Walmart’s former e-commerce head is now CEO of food startup Wonder
Marc Lore, who is credited with transforming Walmart’s e-commerce operations, is going “all in” on his latest tech-driven venture, which features an on-demand food truck business called Wonder.
In a blog post on LinkedIn, Lore, who served as president and CEO of Walmart U.S. e-Commerce from 2016 to January 2021, said he has decided to fully commit his time as CEO of Wonder Group. The company includes the Wonder food trucks and a “unique” delivery service for local restaurants called Envoy. The two businesses operate within Wonder Group.
Wonder trucks deliver made-to-order meals ordered online through the Wonder app directly to the customer’s home. Each truck is equipped with a mobile kitchen, with a chef who completes the meals once the vehicle arrives at the customer’s home. The chef places the meal on a foldable tray table at their door. The entire process is contactless.
Each Wonder truck is dedicated to a particular menu, including those from top restaurants headed by celebrity chefs. The offerings include Bobby Flay Steak, Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza. and JBird by Jonathan Waxman. The company is developing an exclusive concept with noted chef Marcus Samuelsson.
“Wonder has menus for every eater and every occasion — from family-style dining, to salads and burgers, and even a perfectly prepared steak,” Lore said on his LinkedIn post. “We identify top chefs across every cuisine and acquire the exclusive rights to their menus. From there, we collaborate with them and truly learn the recipes and techniques used to create their beloved dishes. Given our model, we then leverage our proprietary R&D process to ensure quality at scale.”
Once Wonder has made an agreement with a restaurant, its own chefs work with the restaurants to create a version of the meal that can be made in its mobile kitchens. The food is partially prepared in a centralized facility.
Wonder launched in the affluent town of Westfield, N.J. In 2022, it will expand to New York’s Westchester County, parts of Connecticut, northern and central New Jersey, as well as a portion of New York City, reported CNBC, with an ultimate goal to expand nationwide.
Currently, there are about 60 Wonder mobile kitchens in operation. The company plans to have 1,200 to 1,300 trucks up and running in the Northeast next year, and to triple that by 2023, the report said.