Dive Brief:

• Uber for Business launched Vouchers for Uber Eats on Tuesday as part of its corporate meal solution offering, which will allow businesses to control how much they spend on meal options and create single and bulk campaigns tailored to their particular needs, according to a press release shared with Restaurant Dive. In addition to offering these vouchers to employees, employers can also use them at remote event for attendees, to treat clients for lunch or to give guests a courtesy meal.
• Businesses can place limits on spending per order, number of orders, dates and times and other parameters. To use a voucher, employees can click the link to claim it on their Uber account and use the voucher at checkout. 
• Employers can also learn how employees and customers use vouchers — including total spend, number of vouchers claimed and meals ordered — to manage usage and costs. 

Dive Insight:

Vouchers builds on Uber's expansion of its corporate meal solutions in April as a way for employers to boost worker morale and productivity during the start of the novel coronavirus crisis.

Since dining room closures began to sweep the nation in March, all of the top four U.S. delivery platforms — Uber Eats, Postmates, DoorDash and Grubhub  — have launched programs and promotions designed to support independent restaurants struggling to stay afloat. But making tweaks to corporate ordering solutions positions Uber Eats for a future where remote work is much more common, if not status quo, and makes its offer of bundled corporate ride and meal solutions more attractive. 

This combination is a competitive one, since none of Uber's rivals offer rides services. It could also be the driving motivation behind Uber's rumored exploration of a Grubhub acquisition, which surfaced in mid-May. 

Grubhub controls two-thirds of New York City's food delivery market share, an area that holds many large corporate customers that would be attractive to Uber. If a deal does come to pass, Uber could access high margins from big companies through ride and meal bundles that can be folded into employee perks packages, a person familiar with Uber told Restaurant Dive in a recent article. 

But chatter about the deal has quieted in recent weeks, with the latest delivery merger rumors now swirling around Grubhub, Just Eat Takeaway and Delivery Hero. A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal also reported that Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney rejected Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshai's offer of 1.9 of its shares for every Grubhub share because the price was too low. Uber reportedly said it could offer a max of 1.925 Uber shares, but this still doesn't meet the two shares that Grubhub initially pursued. 

Regardless of whether a deal with Grubhub comes to pass, continuing to build out its corporate offerings is a savvy move for Uber. Though neither its Rides or Eats businesses are profitable, its differentiated bundled solutions could appeal to employers looking for ways to connect with and reward remote workers.