- The startup of Wonder food technology has made two new hires, the company told Business Insider.
- Courtney Lawrie will focus on the growth of the base of the Wonder dining room.
- Whitney Pegden will direct Blue Apron, the meal kit that Wonder acquired in 2023.
The Wonder Food Technology Startup has hired two new executives because it opens more food rooms, builds its delivery activity and adds new products.
The company has told Business Insider that Courtney Lawrie will serve as a senior vice-president and managing director of Wonder in charge of restaurants and Wonder’s delivery experience.
Whitney Pegden is the new main vice-president of the company and managing director of Blue Apron, the meal kit that Wonder acquired in 2023.
Marc Lore, the former CEO of the Walmart electronic commerce company, has been CEO of Wonder since 2021. Its objective is to “build the super application for meals,” said Daniel Shlossman, chief growth director and Wonder marketing. Wonder is one of the many companies that try to create a great application, or a one -stop shop for a variety of related services and products.
“Courtney and Whitney have put companies in brand national and have an immediate impact on wonder and the blue apron,” he added.
Wonder, which has started preparing meals in vans parked outside customers’ houses in the New Jersey districts, has since left this business to focus on food and delivery rooms. In addition to Blue Apron, he also announced his intention to acquire the Grubhub delivery service for $ 650 million last year. The agreement concluded in January.
Now Wonder must combine everything he has built himself as well as what he has acquired in a single “Wonder Umbrella”, said Lawrie.
“It really brings these things together and tackling a real customer problem,” she said.
Lawrie is questioned of Wayfair, where she worked on the presence of physical store of the house retailer.
Stores will also be a large part of Lawrie’s work in Wonder, she told Bi. Wonder already manages 38 dining rooms in the Northeast, which allow customers without appointment to order dishes designed by chefs including Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelsson and José Andrés. Food rooms also offer delivery.
In 2025, Wonder plans to open more than 50 additional stores. Put customers in the door – or order online – will be essential, in particular with many people concerned about the quantity they spend when they dine, said Lawrie.
Courtney Lawrie Wonder
Before joining Wonder, Pegden worked at Walmart on the generative sales assistant of the retailer’s AI, augmented reality and inhomic delivery.
Whitney Pegden Wonder
The blue deck meal kit is a different model from Wonder’s food rooms, she said. But part of Wonder’s ambition to be a great application is to offer different choices, she added.
“Customers do not necessarily want to eat a meal kit every night of the week or get delivery every night of the week,” she said.
“They want to mix things.”
Pegden said there were opportunities to add products to Blue Tabre who are “simpler and faster to dinner on the table”.
Wonder’s goal is to bring customers to turn to the application “not only for collection and delivery, but also for meal kits, also for grocery store, also to eat in a restaurant”, told Pegden to Bi.
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