February 4, 2025 • 32 mins
The Tech Chef Podcast features a compelling conversation between Skip Kimpel and Geoff Alexander, President and CEO of Wow Bao. They explore Geoff's extensive background in the food industry, which spans over three decades, and his significant contributions to Wow Bao since its inception in 2003. The discussion focuses on the innovative strategies that have propelled Wow Bao's growth, including the use of technology, ghost kitchens, and grocery store partnerships. Geoff emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the restaurant sector for fresh ideas and adapting to changing market conditions, which he argues is essential for any food brand aiming for success.
Throughout the episode, Geoff shares fascinating insights into the operational strategies that have enabled Wow Bao to expand into various venues such as airports and sports stadiums. He discusses how technology, including AI and self-service kiosks, has transformed the customer experience and operational efficiency. The conversation also highlights the challenges of scaling a food brand without compromising quality and consistency, with Geoff offering practical advice on leadership and team dynamics necessary for achieving these goals. This episode serves as an informative guide for anyone interested in the intersection of technology and the hospitality industry.
As the podcast draws to a close, Geoff reveals his ambition for Wow Bao to become the leading brand in the bao market, aspiring to achieve recognition similar to that of Heinz ketchup. He shares his excitement for future growth opportunities and the need for continuous innovation within the industry. The episode also lightens up as Geoff shares his passion for spin cycling, adding a personal note to the professional insights offered. Overall, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of restaurant technology and the future of dining.
Takeaways:
- Geoff Alexander discusses how Wow Bao expanded through technology and creative strategies like ghost kitchens.
- He emphasizes the importance of looking outside the restaurant industry for innovative ideas and practices.
- Success in the food industry requires passion, focus, and adaptability to market changes and trends.
- The podcast reveals valuable insights on leading a successful food brand in a rapidly changing market.
- Wow Bao has made significant strides in technology, including self-ordering kiosks and delivery-only kitchens.
- The episode highlights the need for restaurant brands to embrace technology for operational efficiency and customer experience improvements.
Links Referenced in This Episode:
How To Contact Me
- Website
- https://SkipKimpel.com (all archived shows and show notes will be posted here)
- https://magicgate.com
- Instagram:
- https://instagram.com/skipkimpel
- https://www.instagram.com/magicgatetech/
- X (Twitter):
- https://twitter.com/skipkimpel
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You are listening to the TechChef Podcast.
This is episode number 87,February 4, 2025.
This show is powered by GrowthAdvisors International network where
travel and hospitalitycompanies come to grow.
For more information pleasevisit gainadvisors.com.
(00:20):
Hi, this is Jeff Alexander,President and CEO of Wowbao and you're
listening to Skip on the TechChef Podcast.
Off Premise Strategy, Business Continuity.
How about a taste test ofrestaurant technology?
Drive thru or curbside?
(00:41):
Mobile apps or AI?
It's all on the menu.
Cook it up for the date.
It's a recipe for success.
You're in good hands with theTech Chef.
Make a plan to be your best.
Strategize with the Tech Chef.
(01:02):
Welcome to the Tech Chef Podcast.
I am your host, Skip Kimple,bringing you the latest and greatest
in restaurant and hospitality technology.
Whether you're tuning in fromthe kitchen, the boardroom or somewhere
in between, I'm thrilled tohave you here.
This is the podcast whereinnovation meets real world application.
(01:23):
We go beyond buzzwords toexplore cutting edge tools, practical
solutions and strategies thatcan elevate your today, not just
in the distant future.
From AI driven efficiency toguest experience enhancements, we
cover it all.
If this is your first timejoining us, welcome aboard.
(01:43):
Be sure to hit that subscribebutton so you never miss an episode
packed with insights, expertinterviews and actionable takeaways.
And if you're a returnlistener, thank you for being part
of our growing community.
Your support fuels this journey.
Now let's dive into today'stopic and uncover the next big thing
in hospitality tech.
(02:05):
Get ready.
It's time to cook up someinnovation on the Tech Chef Podcast.
In this episode, JeffAlexander, a top restaurant CEO,
joins the podcast to discusshis journey and the innovations he's
brought to wow Bao.
He highlights how the brandhas rapidly expanded through technology
and creative strategies,including ghost kitchens and partnerships
(02:29):
with grocery chains.
Jeff shares insights on theimportance of looking beyond the
restaurant industry forinspiration and adapting to new trends.
He emphasizes that successcomes from passion, focus and willingness
to embrace change.
You will gain valuableperspectives on leading a successful
food brand in today's everevolving market.
(02:56):
Joining the show today, wehave the.
One, the only, Jeff Alexander.
