What’s Amazon so far?
That was my first thought upon studying a LinkedIn replace from Nick Avedesian, a longtime ghost kitchen and digital meals corridor government (and a speaker at The Spoon’s ghost kitchen digital occasion in 2020). In response to Avedesian, he has simply taken a brand new place at Amazon titled Senior Program Supervisor, Industrial Launch & Execution, the place he’ll “be supporting tasks throughout our Recent Meals Productions and Amazon Grocery Logistics initiatives!”
Earlier than Amazon, Avedesian held roles at a number of startups within the ghost kitchen and digital restaurant area, most not too long ago because the Head of Development for Byte Kitchens, a startup that raised $6 million in 2022 to construct out a digital meals corridor enterprise. Earlier than Byte, he was with Native Kitchens, which raised $40 million this June to increase its digital meals corridor enterprise. Previous to Native Kitchens, Avedesian was the Head of Growth and Operations for DoorDash Kitchens.
So, Avedesian, who has spent the previous 5 years overseeing the bodily build-out of kitchen areas tied to onboarding new restaurant model companions for digital meals halls, is now going to work for Amazon to assist tasks throughout Recent and grocery logistics. Might this imply Amazon plans to launch its personal multi-tenant, multi-brand meals halls? And in the event that they do, how will these meals corridor restaurant manufacturers be introduced to prospects?
Whereas it’s nonetheless too early to make sure, I believe there’s a robust risk that the place there’s smoke, there’s hearth. One potential state of affairs is that Amazon may be planning a mix of in-venue buildouts for brand spanking new restaurant menus and meals choices from licensed companions at Amazon Recent shops—much like what Surprise is beginning to do at Walmart. Given Avedesian’s experience in constructing each new and retrofit kitchen services for multi-brand meals halls, I can simply think about these kitchens, together with customer-facing meals corridor choices, being carried out at Recent areas and presumably different websites as properly.
It’s not as if Amazon is completely new to the thought of ghost kitchens or digital eating places. The corporate was an early investor in Deliveroo, a ghost kitchen and digital model pioneer. They’re additionally an investor in Grubhub and not too long ago introduced that Amazon Prime customers get free Grubhub+ and may order immediately from throughout the app.
Naturally, one replace isn’t a assure of a brand new undertaking inside Amazon, however there are different small indicators that one thing is afoot. One in every of Avedesian’s new coworkers is Kaitlin Garton, a undertaking launch specialist at Amazon, in addition to Gavin Worsdale, a supervisor for industrial launch and execution for Amazon’s worldwide grocery enterprise division.
Amazon’s grocery enterprise has been scrutinized intently as of late, partly as a result of the corporate hit the brakes earlier this 12 months on the growth of its Recent shops and using its Simply Stroll Out know-how. Nevertheless, the corporate has signaled that they aren’t getting out of or downsizing their meals initiatives, and now it’s a must to marvel in the event that they see a chance in utilizing their very own kitchens in a digital meals corridor enterprise as a progress driver, each in-store (at Recent and presumably Amazon Go storefronts) and maybe in centralized kitchens (akin to people who produce meals for Complete Meals).
The corporate additionally has a strong grocery and meals supply enterprise and will start providing a wide range of new house supply choices that includes meals from cooks or restaurant chains.
No matter they’re as much as, we’ll be maintaining a tally of issues. I’ve reached out to Avedesian to see if he has any specifics on what he’ll be engaged on, however given Amazon’s notoriously secretive methods, my guess is he’ll probably decline to remark.
