Marc Lore, the veteran e-commerce entrepreneur who previously sold companies to Amazon and Walmart, is betting big on artificial intelligence to transform the restaurant industry. His current venture, Wonder, is rolling out a new initiative called Wonder Create that promises to let anyone—from food entrepreneurs to social media influencers—use AI to design and launch their own restaurant brand in under a minute. The virtual restaurant then goes live across Wonder's growing network of tech-enabled kitchen locations, currently numbering 120 and expected to reach 400 next year.
Lore's startup, a vertically integrated dining and delivery platform, has evolved from food trucks to fast-casual restaurants with 10 to 20 seats. However, these are not ordinary restaurants; they are "programmable cooking platforms" capable of operating as up to 25 different restaurant types based on cuisine, within all-electric kitchens that are increasingly becoming robotic. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything conference this week, Lore explained that these kitchens feature a 700-ingredient library. The "restaurants" housed within them are actually multiple brands operating from the same location.
Each kitchen has a staff of up to 12 people, aided by cooking technology such as conveyors and robotic arms. Wonder recently acquired Spice Robotics, a maker of an automatic bowl-making machine previously used by Sweetgreen. Next year, it plans to introduce an "infinite sauce machine" that can produce about 80% of all sauces found in recipes on the internet today. These innovations aim to increase efficiency and throughput without necessarily reducing headcount—instead, they boost the number of meals a kitchen can produce in a given period.
The core idea behind Wonder Create is to democratize restaurant creation. Lore described it as a "Shopify front end with an AI prompt." Users type in what kind of restaurant they want to build, and the AI generates everything—name, branding, description, pictures, pricing, health information, and even recipes—in under a minute. The would-be restaurateur can then refine the prompt if needed. Once ready, the restaurant goes live across all Wonder locations. This model allows anyone to experiment with food concepts without the traditional overhead of brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Lore sees a variety of use cases. An influencer could launch a branded restaurant to connect with followers without owning a chain. A private trainer could create custom bowls for clients. A nonprofit could sell themed meals to raise awareness. Even Disney could use it for marketing a new movie. "Anybody can make a restaurant," Lore said. However, the ghost kitchen concept has a rocky history. Companies like MrBeast Burger faced complaints over inconsistent food quality due to reliance on multiple contracted kitchens. Wonder aims to solve this by controlling its own programmable, increasingly automated kitchens.
There are limitations. Wonder's team and robots cannot perform tasks like tossing pizza dough or slicing sushi. Instead, they focus on simpler fare like burgers, chicken wings, fried chicken, and bowls. The company's broader strategy involves recent acquisitions: Grubhub for its delivery infrastructure (250 million deliveries per year) and Blue Apron for meal kit expertise. Wonder is also buying restaurant brands, such as New York City-based Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, which it acquired for $6.5 million in February. Lore noted that buying a brand with 10 to 50 locations and then scaling it to 1,000 creates incredible value.
Marc Lore's journey in e-commerce began with Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com, which was sold to Amazon in 2011 for $545 million. He then co-founded Jet.com, an e-commerce startup that Walmart acquired for $3.3 billion in 2016. After leading Walmart's U.S. e-commerce operations, Lore left in 2021 to focus on Wonder, which he founded earlier that year. Wonder initially started as a food truck concept but quickly pivoted to a multi-brand virtual restaurant model. The company has raised substantial funding from investors, including a $700 million round in 2023, valuing it at over $3.5 billion.
The integration of AI into restaurant operations is part of a broader trend. Companies like Chipotle and McDonald's have experimented with robotic arms for repetitive tasks, while Sweetgreen uses automated bowl makers. However, Wonder's approach is unique in combining AI-driven brand creation with a physical kitchen network. The platform could potentially disrupt the traditional restaurant industry by lowering the barrier to entry for new concepts. It also offers a way for existing chefs or influencers to test dishes before committing to a permanent location.
Critics point out that the ghost kitchen model struggled due to lack of customer loyalty and operational complexity. Wonder's centralized, tech-enabled kitchens may overcome some of these issues by ensuring consistency and speed. However, the model is still unproven at scale. The company plans to expand its kitchen count to 400 next year, which will be a test of its ability to maintain quality and efficiency. Additionally, the reliance on AI for recipe creation raises questions about originality and the role of human chefs in the process.
Despite these challenges, Lore remains optimistic. He envisions Wonder's kitchens achieving a throughput of up to 20 million meals per year from a single 2,500-square-foot location, up from the current 7 million. By 2035, he hopes to have 1,000 unique restaurant brands operating from that same space. This vision represents a radical rethinking of how food is prepared and marketed, blending technology, entrepreneurship, and entertainment. Whether consumers embrace AI-generated restaurant brands remains to be seen, but Lore's track record suggests that he is willing to take bold bets.
Source: TechCrunch News