Jeff was actually voted one ofthe most influential restaurant CEOs
in the country, according toNational Restaurant News.
So Jeff, it is a huge honor tohave you on the show here today.
Thank you.
I'm very excited to be here and.
I'm embarrassed to ask this,but for.
Those listeners who do notknow you.
(03:17):
Give us some of yourbackground on Jeff Alexander.
Wow.
Bow.
The concept that I overseestarted in 2003 from lettuce entertain
you Enterprises, a privatelyheld restaurant group based in Chicago.
I joined lettuce back in 1993.
So I'm coming up on 32 yearswith the company.
But in 2003 started Wild Bao.
(03:37):
I joined in 093 brick andmortar restaurants at the time.
Under my tenure, we grew up toeight or nine locations.
Airports, college campuses,sports stadiums, got involved with
grocery, started doing adelivery only kitchen model right
before the pandemic.
We launched about a thousandof those across the country.
(03:58):
Now we're in over 10,000freezer doors with our consumer packaged
goods product.
And we've done a lot withtechnology with self ordering kiosks.
Back in 2010, we actually arein the Metaverse where we partner
with Roblox and created avideo game a year ago that ties into
our loyalty program.
So just get our hands in a lotof different avenues.
(04:21):
Well, let's talk about some ofthat technology innovation because
the people listening to theshow, guess what, they're technologists.
So wow.
Bao has embraced automation,AI Ghost kitchens.
How did you decide to go inthis direction and what challenges
did you face as you weremaking those decisions?
Look, when I took the conceptover in 09, I remember in 2010 or
(04:43):
late 2009, the CEO of lettuceat the time was telling me that we
should be doing desktop ordering.
I'm sure your listeners haveno idea what desktop ordering, but
that's before there were apps.
And I was like, there's noreason to have people order ahead
because the food from order toservice was 54 seconds in our in
our restaurants.
So you can't make it any faster.
(05:04):
But then I wanted to dobicycle delivery here in Chicago.
And I grew up on the east coast.
And the big joke back then waswhen you didn't like somebody, you
would order 20 pizzas to theirhouse and the pizza guy would show
up and you had to pay the billwhen the food showed up.
So I didn't want to dodelivery unless I collected payment
prior to delivery leaving the restaurant.
And that's what got us turnedon with online ordering.
(05:28):
So we adopted online orderingfrom the desktop back in 2010.
Then we actually became one ofthe first restaurants to have an
app.
There were only 300,000 appsat the time in the app Store and
we had one.
Then we got involved with selfordering kiosks.
So technology has just alwaysbeen a part of who we are.
And then if you fast forward,I remember in about 2014 2015, there
(05:50):
was a restaurant on the Westcoast called eatsa, which was a fully
automated restaurant where youhad no human interaction and your
food got delivered throughelectronic cubbies that were personalized
and animated.
And I saw this, I was like,that is the future and that is perfect
for Wild Out.
And actually in 2017, afterprivate equity got involved to fund
our growth, we got involvedwith the eatsa platform and we use
(06:13):
this technology and had theseself ordering restaurants.
So we've always looked forwhere the, where the industry is
moving to and where otherindustries are and how we can incorporate
that.
I think that's probably themost important lesson in learning
that CEOs and leaders ofbusinesses should be doing on all
avenues is look outside ofyour industry and take learnings
(06:36):
from what other successfulbusinesses are doing and then figure
out how to incorporate it intoyour business.
Couldn't agree with that more.
I'm a huge advocate for peoplegoing to the NRF ces, you know, just,
just getting out there andseeing other industries.
I, you know, with, with all ofthe new XR stuff I'm doing, I've
been exposed to multipleindustries that have nothing to do
(06:59):
with hospitality.
However, I'm exposed totechnologies and seeing how they're
utilizing it, how they'releveraging it and the ROI behind
it, and always trying tofigure out ways how can we bring
that into the hospitality space.
It's not always a big lift.
Sometimes it is, but there aresome definite crossovers that can
happen.
Let's talk a little bit about,I guess right around the time of
(07:20):
COVID maybe before you cancorrect me on this, but isn't that
about the time you kind ofmoved into virtual kitchens and the
ghost kitchen space?
Yeah.
So it was November of 2019prior to Covid and anyone knowing
Covid was.
We had the idea since our foodwas already in national distribution,
it was based on Lettuce'snetwork of restaurants and our private
equity's network of restaurants.
(07:40):
We thought, why couldn't theseother restaurants sell wow Bao out
their backdoor third partydelivery branded as wow Bao on the
apps.
And we put the whole projecttogether, launched one location in
January of 2020.
And then March came in.
The world shut down and therewas nothing but delivery.
