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SpoonRocket shuts down

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Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#131

Post by swang »

mmanfrin wrote: post #98

I think part of their problem is that they hammered downward with the food quality in an effort to cut costs, rather than raising rates. People who are using these on-demand food delivery services wouldn't mind a couple extra dollars if it meant that the food was of good quality. SpoonRocket's food was abysmal; it satisfied the occasional need for shitty-hangover-food, but that's not sustainable (for them or for my g…

When they started they were cheap meals under $10 out in Berkeley or Oakland (I forget), and they did raise prices after they started expanding into SF. The problem was most of their customers were use to the lower price point of the service.

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#132

Post by jtmarmon »

imperialdrive wrote: post #26
mbesto wrote: post #8

Well, this sucks, I've been really enjoying my VC-subsidized services.

Dude, tell me about it, I was a VIP with them, and ordered almost every single day due to a busy schedule, they would show up within minutes... the meatloaf stack, the enchiladas, the pasta, I always enjoyed it except for a couple times in all. RIP I will miss you Spoonrocket! Now that I think about it more, there was something odd about how most times I would order, the app would say 30-60 minutes which was discoura…

does anyone know of other services which can deliver in around that 10 minute mark?

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#133

Post by chad_strategic »

Accounting 101: (No matter if it is 1900, 1950, 1999, or 2015)

Revenue -Cost of Goods (food, in this case) = Gross Profit

Gross Profit -Sales & General, Administrative = Net profit

(SG&A = office space, Webdev, logistics, etc...)

I'm sorry, but anything else is just plan BS.

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#134

Post by gist »

mangeletti wrote: post #126
treehau5 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it matters which franchises you are talking about. A restaurant like Maggiano's, or Bonefish Grill is as far removed from Subway as Subway is as far removed from a 7-Eleven.

It's worth noting that Bonefish Grill operates a "managing partner" system, vs an ordinary franchise. The corporation owns 85% of the business, while a location's managing partner (who invests some money to get started) owns 10% (a regional manager owns the other 5%). IOW, they're not, strictly speaking, a franchise.

What is the upside for owning only 10%? Seems that the only asset that you have is that interest which you can sell to someone else, that is managing partner, with approval of corporate.

In the bonefish grill's that I have been at (several), the managing partner is typically present at the restaurant when I have been there. As such this is in a sense like buying yourself a job. (You could say the same about some franchises but somehow I see this a bit differently..)

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#135

Post by JonFish85 »

chad_strategic wrote: post #133

Accounting 101: (No matter if it is 1900, 1950, 1999, or 2015) Revenue -Cost of Goods (food, in this case) = Gross Profit Gross Profit -Sales & General, Administrative = Net profit (SG&A = office space, Webdev, logistics, etc...) I'm sorry, but anything else is just plan BS.

Half-kidding, but where is "growth" in your calculations? A big reason why companies discount their "fixed costs" (e.g. full-time employees' salaries, rent, etc) is because if they can get a marginal profit on their goods, then it's a matter of "making it up in volume". A company can still be losing a tremendous amount of money but have a bright future (I think this is what Amazon did for years): if you're making $0.50 per item, but have $1b of overhead costs, it very well might be possible to get to a profit, it just means you have to move a LOT of items.

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#136

Post by mangeletti »

gist wrote: post #134
mangeletti wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth noting that Bonefish Grill operates a "managing partner" system, vs an ordinary franchise. The corporation owns 85% of the business, while a location's managing partner (who invests some money to get started) owns 10% (a regional manager owns the other 5%). IOW, they're not, strictly speaking, a franchise.

What is the upside for owning only 10%? Seems that the only asset that you have is that interest which you can sell to someone else, that is managing partner, with approval of corporate. In the bonefish grill's that I have been at (several), the managing partner is typically present at the restaurant when I have been there. As such this is in a sense like buying yourself a job. (You could say the same about some fran…

I agree. The benefit of this system is primarily that of the corporation. You get a manager, sell them a small percent, which helps cover some (a small amount) of the location's launch costs, gets the manager committed and makes them feel like a real owner, which makes them focus on success much more... with little serious upside. Not to mention, it puts the manager at a financial loss (their initial investment), if they quit within 5 years.

I knew a managing partner of a Carrabba's. He quit something like 2 years later and bought this little burger drive through. It must have been really bad at Carrabba's...

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#137

Post by melvinmt »

pc86 wrote: post #61
wmeredith wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AH, but you couldn't get any investors for that.

You could absolutely get investors. Just not any VCs.

Nothing is impossible: Philz Coffee has raised $15m [1] and The Melt (grilled sandwich chain) has raised money from Sequoia [2]

[1] http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/18/philz-coffee-funding/

[2] http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/11/12/sequoia-backe...

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#138

Post by tekklloneer »

azinman2 wrote: post #78
ttam wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree that their food was "largely gross and very unhealthy" - mac & cheese was just one of the options, they always had 2-3 other nicer options I was a user since 2013 and enjoyed their stuff, too bad it's gone wonder if sprig's gonna survive..

Ya like meatloaf, ribs, burritos, etc. Everything was 700 calories+++

Not true at all. I'm a vegetarian and the veggie options were usually in the 4-600 range.

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#139

Post by prawn »

pbarnes_1 wrote: post #102
azinman2 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sprig's food is way better than spoonrocket, so at least their cost is justified. For SF, it's pretty normal pricing. Bento is meh, but munchery probably is the highest quality (and most expensive) of all. Hadn't heard of healthyout or thistle until now, but they don't seem to be on-demand food services?

Munchery has gone down hill. Calling meals with 70g of fat "healthy" is a bit of a stretch. They used to be more focused on good quality/fresh/healthy. The menu is now the same every day and it's basically a restaurant delivery service where they pre-make the food in large quantities. Presumably this is more sustainable for them money wise, but I used to order Munchery for dinner every single day (when open) for year…

IMO, these companies would be insane not to pre-make suitable food in large quantities (curries, etc) in order to achieve profitability at reasonable pricepoints.

Re: SpoonRocket shuts down

#140

Post by prawn »

empath75 wrote: post #76
vkou wrote: post #21

SpoonRocket was an "on-demand pre-made meal delivery service"? So... Like the pizza place down the street?

Yeah I don't get how you brand restaurant delivery is a tech startup. Absurd. I can understand a 'meal sharing' service like airbnb or uber, but not this.

Meal sharing concept is too finicky IMO. These places doing pre-made, delivered food are on the right track but I imagine the delivery component is a heavy cost.

I'd be curious to know if any of the food delivery apps have incentivised delivery to grouped buyers. e.g., $10 if someone buys, $8 if 5+ people in the same street buy, etc. Encourage delivery efficiency and also delegate marketing to word of mouth.

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