Dive Brief:

• Waitr Holdings, soon to be known as ASAP, has become the exclusive mobile ordering platform at MetLife Stadium through a five-year partnership with the stadium, the New York Giants and New York Jets, the company announced Tuesday. 
• Fans will be able to use the ASAP platform to place orders from concessions at all Jets and Giants home games — as well as at concerts and other events — and pick up their orders from concession stands without waiting in line.
• This deal marks Waitr’s entrance into the New York tri-state area. MetLife Stadium will be among the first physical locations to showcase Waitr’s ASAP rebrand, and is the largest deployment of the ASAP platform within an NFL venue to date. 

Dive Insight:

In the coming weeks, the delivery firm will launch across several New Jersey cities to provide same-day delivery of various goods like food, alcohol, apparel, luxury items, sporting goods, auto parts and electrical products. Waitr/ASAP has also expanded into cannabis, flower delivery and convenience store delivery within the last few months.

CEO Carl Grimstad said this stadium partnership will be a catalyst for the company to expand into other major markets and venues across the country. Entering a major metro area is also a departure from Waitr/ASAP’s long-term strategy of focusing on second- or third-tier markets. That focus led to Waitr/ASAP’s small food delivery market share, which stood at less than 1% in May, according to Bloomberg Second Measure. 

Food delivery companies have increasingly partnered with stadiums and entertainment venues to expand their reaches. Waitr/ASAP currently works with The University of Alabama, Louisiana State University and the New Orleans Saints, Grimstad said in the press release. Grubhub and Uber Eats also have stadium partnerships. Uber Eats launched an app feature in the spring that recognizes where people are in the stadium and provides recommendations for the closest concession options. 

Stadiums provide an ideal marketing opportunity to an engaged audience. Waitr/ASAP will have the rights to use Jets and Giants logos and trademarks within the New York and New Jersey markets while video boards, pylons, trademarks and other stadium signage will promote the ASAP mobile ordering platform.

This partnership also adds to the company’s expansion within the foodservice space. During the first quarter, Waitr/ASAP completed its first integration with Panera Bread and had three other integrations in the works, Grimstad said in the company’s earnings release. The company recently signed an agreement with Inspire Brands, he said.

Waitr/ASAP has integrated with Google Food Ordering, Itsacheckmate, Chowly, Olo Dispatch, Ordermark and Otter as well to create better integration with third-party aggregators, point-of-sales systems and individual restaurants. These integrations will help make it more marketable as it grows into new major metros, where competition is intense.