Former Walmart exec Marc Lore is taking on the food industry, and several of his calls look familiar.
The acquisition of Grubhub by Lore-owned Wonder marks a pivotal step in Marc Lore’s vision to redefine food delivery through innovation, scale, and integration.
By combining Grubhub’s extensive network with Wonder’s unique food delivery and dining platform, the company appears positioned for significant growth in multiple areas, building on Lore’s successful strategies at Jet.com and Walmart.
Expanding Restaurant Partnerships
With Grubhub’s access to more than 375,000 restaurant partners, Wonder gains the ability to dramatically expand its offerings. While Wonder has built its reputation on high-quality, chef-curated menus, integrating Grubhub’s partners introduces a wide range of third-party restaurant options.
This shift positions Wonder to cater to a broader customer base, blending its curated selections with everyday dining choices.
The move echoes Lore’s time at Walmart, where he prioritized expanding product categories to make Walmart.com a comprehensive shopping destination. Similarly, at Wonder, Lore envisions creating a centralized dining experience where customers can mix and match offerings from celebrity-chef menus alongside casual dining options.
Leveraging Grubhub’s Delivery Infrastructure
Grubhub’s delivery network, which spans more than 4,000 U.S. cities, provides Wonder with an established logistical foundation. Rather than building its own delivery infrastructure, Wonder can integrate into Grubhub’s operations, accelerating its ability to serve customers in new regions.
This approach mirrors Lore’s logistical strategy at Jet.com, where he focused on using efficient delivery systems to gain a competitive edge. By leveraging existing networks, Wonder can reduce costs and enhance delivery speed, ensuring a consistent customer experience.
Enhancing Technology for Seamless Integration
Lore has emphasized the importance of technology in Wonder’s growth, and the acquisition of Grubhub presents opportunities for further innovation. Wonder has already invested heavily in proprietary technologies designed to reduce food waste, optimize kitchen throughput, and enhance delivery sequencing.
Adding Grubhub’s digital platform to its operations allows Wonder to refine its customer-facing technology while improving back-end efficiency.
At Walmart, Lore successfully integrated Jet.com’s advanced pricing and inventory algorithms into the retailer’s e-commerce systems, creating a more dynamic and competitive online shopping experience.
A similar focus on technological integration at Wonder could lead to a seamless platform where customers can order from multiple restaurants in a single, coordinated delivery.
Expanding into New Markets
Grubhub’s strong presence in urban areas provides Wonder with an opportunity to expand its reach. Wonder has thus far focused on suburban communities, but Grubhub’s established network in cities could allow the company to enter densely populated areas where delivery demand is high.
This alignment with Grubhub’s geographic strengths accelerates Wonder’s plans to expand to 90 locations by the end of 2025.
During his tenure at Walmart, Lore drove urban expansion through targeted acquisitions, such as Bonobos and ModCloth, which appealed to city-based consumers. By leveraging Grubhub’s foothold in urban areas, Wonder can replicate this strategy, broadening its customer base while maintaining its suburban focus.
Diversifying Service Offerings
In addition to its restaurant delivery network, Grubhub brings unique partnerships and services to the table. These include collaborations with non-food retailers like Office Depot and PetSmart, a campus dining program that serves more than 360 universities, and a corporate accounts platform offering meal perks for over 10,000 companies.
For Wonder, these services represent new avenues for growth. By integrating these offerings into its platform, Wonder can expand beyond traditional food delivery, reaching corporate clients, students, and even retail shoppers.
Lore’s ability to diversify revenue streams, as he did at Jet.com with bulk and specialty purchasing options, positions Wonder to succeed in these emerging markets.
Building a Mealtime “Super App”
Central to Lore’s vision is the creation of a “super app” for mealtime, combining first-party and third-party restaurants, groceries, and meal kits into one seamless platform. The integration of Grubhub accelerates this goal, bringing an established delivery marketplace into Wonder’s ecosystem.
This approach simplifies the dining experience, offering customers variety, convenience, and efficiency in a single app.
Lore’s work at Walmart, where he introduced grocery delivery and pickup services to complement traditional retail, demonstrated the value of combining convenience with customer-centric solutions.
At Wonder, the super app concept represents a natural evolution of this strategy, emphasizing user-friendly technology and comprehensive service.
Marc Lore’s history of leveraging partnerships, technology, and logistics provides a strong foundation for Wonder’s growth following its acquisition of Grubhub. Drawing from lessons learned at Jet.com and Walmart, Lore has positioned Wonder to disrupt the food delivery industry and redefine how customers experience dining.