And I think from March to theend of the year, in 2020, we launched
about 150 locations.
(08:02):
The following year we did 350more or 400 more.
And then we still to this dayare getting inquiries and turning
people on as a revenue streamto really help restaurants grow their
top Line sales and bottom line profits.
So it's been very, veryexciting to watch the growth and
rewarding from how we're ableto help restaurants.
(08:23):
I always tell this story aboutsitting on stage with you.
We are on some panel togetherand this is probably, I would have
to say this could possibly beMyrtek 2020.
Right, right.
When Covid was hitting maybe aconference before that.
But you were talking about,yes, you had 150 locations and then
you had these aspirations ofgrowing and doubling the next year.
And I'm like, who is this guy?
(08:44):
What is he talking about?
And you know, I sit back nowand I.
And you're laughing all theway to the bank there because you
have created such a successmodel not only on the, on the virtual
kitchen side, but you branchedout in areas that I don't think anybody
expected you to.
And some of those aregroceries, some of them are vending
machines.
Let's talk a bit, a little bitabout some of the technology that
(09:06):
you.
Probably the most impactfultechnology innovations that you implemented
within the organization, you know.
I think that's going to be,you know, you can ask 10 different
people what they think is themost important or impactful innovation
that we've done in 2010.
I told you we had self orderedkiosks, you know, and at the time
it was a bank, it was an ATMat a bank, it was your movie theater
(09:28):
ticket or it was an airport.
There was nowhere else wasdoing self ordering anything.
And now you look at it, it's mainstream.
But back then we were like oneof the only people to have it.
So that to me, I think willalways live out in my mind is really
breaking, breaking us out in atechnology forum.
I think getting involved withroadblocks from a restaurant standpoint
(09:49):
is not something anybody does.
And we went into that, I meanI, I think I can name like four companies
or five companies betweenChipotle, Burberry, Hilton and Walmart
have done Roblox.
I don't really think there'sthat many others on a national scale
or larger doing it.
So that I'm really proud of.
(10:11):
Obviously the technology thatwent on behind the scenes for us
to launch our delivery on theKitchen program, you know how we
brought Salesforce as a truthof a source of truth for our company
and incorporated that behindthe scenes really was game changing
from just how we ran our operations.
So there's a whole bunch ofstuff, there's great technology out
(10:31):
there that we don't use that alot of other restaurants use, like
pay at the table, the thingsthat Toast has created and put out
there in the marketplace.
It's fantastic.
What Ollo's doing, trying toincorporate it into restaurant reservation
information so when you walkin, it knows all this information
about you.
I mean, there's such amazingtechnology out there that it's just
(10:52):
fun to watch.
But what I think that I'm mostexcited about, well, what I'm excited
about and what I hurdle with,what I'm most excited about is still
what's to come, because Ithink it's just, you know, but the
hurdle that goes in line withthat and what we've always faced
is all this technology, whichis so great, is never made by restaurant
(11:13):
people.
And there's a hurdle, there'sa rough patch that has to go through
to find success.
And the benefit that wow Baohas, because we've always done so
much with technology, ispeople come to us now with their
ideas or their prototypes andask us for input, to test pilot,
to try things out, give feedback.
(11:34):
And we're more than happy todo that as long as it fits what we're
trying to do.
But the changes and thewillingness on the creator side to
make it work for restaurants,I'd like to see that be a little
bit more forward because we'rebeing forced to change the way we
do business to accept all thisgreat technology.
(11:54):
And that's one of thechallenges I've placed in front of
vendors as I've spoken tothem, is maybe a little more innovation
within the industry.
You know, as you look at theeco culture, I'm going to get myself
in trouble on this one.
But as you look at the ecoculture of restaurant technology
vendors, very much tunneledvision regarding how they move forward.
I think they're assuming toomany things.
(12:15):
About the operators, like thisis what they want.
I don't know that they'reactually listening to the operators
enough.
Like you.
You are very tech forward,tech advanced, not just for the sake
of throwing technology atsomething, but for the sake of solving
for problems and making yourcompany more efficient, effective,
and improving the customer experience.
And those are the areas thatreally need to be concentrated on
(12:36):
during this process.
You know, many restaurantbrands struggle at scaling efficiently.
Now.
You've done a masterful job at that.
How is wow Bao managed toexpand so rapidly while maintaining
quality and consistency?
Yeah, and it's.
It's a great question.
And I think it.
Look, if you, if it'simportant to you as the leader, it's
(12:58):
important to the rest of your company.
And when I give an analogyabout that.
You've gone into restaurantsand it's clean and everything's great
and the place runs smoothly.
Then you go into the bathroom,the bathroom's dirty.
