Danny Meyer wants to help you get your favorite food
Danny Meyer wants to help you get your favorite food
New York restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer is entering the e-commerce business.
Enlightened Hospitality Investments LP, the $ 220 million private equity fund that Mr. Meyer helped start, has invested $ 15 million in Goldbelly, a company based in New York that specializes in the delivery of favorite foods from restaurants, bakeries and other suppliers.
It is the largest initial investment the fund has made to date, said Meyer, who is 60 years old. Other companies in which the fund has invested include Resy Network, a restaurant reservation application and the Joe Coffee and Salt & Straw Ice Cream chains.
Launched in 2013, Goldbelly (formerly Goldbely) has offers from more than 350 stores across the country, including Langer's Deli in Los Angeles, Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh and Faidley Seafood in Baltimore. New York institutions such as Russ & Daughters and Magnolia Bakery are also part of the Goldbelly mix.
The Enlightened Hospitality investment is part of a recently completed $ 20 million financing round for the e-commerce company, according to Goldbelly founder and CEO Joe Ariel. Previously, Goldbelly raised $ 13 million through two other rounds.
Mr. Ariel refused to provide the company's annual sales, but said it was in the tens of millions of dollars. He said that sales have at least doubled each year to date, although he indicated that the company is currently not profitable because it is putting money into infrastructure that would allow its growth.
"There could be thousands" of restaurants and other suppliers in Goldbelly, Ariel said.
Meyer said he noticed Goldbelly for the first time when someone sent a gift from Ted Drewes to his frozen custard from his hometown of St. Louis through the company.
The online store took advantage of an "an idea that I've always loved," he said. "What it is, how do you give people the memory of taste and emotional memory for what they discovered elsewhere and makes it easy for them to have it wherever they are?"
Meyer also said he saw a synergy between Goldbelly and Union Square Hospitality Group, his New York-based restaurant company that manages the Enlightened Hospitality fund and is one of the fund's investors. He said Goldbelly would soon present a selection of cakes from USHG restaurants.
While there are dozens of companies that offer gourmet treats by mail, only a few specialize in shipping items from restaurants. Among them, Goldbelly has become the main favorite, said USHG's Chief Investment Officer Mark Leavitt, who cited it as another factor behind the investment decision. It's "really the only game in the city," he said.
Aside from the infusion of cash that his fund is providing, Meyer's name will give Goldbelly the added prestige in the gourmet and e-commerce market, said Stephen Zagor, instructor and former dean of the Culinary Education Institute that teaches at Columbia Business School. "He has a wonderful credibility," Zagor said.
At the same time, Mr. Zagor and others point out the challenges that Goldbelly could face as it seems to grow. The main one of them is: the fact that the offers of the site are not cheap, in large part due to the costs of packaging and urgent delivery.
In turn, that could make Goldbelly a difficult sale for some consumers. For example, six fries from Known Bakery of Yonah Schimmel, a famous Lower East Side store in Manhattan, cost $ 79, or more than $ 12 each. In the store, the ornaments are sold for $ 4.25 each.
Goldbelly works to reduce shipping costs in various ways, Ariel said, adding that "as economies of scale increase, the price can go down further." He noted that the company's offers are not necessarily intended for the everyday customer.
"This is not consumer food. This is premium, "said Ariel.
At least one Goldbelly fan said he does not mind paying the high prices.
Tony Bernheim, a resident of San Diego, California, who works in commercial real estate, said he orders sandwiches through the site from a restaurant he frequented in New Jersey, where he once lived. Items ranging from Louisiana lobster to Montana made cakes are also on your Goldbelly list.
Bernheim considers Goldbelly a place for gourmets that is run by gourmets. "That feeling comes through your site," he said.
Write to Charles Passy in cpassy@wsj.com
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SOURCE LINK ERESVIRAL.COM https://www.beviral.online
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