Restaurant Traffic
The industry continues to see improved traffic trends WoW
For the week ended June 25th Casual Dining sales improved 60bps WoW to (-2.9%), bringing June month-to-date down (-3.7%) from (-5.5%) in May
For the week ended June 25th QSR sales improved 180bps WoW to (-1.0%), bringing June month-to-date down (-2.6%) from (-4.9%) in May
Is DASH Taking a big risk?
If you deliver for DoorDash in the United States, you do so as an independent contractor. That's a form of self-employment. Generally, a Dasher (DoorDash's term for a delivery driver on their platform) is an independent contractor. There's some controversy around whether Dashers are misclassified or whether DoorDash illegally uses independent contractors. In late 2022, the Department of Labor proposed a new rule that examines an employment relationship. However, all of that controversy has yet to play out. Until then, DoorDash Dashers are contractually self-employed. Did that just change? Yesterday, we spoke with executives at UBER about the changes DASH is making, and they commented that UBER has contemplated changing the pay structures for drivers to be able to choose between earn by time or earn per offer. They chose not to make the change because of the legal liability it might pose for how drivers are classified. Why did DASH not see the same risk?
See the comments about the announced change below:
Delivering More Flexibility and Choice for Dashers
Over the past decade, millions of Dashers have turned to DoorDash for the opportunity to reach their financial goals by earning supplemental income how, when, and where they choose. Throughout, Dashers have consistently told us that flexibility and choice are overwhelmingly the key reasons they choose to dash. Our business has evolved beyond just facilitating single orders from single restaurants, and today, Dashers have more choice than ever regarding how they want to earn – from in-store shopping to package pickup and more.
Today, we’re thrilled to further our commitment to providing Dashers with more flexibility and choice by announcing that for the first time, Dashers will have the ability to choose between two distinct ways to earn: Earn by Time and Earn Per Offer.
- Earn by Time is a whole new way for Dashers to earn. From the moment they accept an offer until it’s completed, Dashers will earn a guaranteed hourly minimum rate plus 100% of tips on top.
- Earn Per Offer is for Dashers who prefer the existing earnings mode that they’ve come to know and love, but with more variety than ever before in the types of tasks they can complete on our platform – all with a more efficient, streamlined suggested route. When a Dasher earns per offer, they’ll be shown upfront the guaranteed minimum amount they can expect to make on that offer – and as always, Dashers keep 100% of tips.
At the start of every dash where Earn by Time is available, Dashers can choose which earning mode they want to use and at any time, they can end their dash and start a new one in a different mode when available. With these two earning modes, Dashers today have unprecedented choice, flexibility, and control in how they dash.
LAB Grown Chicken
Federal regulators gave final approval yesterday for lab-grown chicken to be sold within the United States by three suppliers, according to one of the companies, Upside Foods. The processors getting the green light have indicated that they intend to introduce the meat to U.S. consumers by serving it first within high-end restaurants. San Francisco celebrity chef Dominique Crenn pledged months ago to feature the cultured chicken at three of her restaurants as soon as it was cleared for market by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The popular chef and humanitarian José Andrés similarly pledged in March to put the lab-grown chicken of another supplier, Good Meat, on one of his menus as soon as a regulatory okay was issued. The third supplier approved to sell cultured poultry is Joinn Biologics, which collaborates with Good Meat. Lab-grown poultry has been eagerly awaited because of its expected environmental and humanitarian benefits. The meat is cultivated from a few cells inside a sterile laboratory-like setting that some compare to a spotless wine-making room. The cells are grown into chicken tissue inside huge stainless-steel drums. Advocates stress that the process takes far less of a toll on the environment than conventional poultry farming. In addition, they point out that no creature has to be slaughtered, and no worker has to be exposed to the dangers of a slaughterhouse. In interviews earlier this year, the suppliers indicated that their expenses are still significant because they’re not yet producing enough meat for the economies of scale to kick in. Plus, any significant demand would outstrip current production capabilities. The supply situation is widely expected to keep the price of cultured chicken significantly above the cost of conventional poultry for some time.