And that to me is an exampleof a leader who doesn't have eyes
on the bathroom.
Because if the bathroomcleanliness matters, the leader,
then everyone makes sure thebathroom is clean.
So if you want to grow or ifyou want to implement something new,
(13:22):
or if you want to scalewhatever it may be, if you're passionate
about that and you make that afocus, then your team will respond
and they will make it a focus.
So when you ask like, how arewe able to do it?
Very.
It takes work.
It takes work, it takespassion, it takes buy in from your
team, and it also takes planning.
(13:46):
You know, you can't.
You know, they always say thehardest thing to do is go 1 to 2,
2 to 3 isn't as hard, but 1 to2, it's sort of like when you have
kids, right?
One kid is difficult.
Number two, like you're losingyour mind.
But number three, yeah, youmade the mistakes already, right?
So it's about, you know, justreally focus on, on, on the task
(14:07):
at hand and putting the energyinto that and then moving on to the
next task without leaving thefirst task.
Now, not only from thescalability perspective, but your
footprint has significantlyexpanded in areas that other organizations
might not have ventured into,including non traditional locations
like airports, stadiums,grocery stores, Costco, and even
(14:30):
vending machines.
What's the strategy behindthese expansion moves?
You know, the first has to fitthe brand, right?
So I remember back in 2000 andI think it was like 13 or 14, I had
the idea that we'd be reallygood in hot food vending machines
and spent a long time tryingto find a partner.
And at 18, we found a partnerto do hot food vending machines.
(14:53):
We went out there, we testedthe food, we were all excited.
But technology is hard.
And that company lost itsfunding and we shelved it.
And then Fast forward in 21and we found another company who
could do hot food vending.
And now we're in 600 or 700machines in manufacturing, hospitals,
college campuses and so on,with a lot more on the Runway supposed
(15:14):
to be growing.
So it's about having ideasthat might sound outrageous to other
people, but if you believe init, it's about following that idea.
And again, I say go back tolooking outside of your own industry
and look at how other peopleare growing.
The consumer packaged goods.
We're doing grocery, We'vebeen doing grocery since 2015, but
(15:36):
from 2015 to 2022, it was likean afterthought.
It was a side hustle that wejust did.
We were in 350 grocery storeshere in the Chicagoland area.
And then through our deliveryonly kitchen program, we met somebody
who connected us throughsomebody else into Walmart.
And in 2023, we launched3,000, 3,100 Walmarts, and now we're
(15:58):
in 11,000 plus grocery storedoors across the country.
Target, Kroger, Costco.
You mentioned Walmart still.
So it's just about what'sright for your concept.
What do you have passion aboutdoing and adaptability.
We got into the idea of thedelivery only kitchen in late 2019
because we saw it as a way forus to grow our business, not knowing
(16:20):
Covid was going to.
Then we launched 1000 locations.
Then through that business, wemet Walmart and now all of a sudden
we went from 350 to 11,000 grocery.
We got paired up with a hotfood vending machine group.
At the time, we were in threemachines with them, and now we're
in 700.
So it's just what works forwhat you're trying to do and making
(16:43):
sure you have the bandwidth topull it off.
Jeff, we're going to take alittle break, but when we come back,
we're going to dig into someof the licensing and partnerships
and some of the strategybehind that.
In addition to, we're going totalk about some of your future vision
and leadership ideas.
And then we're going to have alittle fun at the end of the show.
So everybody hold on.
We'll be right back.
(17:03):
Are you ready to level up yourtech game and understand the world
of xr?
Dive into the world ofextended reality with Magic Gate's
XR Bootcamp Master.
The concepts of virtualreality, augmented reality and mixed
reality in just weeks.
No special equipment orprevious knowledge is required.
Limited seats are available tosign up now@bootcamp.magicgate.com
(17:26):
that's bootcamp.magicgate.comyour future in XR starts there.
Jeff, when we left off, wewere talking about some of your expansion
into different market spots.
Let's talk about licensing and partnerships.
They've been a big part of wowBao's growth.
What have been the key factorsin successfully rolling out these
(17:47):
models?
You said when we come backfrom commercial, we're going to start
to have some fun.
So these are the fun questionsnow, huh?
These are the fun questions.
No problem.
I'm having fun before thecommercial Break.
Just so you know, look, we, wegot involved in, in 2014, we became
the first lettuce brand toopen up in an airport.
We opened up in Terminal 5 ofChicago O'Hare In 2016, we went to
(18:08):
Reagan Airport.
And now I think we're in sixor seven airport locations.
We got involved with collegecampuses back in 2015, partner with
both Sodexo and Aramark.
We got involved with sports services.
And I think we've done.
