Picnic is beginning to blanket the country.
The office lunch delivery service affiliated with ghost kitchen company CloudKitchens says it now has a presence in “all major U.S. cities,” including Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Phoenix, Chicago and New York City, where it recently inked a deal with the sprawling Hudson Yards office complex.
And last week, it announced its entry into Austin and Houston after taking over the operations of an Austin-based competitor called Colorfull.
Launched last year in LA, Picnic acts as an amenity for office buildings, allowing employees to order lunch from more than 50 restaurants. All of the orders are delivered together to a designated pickup shelf using Picnic’s “unique batching technology.” Customers don’t pay a delivery fee or tip.
It’s a potential complement to CloudKitchen’s ghost kitchen operation, which provides kitchen space and technology for delivery-only restaurants.
And it gets CloudKitchens into the hot corporate catering market, which has rebounded after the pandemic as companies look to lure employees back to the office.
While many restaurants are investing in catering, Picnic’s differentiator is its variety. According to its website, delivery options include Taco Bell, Sweetgreen, Mendocino Farms and more, though these presumably differ by market.
Colorfull, which was founded in 2023, offered a similar service in Austin and Houston, touting office lunch delivery from more than 40 mom-and-pop restaurants. A Picnic spokesperson said Colorfull is “exiting the market” and that Picnic will pick up its clients.
“Our goal has always been to provide nutritious, personalized meal experiences,” said Colorfull CEO Garrett Serviss in a statement. “With this move, Picnic can scale these offerings and deliver even more value to clients, without disruption."
Head of Picnic Arin Aghazarian said the company was excited to welcome the new customers and would work to ensure a “seamless and positive experience.”
Last year, Picnic was hit with a lawsuit from San Francisco-based salad chain Mixt, which claimed Picnic was reselling its food to office workers without its permission. Picnic called the lawsuit “fraudulent” and said it was no longer pursuing business with Mixt.
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