KFC owner Yum Brands Inc. is buying an Israel-based startup that helps customers order food via text messages, according to strategy executives who fuel sales as people move away from fast food and back to full-service restaurants.
Yum will use software manufactured by Tictuk Technologies Ltd., a private technology company founded in 2016, to place fast food orders via text and social networking apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the companies said. Technology turns a customer’s order around in just 60 seconds, said Clay Johnson, Yum’s digital director of technology and technology.
Sales in Yum, based in Louisville, Ky, have increased since Tictuk’s technology was tested at about 900 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in 35 countries, the company said. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
As the U.S. restaurant industry begins to open up, fast food companies are looking for ways to keep the customers they got while the restaurants were closing. Many chains invest in online order picking systems to try to make them an attractive option as consumers eat more.
Online sales have grown for companies ranging from retailers to car dealerships during the pandemic. Restaurants had begun to establish digital ordering mechanisms before the crisis and have since tried to do so more quickly.