Well, not that I think I knowwe've done Major league Baseball,
NFL basketball, NHL.
(18:29):
So we've done all the top fourdifferent types of venues, sporting
events, and I think we've donesix or eight different stadiums.
So the food translates really well.
The food travels well.
The food is very easy to prepare.
You're just steaming, right?
You don't need to have a hood,you don't need to have any kind of
(18:49):
special equipment.
You just need to boil water.
And our flavors are really fantastic.
And the fact that we havenational distribution of the product
because of all of thoseopportunities dating back almost
a decade now, it's allowed usto grow at a rate that is not what
other concepts can do.
And the ease of execution, thelow footprint in square footage and
(19:13):
the fact that you only needtwo or three people to work the concept
to do incredible volumenumbers lends itself to other people
wanting to turn us on whichlicensing deals where we've done
all in all these different environments.
Well, you bring up a goodpoint because I was going to ask
you about the entry levelrequirements for a brand to take
on your virtual concept.
So how quickly can they get upand running and how time consuming
(19:35):
is it for a brand to produceyour product?
So we can get somebody up andrunning in about three to five weeks.
And the reason for the, what Iwould call delay, because I like
everything to happen tomorrowis that's just turning on the third
party delivery apps.
We're already in national distribution.
So I can get food to you inthe next four days.
And all you need to do is boilwater to have a steamer and a rice
cooker.
(19:55):
Rice cooker you can buy acrossthe street at any bodega or Walmart
or Target or anywhere.
So you can literally berunning our food very quickly.
And as far as convenience,anybody can boil water.
So you don't have a learningcurve really for that one.
And the food can be done fromfrozen to service in about eight
(20:17):
minutes in a steamer.
So the product is very easyand good to work with.
We also, you know, but ofcourse, because of Our skill and
what we've done.
We have training videos, wehave online testing.
We have, you know, we haveeverything that's needed to get somebody
to be doing it correctly.
Jeff, if you had to predictwhat does the future of restaurant
(20:38):
tech look.
Like or maybe even what wow about.
Looks like in the next five to10 years, what does it look like
in your head?
Yeah, I've given up on predictions.
I mean, no one saw Covidcoming, so I don't do those kind
of questions.
But I can tell you where myfocus is for the growth, the concept.
There are 120,000 grocerystores out there, freezer doors,
and we're in 10,000.
(20:58):
So we're going to continue togrow our consumer packaged goods.
I fully believe we can getinto the food service business between
transportation, betweenairlines, rail cruise ships, the
penal system, highereducation, that there's a lot we
can do in getting into food service.
(21:18):
What I want to do right now,look, we didn't create bao.
Bao's been around forthousands of years, right.
But what we're doing is we'remaking it a lot more mainstream.
And more players are coming toenter the field because of either
the success we've had or the.
The.
The interest in Asian cuisine,which is really springing up now
more than I think it has inthe past.
(21:40):
What I want is I want to bethe Heinz ketchup of Val.
Right?
When you go to your localrestaurant and you order a hamburger
and they bring you ketchup, ifit's Heinz, you pour it right away.
If it's not Heinz, you sort ofhear the record scratch in the middle
of the restaurant and you'lluse it because it's ketchup.
But there's a little bit of disappointment.
I want everyone to who enjoysbao and eats bow to be eating wild
(22:02):
bow.
If they're not eating wildbao, they'll still eat it.
Because it's important to growwhat the food is.
But they should have thatlittle record.
Scratch that.
Oh, and disappointment insidethat it's not wild.
So we're trying to find moreways to get our product into people's
hands to help educate aboutthe food, educate about why our ours
is superior to others, andcontinue to grow our footprint.
(22:26):
Well, talk about being every place.
So I'm exposed to your producteverywhere I go.
I was up in Wisconsin visitingmy family over the holidays.
Walked to the grocery store.
There you are.
Come down to Florida, ofcourse, here at Publix.
There you are in the frozen section.
I get off my plane inCharlotte at Gate C10.
There you are, 69.
But yes.
And Charlotte's a great store,a great restaurant.
(22:48):
It's really.
It's a nice small footprintthat it's amazing how many people
fly through Charlotte.
I had no idea.
And it seems like everyone Iknow goes through Charlotte for some
reason.
It's my second home.
I literally, because I flyAmerican out of Fort Lauderdale,
which means I pretty much haveno direct flight.
So I'm always going through Charlotte.
And absolutely, I'm stoppingto get my wow bow before I go to
(23:09):
the lounge and hang out for awhile, because I'd rather have wow
bow than lounge food.
Just saying thank you.
That'll be our new slogan.
Yes.
Created by Skip.
I'll be your spokesperson.
