Zume Pizza Expands Bake On The Way™, Forms Zume Inc & Partners with Welbilt to Go Beyond Pizza, Introducing Next Generation Food Delivery Vehicles

• Zume Pizza is expanding its ‘Bake On The Way™’ technology to 26 new delivery areas this year 
• The company is introducing Zume Inc, an end-to-end platform that uses cutting-edge automation and transportation logistics to reduce the time and distance between clean food sources and dense population areas 
• As part of this acceleration, Zume is opening up its platform to food companies of all sizes -- from quick service and fast casual to Fortune 100 brands and global restaurants 
• Through a partnership with Welbilt Inc. (NYSE: WBT), the leading global supplier of commercial foodservice equipment, Zume is launching a second-generation version of its patented Food Delivery Vehicles. Equipped with hyper-efficient, custom-built appliances, the Vehicles can be customized for any food partner  
• Zume also announces the appointments of Chris Satchell, formerly of Comcast Cable and Nike, as Chief Technology Officer, Kira Druyan, formerly of Starbucks, as General Counsel, and Tracey Forster, formerly of Johnson & Johnson, as Vice President of Marketing  

As consumer demand for healthier, fresher and faster food rises, so does the desire to eat at home or order out from full-service restaurants conveniently. That’s why today, Zume Pizza is announcing the expansion of its patented Bake On The Way™ technology. To do so, the company is introducing a new corporate structure via Zume Inc and is partnering with Welbilt Inc (NYSE: WBT) to launch the second-generation of its Food Delivery Vehicles equipped with hyper-efficient, customizable foodservice appliances. This partnership allows Zume to open up its platform to other third-party food companies that want a more flexible system to cook en route and meet customer demand. 

“Our mission is to feed the planet without ruining it, and we do that by providing healthier, more affordable food to every American. We recognize that we can’t do that by ourselves, which is why we are excited to partner with Welbilt and open up the platform to other food companies who share our vision,” says Alex Garden, CEO and co-founder of Zume. “In partnership with Welbilt, we’re poised to continue upending traditional notions about the way food is made and delivered.”

Expanding Bake On The Way™ 

As part of Zume’s strategy to develop better tools and processes with the aim of delivering healthier, sustainably-grown food, the company gets rid of the need for chemically stabilized meals by using Bake On The Way™ technology (BOTW). It’s through BOTW that ‘dwell time,’ or the period of time cooked food sits while en route for delivery, is eliminated. 

Unlike traditional food trucks and delivery vehicles, which cannot cook while moving, Zume optimizes the baking and delivery process to ensure a customer’s meal is delivered at peak freshness. To make this happen, Zume predicts what customers will order and when, so that the Food Delivery Vehicles are optimized to cook and arrive at the delivery location without using chemical stabilizers to preserve food. 

In 2018, Zume plans to serve to 26 additional markets with its first expansion of the year to Sunnyvale and Cupertino, followed by Santa Clara, Campbell, Redwood City, San Carlos, and Belmont.

Partnering Up with Welbilt to Introduce a New Generation of Food Delivery Vehicles 

By partnering with a leading global supplier of commercial foodservice equipment, Zume and Welbilt are working to meet the needs $43B food delivery market in the US by making Zume’s platform accessible to more people and food companies. 

To do this, Zume is introducing a suite of Food Delivery Vehicles 2.0, each powered with six high-efficiency ovens. In the case of Zume Pizza, the company can bake 120 pizzas per hour. 

Looking ahead, Welbilt will work to create solutions that incorporate a significant portion of its portfolio of hyper-efficient, custom-built appliances into its Food Delivery Vehicles -- including products like steamers, griddles, and broilers. 

“We are very pleased to be working with Zume on their next generation Food Delivery Vehicle,” said Hubertus Muehlhaeuser, Welbilt’s President and CEO. “Their vision for how automation, connectivity, and artificial intelligence in the kitchen enhance the food delivery experience is closely aligned with Welbilt’s FitKitchen®. Our success with multiple accelerated cooking technology platforms demonstrates that we know how to identify industry-changing opportunities and seize them through agile technology discovery and rigorous product development.”

Introducing Zume Inc.

On a quest to be the most powerful source of health and well-being on the planet, Zume Pizza is introducing Zume Inc. 

This new structure allows Zume to continue to operate brands like Zume Pizza, and eventually cultivate a collection of companies and services alongside it. 

Zume serves as a scalable, end-to-end platform that uses cutting-edge automation and transportation logistics to reduce the time and distance between clean food sources and dense population centers. 

The company will be run by CEO and Chairman Alex Garden, alongside the executive team, which hails from Union Square Hospitality Group, Lyft, Nike, Starbucks and Johnson & Johnson, to name a few.   

Growing the Executive Team 

In addition, Zume has appointed Chris Satchell as Chief Technology Officer, Kira Druyan as General Counsel and Tracey Forster as Vice President of Marketing. In the new roles, the executive trio will be responsible for spurring exponential growth and scaling the company’s vision of redefining the cultivation, preparation, and delivery of food in America.

