Wonder is no longer just a chain of restaurants with an app — it’s now an app with restaurants.
The food company, founded by billionaire Marc Lore, has revamped its brand to operate more like Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Customers can now order food from both Wonder’s own eateries and outside restaurants directly through the Wonder app.
It also offers meal kits.
Wonder is coming after Uber Eats and DoorDash by becoming an app with restaurants, rather than a restaurant with an app.
Wonder is overhauling its services by allowing customers to order from non-Wonder restaurants through the Wonder App, alongside running its own restaurants, delivery app, and meal kit service.
This transformation is accompanied by the unveiling of a new logo and the brand’s inaugural comprehensive marketing campaign, which features advertisements on streaming services, social media, and through email promotions.
‘We’re really at a pivotal point in our growth as Wonder,’ Courtney Lawrie, the company’s head of growth and marketing told Restaurant Business.
‘We have formerly operated as several restaurants, and this refresh is really representative of moving to a platform mindset.’
The company initially launched with on-demand food trucks, evolving into physical locations offering restaurant concepts endorsed by renowned chefs, such as Bobby Flay.
Meanwhile, food delivery app usage has been increasing nationwide, with more than 25 percent of Americans using these services at least once a week.
This revamp could be the strategic move that Wonder needs to surpass leading delivery platforms, especially after entering the competitive space earlier this year with the acquisition of Blue Apron and Grubhub.
Wonder launched a new logo as part of the brand’s refresh
It will be replacing the brand’s longtime looping, script logo on the app and at restaurants
Wonder announced its plans to acquire Grubhub for about $650 million last year — a deal that was finalized in January.
Wonder founder and CEO Marc Lore explained the acquisition aimed to help the company continue its mission to ‘make great food more accessible.’
As per Lore, the acquisition is pivotal in the brand’s ambition to develop a ‘super app’ for meal times, redefining ‘the future of food delivery.’
The initiative also includes updating the logo to a more contemporary sans-serif design, which will be displayed on the app and in new restaurant locations.
‘As Wonder expands into new categories and capabilities, it was a natural time for a brand system that better reflected the full scope of what we offer today and where we’re headed next,’ a Wonder spokesperson told Daily Mail.
‘Shifting our brand focus from format to fulfillment, our new positioning isn’t about how food gets to you, it’s about satisfying what you want to eat and how you want to eat it.’
Local eateries will be a central part of the app’s main feed. Orders that come through the Wonder app will be handled like a Grubhub order.
The app’s main feed will highlight local favorites, but all Grubhub restaurants will be searchable in the Wonder app. The user’s ability to order from multiple restaurants at the same time can only be possible with Wonder’s in-house brands.
Courtney Lawrie, Wonder’s head of growth and marketing, said the refresh will help Wonder move to ‘a platform mindset’
Over 25 percent of Americans use a food delivery app once a week
Lore, a billionaire e-commerce entrepreneur, founded Wonder in 2018. He helped bring in over $2 billion in private funding.
The $2 billion helped the company value at around $7 billion — more than several publicly traded restaurant chains.
Today, Wonder operates around 50 restaurants, opening a new restaurant weekly. The company hopes to open 90 locations by the end of the year.
The company restaurant’s are primarily in the Northeast. If its success continues, the chain could be in other US regions by 2035.
‘This refresh is a direct reflection of Wonder’s long-term goal to become the platform people turn to for every mealtime moment,’ a spokesperson revealed to Daily Mail.
Daily Mail has reached out to Uber Eats for comment about Wonder’s refresh and is awaiting response. DoorDash declined to comment on the brand’s update.