How about that?
So what's one piece of adviceyou give to entrepreneurs like yourself
looking to really disrupt thefood industry?
I don't know if you can gointo the industry to try to disrupt
(23:30):
it.
I think if you have an ideaand a plan that you and.
And you believe in it, you gotto stick with it.
And that, I think, then breedsthe disruption.
Right.
Because if you.
Look, if I want to go open upa hamburger stand tomorrow, what's
making my hamburger standdifferent than the last hamburger
stand?
Right.
And if there is somethingthat's a little bit different, that
(23:51):
could be a level of disruption.
If I have some new wild ideathat no one's ever seen before, then
it's larger disruption.
But I don't think you go outand say, I'm going to go disrupt
the hamburger industry.
It's, I'm going to try toserve the best product I can the
way that I think it should be served.
And that's what I thinkentrepreneurs should be focused about.
Just do things really, really well.
(24:12):
And the rest of it will lenditself to opportunities to disrupt,
whether it's how you handleprocessing of payments, how people
order the systems used in theback of the house.
Right.
What kind of configuration youhave for your tables, or as a dine
in or carry out how you do delivery.
There's so many avenues andverticals just inside the four walls
(24:36):
of the restaurant that you candisrupt plenty.
Are you planning on any otherconcepts and expanding it like this,
or are you just sticking tothis for now?
I really think there's a lotmore Runway with wow about.
There's actually more Runwaywith wow about today than there probably
has been in the last 20 yearsthe concepts existed.
So I'm fully focused oncontinuing to push wow about right
(24:59):
now because of all these new Opportunities.
Well, for instance, if you'vegot Wisconsin clientele that's gone
beyond bratwurst, cheese, andbeer, you've scored right there.
That's a testimonial in itself.
All right, here's where we'regonna have some fun.
So first of all, what's yourgo to item on the Wild Bao menu?
I'd probably.
That's gonna be a toss upbetween either our chicken pot stickers
(25:20):
or our coconut bao.
I have not had the coconut bao.
The coconut custard is.
It's the kind of thing youcould have for breakfast, you could
have for an afternoon snack,you can have for dessert for a meal.
It's just.
It's soft, light, velvety,great flavor.
You gotta like coconut, butit's really good.
Oh, that sounds fantastic.
(25:41):
Is that available at C9?
I believe it is, actually.
All right, that'll be my.
I do believe.
I do believe it is.
That'll be my next try nexttime I go through there.
All right, here's another onefor you.
If you could have lunch withany business leader or chef in the
world, who would it be and why?
You know, I probably wanted togive the same answer that most people
say, which is Steve Jobs.
(26:02):
Just because I think he.
He'd be an incredible personjust to listen to and learn from.
There have been five people inmy life from a mentorship in business
who I've worked with.
Two of them both passed on,and I worked with them back from
the age of 13 to 19 in agrocery store on the East Coast,
Bob and Frank Whitney.
And then since joiningLettuce, I've had Kevin Brown, the
(26:23):
CEO of Lettuce.
He just got promoted toexecutive chairman, and Rich Melman,
the founder.
And then John Shulkin out ofmy private equity Valor Equity Partners,
who's the chairman of theboard for.
Wow.
About.
And any of those five people.
Although I've learned anincredible amount from them already
there, I know there's so muchmore for me to learn and the stories
(26:44):
that they can share in the context.
One thing that I think isimportant is you could say you want
to listen to Warren Buffett,Steve Jobs, whoever it may be.
But that, to me, is going tobe your listening to lunch.
At lunch, you're eating,they're talking, and you might be
learning.
The five people I named arepeople that I've grown up with and
I have relationships with.
(27:04):
And I think the greatestlearnings that can come out is having
a conversation and the.
And I probably stick with oneof those five that I'VE already been
able to have the luxury ofhaving lunch with.
Love it.
All right, one final questionfor you.
What's something about wow Baothat most people don't know about
but should.
I'll tell you this much.
(27:26):
Although we're in hundreds andhundreds of locations for delivery
only across the country, andalthough we're in thousands of grocery
stores across the country, andalthough we've had airport locations
for over a decade, most peopledon't know the brand.
And I think no matter who youare, no matter what brand you are,
(27:47):
and I'll even say withMcDonald's, no matter what brand
you are, if you think you'rebig enough that everyone knows your
brand, I'm going to tell you,you got work to do because you reinvent
yourself, you introduce new food.
You know, I have my order whenI go to McDonald's.
You know, the Quarter Pounderwith cheese, fries and a Coke.
Right.
And I've been eatingMcDonald's for over 50 years.
(28:09):
There's half a menu I've never tried.
Yeah.