“Kira, Chris, and Tracey are natural choices for this next phase of the company,” said Alex Garden, Chairman and CEO of Zume. “Given Chris’ background in building complex data and health platforms at Comcast and Nike, Kira’s category-defining deals at Starbucks, and Tracey’s experience building wellness brands, I’m thrilled to have them be part of building Zume’s platform and tackling macro problems plaguing the food industry.” 

As CTO, Chris Satchell will support this growth, overseeing Zume’s growing team of engineers, scaling the company’s technology infrastructure, and leading the design and implementation of a suite of innovations in AI and automation. Zume’s former CTO, Josh Goldberg, is taking on a new role within the company as Vice President of Research and Development and will work alongside Satchell. 

Chris Satchell brings over 22 years’ experience to Zume. Most recently, Satchell served as Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Comcast Cable, where he led the Consumer Product team developing Comcast’s hardware, firmware, client applications, and cloud platforms for the $52B cable business. Before Comcast, Satchell was CTO at Nike where he managed strategy and execution of all consumer-focused technology like Nike.com, brick and mortar retail technology, mobile apps, Nike+, and digital brand experiences.

“Zume is the fastest-growing, most technologically advanced company in the food industry and I’m excited to join a team that’s at the bleeding edge,” said Chris Satchell, CTO at Zume. “I’m particularly excited about building upon their implementation of thoughtful, human-centric intelligent automation to innovate and improve all aspects of the food creation and delivery process.”

Kira Druyan, now general counsel at Zume, served for more than a decade at Starbucks, most recently as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. Specifically, Druyan served as Lead Counsel to the $2(+) billion global channel development business unit, encompassing consumer packaged goods, food service, licensed store business development and operations, and other branded solutions. Druyan also led several key mergers and acquisitions (including Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, Teavana and the recent sale of the Tazo business to Unilever) and established key international manufacturing and distribution arrangements for ready-to-drink beverages. At Zume, Druyan will advise on legal strategy around future partnerships and other commercial transactions.  

“I’ve been following Zume’s growth over the last couple of years, and it’s clear the company is on the cusp of something great,” said Kira Druyan, General Counsel at Zume. “However, that’s not the only aspect that drew me to Zume. The company’s mission to reshape America’s entire food system aligns with my personal values. Fusing my passion for mission-driven companies and my experience scaling one of the world’s most well-known brands is what excites me most about joining Zume.”

Tracey Forster, who was instrumental in Zume Pizza’s recent rebrand, is a 20-year marketing veteran with a record of creating innovative strategies for brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Estee Lauder, and Sir Richard’s Condom Company (acquired by Diamond Products). After starting her career with ad agencies DDB Needham and Saatchi & Saatchi, Forster went on to grow several well-recognized consumer brands and now, as Vice President of Marketing, Forster will lead activations and campaigns to support Zume’s expansion into 25+ new markets this year. 

This news comes on the heels of Zume’s recent addition to the team, Ron Storn, former Head of People at Lyft as Chief People Officer. This year, Storn aims to expand the team 7X and grow the company’s engineering and business divisions. 

To see open positions at Zume, visit: zumepizza.workable.com/
 
To order a Zume Pizza today, go to ZumePizza.com or download the app in the App Store or Google Play. 

About Zume:
Nine billion people will inhabit the earth by mid-century. The health and well-being of people and our planet is dependent upon sustainably feeding that population with wholesome, affordable food on a global scale. Zume is meeting this challenge with an end-to-end, scalable platform that reduces the time and distance between clean food sources and dense population centers, using cutting-edge automation and transportation logistics. By developing better tools and processes, we can feed people healthier, sustainably-grown food, delivered fresh and free from chemical stabilization. Learn more at Zume-Inc.com

About Zume Pizza:
At Zume, we love pizza. It’s just one of those simple, favorite foods that can be made to please any taste. And when it’s made with wholesome ingredients of the highest quality and freshness, it’s irresistible. Pizza delivery is a $40B a year industry in America that impacts the health and well-being of people and the planet. Zume has established a formula for partnering people with technology that creates a more thoughtful and efficient way to source, make, bake and deliver pizza. In the process, we’re delivering an artisan pizza that takes care of the people who eat it and make it and even takes better care of the planet we all love. Learn more at ZumePizza.com

About Welbilt, Inc.
Welbilt, Inc. provides the world’s top chefs, premier chain operators and growing independents with industry-leading equipment and solutions. Our innovative products and solutions are powered by our deep knowledge, operator insights, and culinary expertise. We offer fully-integrated kitchen systems and our products are backed by KitchenCare® aftermarket parts and service. Headquartered in the Tampa Bay region of Florida and operating 17 manufacturing facilities throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, we sell through a global network of over 3,500 distributors and dealers in over 100 countries. We have approximately 5,400 employees and generated sales of $1.45 billion in 2017. Our portfolio of award-winning brands includes Cleveland™, Convotherm®, Delfield®, FitKitchen®, Frymaster®, Garland®, Kolpak®, Lincoln™, Manitowoc® Ice, Merco®, Merrychef® and Multiplex®. For more information, visit www.welbilt.com.
 
Media Contact:
Maggie Philbin
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media@zumepizza.com
203.394.1818
 
 

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