein bars, tea, supplements and more. The discount will automatically be applied at checkout. Customers who are members of Grubhub+ will get access to $0 delivery fees on eligible orders from CVS Pharmacy.

“We’re proud to further establish our convenience offering with CVS Pharmacy — a beloved household name — and give customers more access to thousands of items from a store near them,” said Ariella Kurshan, senior vice president of growth and marketing at Grubhub. “There’s never been a better time to add CVS Pharmacy to our roster so that customers can stock up on all the health and wellness essentials to keep them going this winter and beyond.”

CVS Pharmacy is the latest convenience offering on Grubhub’s Marketplace, joining GoPuff, Rite Aid, and 7-Eleven.

About Grubhub

Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com (LSE: JET, AMS: TKWY), and is a leading U.S. food ordering and delivery marketplace. Dedicated to connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, Grubhub elevates food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms, and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub features more than 355,000 merchants in over 4,000 U.S. cities. 

*Survey findings based on a 2023 Grubhub consumer survey

**Terms apply. Available for delivery orders from participating CVS locations on the Grubhub platform (including Seamless). Order subtotal must be at least $20 (before tax, tip, and fees). Discount only applicable to items within the ‘Daylight Savings Essentials’ category. Limit one (1) use per diner. Users remain responsible for any applicable tax, fees, and optional tip. Available 3/9/2024 12:00 AM local time – 3/13/2024 11:59 PM local time