And so McDonald's has its workcut out on how to get me to try the
rest of the menu.
So when you say, what is itthat people don't know about wow.
But I'm just gonna say theydon't know the brand.
They don't know the brand asmuch as I want them to know it.
There's so much more that's be done.
And that's sort of the funpart of the business, right?
Is learning how to communicateand converse with your consumer,
(28:33):
how to hear what they'relooking for from you and how to help
them understand who you'retrying to be and find that middle
ground and introduce newproducts and make sure you're staying
on trend and getting decisionmaking decisions that help them and
help you grow, not just doingwhat you think is right.
What do people mostly not knowabout wow Bao?
(28:54):
They don't know enough aboutwow Bao.
That would be my answer.
Good point.
Very good point.
Well, now you've inspired me.
What's one thing people don'tknow about Jeff Alexander that we
should know?
Maybe we shouldn't know?
I'm just saying.
Well, it's out there forpeople to know.
Most people don't know.
It is that I'm also a spin instructor.
(29:14):
I've been teaching indoorcycling for about 15 years.
So a lot of people don't knowthat about me.
But the more, the more peopleask, what do they not know about
Jeff?
The more I'm telling themabout that.
So.
Well, let's see you went tothe University of Wisconsin, right?
I did.
I'm a Badger now.
You live in Chicago now?
I live in Chicago.
Born and raised on the eastcoast in New York City.
(29:35):
So who's your NFL team then?
I'm very curious.
The New York, the New York Giants.
Okay.
There's no, there's no GreenBay Chicago problem for me.
I am a New York Giants fanthrough and through.
Go blue.
Well, that makes it pretty,pretty easy we're having that conversation
in Chicago then becausethey're pretty vicious fans up there
when it comes down to their loyalty.
Yeah, my wife is very much aChicago Bears fan, so I still have
(29:59):
to deal with the, that rivalryto some extent.
Yeah.
I'm sorry for her.
It's not been good the pastfew years.
No.
She is an Ohio State Buckeye.
Oh.
She's got a lot to celebratethis year.
She does, that's for sure.
Jeff, thanks for coming on the show.
Always a pleasure to talk to you.
And I look forward to seeingyou at Mirtech.
Coming up here in a month or so.
(30:19):
That will be a fun show andit's always good to hang out with
you there.
Once again, thank you fortaking out the time today and talking
with us.
Thanks, Skip.
Thank you to everybody and anyof your listeners that are Murtech.
Make sure you say hi.
I'm sure they will.
A huge thank you to Jeff forsharing his incredible journey from
his early days at Let usentertain you enterprises to revolutionizing
(30:42):
the industry with wow Bao.
His insights on technologyadaptability and drawing inspiration
from outside the restaurantworld are lessons that every hospitality
leader can take to heart.
Now there's no reason for this to.
Be a one and done thought.
Let's continue thisconversation online.
You can leave a message onLinkedIn and you can also reach out
(31:05):
to me via everything social,Skip Kimple or everything Magicate
Tech.
This includes X, Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn.
You can always go to thewebsite@SkipKimple.com for all of
the archived shows and you canalso hear all of these new episodes
on the Magic gatewebsite@magicgate.com now in preparation
(31:26):
for some pretty bigannouncements coming out of the Magic
8 headquarters this month weare going to be having a series of
guests on talking aboutcutting edge innovation around technology
in hospitality.
While many of you might thinkthat some of these concepts are far
off and into the future, Iwill have you know that they are
(31:48):
already in the here and now.
This is why you need to staytuned into the Tech Chef so that
you are always up to date onwhat's coming down the tech pipeline
and the questions your C suitewill be asking of you.
Now, are you ready for that?
FYI, Magic 8 can help bringyou up to speed.
(32:09):
Just visit magic8.com to learnmore and set up a call to discuss
your needs.
Can you believe it is February already?
It seems like we just gotstarted in the new year and already
one month has passed.
Man, time flies when you'rehaving fun.
Right now, it's time to getback to work.
Big month ahead leading intoMarch for Murtech.
(32:31):
Who's going to that?
Drop me a note if you are, asI would love to meet up.
Well, until next Tuesday, staysafe, stay healthy, and stay hungry.
My friends.
You are listening to the TechChef Podcast.
This is episode number 87,February 4, 2025.
This show is powered by GrowthAdvisors International network where
travel and hospitalitycompanies come to grow.
For more information pleasevisit gainadvisors.com.
(00:20):
Hi, this is Jeff Alexander,President and CEO of Wowbao and you're
listening to Skip on the TechChef Podcast.
Off Premise Strategy, Business Continuity.
How about a taste test ofrestaurant technology?
