5 tech things: Aramark opens Zippin checkout-free store at Houston’s NRG Stadium

In this special edition of its 5 Things series, Food Management highlights five recent technology-related developments affecting the foodservice world.

Here’s your list for today:

Checkout-free technology firm Zippin has announced the opening of its second Zippin-powered Ice House Express store in Houston’s NRG Stadium in partnership with Aramark, the venue’s exclusive food and beverage provider, just in time for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that is running between February 28 and March 20 at the venue. Aramark has worked with Zippin since 2020 to expand the footprint of checkout-free shopping and accelerate its adoption at sports venues and stadiums such as Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos.

Read more: Zippin Announces Second Checkout-free Store At Houston's NRG Stadium In Partnership with Aramark

Autonomous delivery technology firm Starship Technologies, which has been deploying its robot meal delivery vehicles to university campuses across the country in recent years, has announced that it has raised $100 million in the last 30 days that will help it further scale its service by launching in more cities and campuses, including the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the University of Idaho as well as grocery delivery in the city of Pleasanton in the Bay Area through grocer partner The Save Mart Companies. Starship already operates a fleet of more than 1,700 robots daily and is currently in the process of launching service at North Carolina A&T, Southern Methodist University and South Dakota State University.

Related:5 things: Excess produce goes to feed exotic animals at Texas A&M

Read more: $100m raised in last 30 days by Starship Technologies as demand for its autonomous delivery service triples in 2021

DoorDash, Inc. says it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire hospitality technology startup Bbot, noting that the addition of Bbot's products and technology to the DoorDash platform will offer client operators more solutions for their in-store and online channels, such as in-store digital ordering and payments. "Over the past few years, the hospitality industry has seen the benefits of growing their online channels as well as digitizing their in-store operations," notes Bbot CEO Steve Simoni. "Joining forces with DoorDash enables us to more rapidly scale our solutions so that, together, we can equip more businesses with more low-cost tools to help them provide excellent customer experiences and compete in today's digital world."

Related:5 things: Google starts to reopen amenities at Bay Area facilities

Read more: DoorDash Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Bbot

Wing, a startup firm owned by Google parent company Alphabet, is launching a pilot program in Australia in tandem with Australian supermarket Coles to deliver groceries by drone to households in several suburbs of Canberra. pledging to fly the groceries within minutes of being ordered online. Rather than making the deliveries directly from Coles supermarket locations, orders come from a hub stocked up with 250 of the retailer's top-selling items. Wing recently reported that it has hit 200,000 commercial deliveries from clients such as KFC and Vietnamese food concept Roll’d.

Read more: Coles teams up with Google-backed startup to deliver groceries by drone

Compass Group Canada has announced an exclusive partnership with Norwegian based food-tech software company Foodback to launch the latter’s customer experience and feedback tool across Compass Group’s Canadian operations, beginning with over 15 school, hospital and manufacturing facility locations. Leveraging the resurgence of QR codes, Foodback offers unique links that speak directly to the site guests are visiting and offers immediate insights to help leadership identify key areas of opportunity for improvements. As incentive encouraging participation, guests can participate in short games post survey to win prizes.

Read more: Compass Group Canada and Foodback Announce Exclusive Partnership to Revolutionize Customer Experience

Bonus: Online ordering streamlines meal service at senior living community

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]