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Meet the technology innovators on Nation's Restaurant News' 2020 Power List
January 22, 2020
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Under the leadership of Alex Garden, president and CEO, Zume Inc. is zooming in on making restaurants more sustainable—fiscally and environmentally— in part by bringing restaurant delivery closer to consumers.
It’s not an easy task.
The company, which first gained attention for its robotic pizza-making operation, shut down Zume Pizza this month. Zume is now focusing its efforts on Zume Source Packaging and Zume Forward Mobile, which includes mobile kitchens.
“Ours is a broad agenda including new methods to produce food, deliver it, and package it in increasingly sustainable ways,” said Garden in an email to staff about the company’s new focus.
Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s multifaceted strategy includes predictive analysis, sustainable packaging, efficient sourcing, waste management and other initiatives. Among its efforts are the use of mobile kitchens that shift production closer to consumer demand to make delivery and pick-up more efficient and financially viable.
In 2019 the company’s Forward division unveiled a partnership with NRN Hot Concept winner &pizza that includes mobile kitchens in trucks that that can be located closer to the customers that are ordering food. The pizza company said it would use the trucks, which are designed to facilitate pickup by consumers or third-party delivery companies, to test new markets.
“We're creating better economics for the last mile delivery,” said Garden.
Zume also launched a test with Pizza Hut to supply the chain with Zume’s compostable, round pizza boxes made of plant fiber. The initiative followed Zume’s acquisition earlier in the year of Pivot Packaging, a sustainable products manufacturer with a plant in Southern California.
“We’re thrilled to support Pizza Hut’s packaging efforts to provide its fans with a great pizza-eating experience,” Garden said in a statement.
