Dive Brief:
- Inspire Brands bought Vromo, a delivery software platform, for an undisclosed sum on Monday, the restaurant company confirmed via email.
- This marks Inspire’s first purchase since its $11.3 billion acquisition of Dunkin’ in 2020.
- Inspire said Vromo can “make delivery channels more profitable,” echoing Yum Brands’ purchase of Australian delivery management firm Dragontail Systems in 2021 to improve the delivery experience.
Dive Insight:
Inspire’s purchase of Vromo appears to build on the company’s recent structural transformation, including realigning its corporate efforts to focus on growth, brands, commercial and company restaurants. This realignment was also designed to provide more support from Inspire’s shared services platform, aided by the appointment of Scott Murphy as chief brand officer and Dan Lynn as chief commercial and restaurant officer.
The acquisition also follows another major investment in Inspire’s delivery infrastructure in 2021. That year, Inspire launched Alliance Kitchen in Atlanta, which offers food from each of Inspire’s restaurant brands for delivery and takeout via aggregator platforms.
The company has also shuffled several brand presidents and hired a development chief last year.
Rival Yum has expanded its tech stack beyond delivery enhancements, as well. In 2021, the company bought Kvantum, an AI-powered consumer insights and marketing analytics firm and Tictuk Technologies, an omnichannel ordering and marketing platform. These tech assets help diners access Yum’s restaurant brands in new ways and has improved the customer experience and given its concepts an edge against rivals, executives have said in the past.
