A Texas bill went into effect offering new protections to restaurants on third-party aggregators’ marketplaces, and Starbucks informed employees of new vaccine and testing requirements. Plus, James Walker, CEO of Buyk, discusses the state of ultrafast grocery delivery.

Food Brands Take on QSRs With Ready-Made Meals

For all the noise about consumers’ newfound interest in cooking since the rise of the stay-at-home economy, many are still looking for ways to get their meal needs met without all the work of preparing them from scratch. This need for convenience has led to the rise of delivery and pickup orders and to the proliferation of ghost kitchens, but it is also bringing a new category to the fore: the ready-made meal.

New Bill Increases Third-Party Delivery App Transparency in Texas

On New Year’s Day, a new Texas law went into effect designed to protects restaurants from predatory practices by third-party delivery services, according to Austin.Eater.com. Proponents say the legislation provides transparency protections to customers and restaurants as the industry recovers from the impact of the pandemic, according to the report.

Consumers Want It Now — And Delivery Services Are Responding

We’re in the early days of the Bring-It-To-Me-Now economy, and the emergence of digital payments has made the entire process more convenient. Sure, you can leave your house to do your grocery shopping or get your dinner, but you truly don’t have to if you know the right place to look. It seems that more people than ever know exactly where to find and how to get whatever they need, with millennials leading the way on this new way of doing business.

Arcos Dorados Taps dLocal for McDonald’s In-App Payments in Uruguay

Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee, is turning to dLocal to power in-app payments for its fast-food restaurants across Uruguay, according to a press release on Tuesday (Jan. 4). The collaboration with dLocal will give people using the McDonald’s app for food delivery the ability to complete purchases using credit and debit cards.

Starbucks Issues New Employee Vax Mandate as Restaurants Take on Omicron

With COVID-19 cases breaking records each day, the restaurant industry is entering 2022 in a very different place than operators would have guessed just a month earlier. These surges come alongside already scheduled federal changes mandating new controls for vaccinations and testing. Starbucks told employees on Monday (Jan. 3) that it would require all its United States employees to be fully vaccinated or to get tested each week, Reuters reported.

Ultrafast Grocery Delivery Makes Its Way Inland as Competition Heats Up

While ultrafast grocery delivery services operating in New York City — a list that currently includes Getir, Buyk, Jokr, Fridge No More, Gorillas, 1520 and DoorDash — compete to win the loyalty of the crowded market’s early adopters, much of the rest of the country remains hugely underpenetrated. Yet, with the majority of these businesses’ aggressive expansion strategy, this disparity will likely be short-lived, as James Walker, CEO of Buyk, discusses in an interview with PYMNTS.