In my chat with Greg, we unpack the launch of Tastemaker Acquisition and the interconnectivity of technology and behavior. We dive deep into the impact of technology on the industry and how pandemic accelerated adoption and behavioral shifts and so much more:
Curry Up NowGregory’s CoffeeSweetgreenBamboo SushiIndayByChloeeegee’s
They spend all of their days thinking about how they identify great concepts. Looking for authenticity.
Authenticity is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. You need this as a brand to exist.
It’s why we don’t get into starting restaurants. They invest in entrepreneurs that have a passion that emanates throughout the company.
They look for a maniacal customer base. They speak with their wallet.
NPS scores can be valuable because people promote concepts and restaurants unlike other industries.
How many times a customer comes back is a big indicator of a brand’s strength.
Reactivation is critical (speaking to limited time offers’ power) – a key skill of any brand. Layer on technology to tell the guest about the new items (e.g. CRM/App.)
What you do with data is just as important as collecting it in the restaurant industry. Still trying to figure it out because it’s a multi-channel business.
There are differences in behaviors and how they acquire the food. Operators lose the behavior data when someone switches from drive-thru to indoor.
Tastemaker Acquisition’s launch is focused both on traditional growth restaurant brands and an avenue for looking at restaurant technology.
Tastemaker Acquisition is a SPAC looking for much larger restaurant companies in the billion-dollar range.
Checkmate – takes all of the delivery platforms and POS systems.
Wisely – take data from systems and make sense of the data for companies to review/evaluate.
A POS company is never going to be a good marketing company/platform.
With cookies going away, we’re going to need more buy-in from the guest. Attract them and develop the relationship to order direct. Can’t be as sneaky. It was a Wild West for a while.
Loves Starbucks because they hit him up with drinks that he wouldn’t have thought about. Mixing things that already exist: Almond Milk with Honey. They know his ordering history.
Convenience has been important for years. The pie is just getting bigger. Full Service has gotten smaller however there are stories within that space that are important.
KF believes in experiential. Convenience and experiential are the things that matter moving forward.
Involved in Bamboo Sushi – full service but feels special. Use the term Party Sushi to give an elevated experie
