• August 26, 2014
• By Manuel Bornia
• In Food Tech, Manuel Bornia
• No Comment
• 0
• Tagged: Food Technology Manuel Bornia

Recently, the app-based taxi service Uber announced on their company blog a new product they are testing in Santa Monica: UberFresh. UberFresh is a food delivery service offering lunch hour deliveries in 10 minutes or less. Uber has already shaken up the taxi industry with it’s main product and they are now hoping to break into the food delivery game as well.

Tuesdays menu, from Uber’s blog.

The test run for UberFresh starts August 26th and runs until September 5th and is only available in the serviceable Santa Monica area. If you are in Santa Monica and have the Uber app, then you can order food Monday through Friday, between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm (though not available on Labor Day). You may be thinking; how can Uber promise such quick delivery time, when competing food delivery services like GrubHub or Seamless, are still bound by the more traditional 30-45 minutes time frame? UberFresh offers only one meal at a time, changing everyday. There are no choices or substitutes, you can only get the specific meal they are offering on that day.The meals are prix fixe at $12. The culinary selections are from restaurants on the west side of Los Angeles in Santa Monica, both locally owned and franchised. Tender Greens, for example, is supplying the Tuesday and Friday meals for this week.

Uber is certainly going after ease and convenience. There is no delivery fee, only the $12 charge for the meal. It is not necessary to tip your driver — they suggest that the best tip is to leave a 5-star review. At this time, the drivers are not going into buildings to delivery the food. Just like their taxi service, you need to meet your driver curbside to collect your lunch.

It is likely that this will be a big success in Santa Monica. It’s success as it scales upwards and outwards is more suspect. Having only one option makes it possible to have lighten-quick delivery, but they will find that certain days are much busier than others. For instance, Thursdays with the Italian sub may be much more popular than Fridays with the Baby Arugula salad. That could mean delays on Thursdays and wasted food on Fridays. In either case, Uber is forging the cutting edge of delivery services. With alcohol delivery options popping up, more competition in the taxi service (Lyft, for example), and already successful food delivery options, Uber is taking the necessary steps in being the go-to for all things convenience.