Drive thru or curbside?
(00:41):
Mobile apps or AI?
It's all on the menu.
Cook it up for the date.
It's a recipe for success.
You're in good hands with theTech Chef.
Make a plan to be your best.
Strategize with the Tech Chef.
(01:02):
Welcome to the Tech Chef Podcast.
I am your host, Skip Kimple,bringing you the latest and greatest
in restaurant and hospitality technology.
Whether you're tuning in fromthe kitchen, the boardroom or somewhere
in between, I'm thrilled tohave you here.
This is the podcast whereinnovation meets real world application.
(01:23):
We go beyond buzzwords toexplore cutting edge tools, practical
solutions and strategies thatcan elevate your today, not just
in the distant future.
From AI driven efficiency toguest experience enhancements, we
cover it all.
If this is your first timejoining us, welcome aboard.
(01:43):
Be sure to hit that subscribebutton so you never miss an episode
packed with insights, expertinterviews and actionable takeaways.
And if you're a returnlistener, thank you for being part
of our growing community.
Your support fuels this journey.
Now let's dive into today'stopic and uncover the next big thing
in hospitality tech.
(02:05):
Get ready.
It's time to cook up someinnovation on the Tech Chef Podcast.
In this episode, JeffAlexander, a top restaurant CEO,
joins the podcast to discusshis journey and the innovations he's
brought to wow Bao.
He highlights how the brandhas rapidly expanded through technology
and creative strategies,including ghost kitchens and partnerships
(02:29):
with grocery chains.
Jeff shares insights on theimportance of looking beyond the
restaurant industry forinspiration and adapting to new trends.
He emphasizes that successcomes from passion, focus and willingness
to embrace change.
You will gain valuableperspectives on leading a successful
food brand in today's everevolving market.
(02:56):
Joining the show today, wehave the.
One, the only, Jeff Alexander.
Jeff was actually voted one ofthe most influential restaurant CEOs
in the country, according toNational Restaurant News.
So Jeff, it is a huge honor tohave you on the show here today.
Thank you.
I'm very excited to be here and.
I'm embarrassed to ask this,but for.
Those listeners who do notknow you.
(03:17):
Give us some of yourbackground on Jeff Alexander.
Wow.
Bow.
The concept that I overseestarted in 2003 from lettuce entertain
you Enterprises, a privatelyheld restaurant group based in Chicago.
I joined lettuce back in 1993.
So I'm coming up on 32 yearswith the company.
But in 2003 started Wild Bao.
(03:37):
I joined in 093 brick andmortar restaurants at the time.
Under my tenure, we grew up toeight or nine locations.
Airports, college campuses,sports stadiums, got involved with
grocery, started doing adelivery only kitchen model right
before the pandemic.
We launched about a thousandof those across the country.
(03:58):
Now we're in over 10,000freezer doors with our consumer packaged
goods product.
And we've done a lot withtechnology with self ordering kiosks.
Back in 2010, we actually arein the Metaverse where we partner
with Roblox and created avideo game a year ago that ties into
our loyalty program.
So just get our hands in a lotof different avenues.
(04:21):
Well, let's talk about some ofthat technology innovation because
the people listening to theshow, guess what, they're technologists.
So wow.
Bao has embraced automation,AI Ghost kitchens.
How did you decide to go inthis direction and what challenges
did you face as you weremaking those decisions?
Look, when I took the conceptover in 09, I remember in 2010 or
(04:43):
late 2009, the CEO of lettuceat the time was telling me that we
should be doing desktop ordering.
I'm sure your listeners haveno idea what desktop ordering, but
that's before there were apps.
And I was like, there's noreason to have people order ahead
because the food from order toservice was 54 seconds in our in
our restaurants.
So you can't make it any faster.
(05:04):
But then I wanted to dobicycle delivery here in Chicago.
And I grew up on the east coast.
And the big joke back then waswhen you didn't like somebody, you
would order 20 pizzas to theirhouse and the pizza guy would show
up and you had to pay the billwhen the food showed up.
So I didn't want to dodelivery unless I collected payment
prior to delivery leaving the restaurant.
And that's what got us turnedon with online ordering.
(05:28):
So we adopted online orderingfrom the desktop back in 2010.
Then we actually became one ofthe first restaurants to have an
app.
There were only 300,000 appsat the time in the app Store and
we had one.
Then we got involved with selfordering kiosks.
So technology has just alwaysbeen a part of who we are.
And then if you fast forward,I remember in about 2014 2015, there
(05:50):
was a restaurant on the Westcoast called eatsa, which was a fully
automated restaurant where youhad no human interaction and your
food got delivered throughelectronic cubbies that were personalized
and animated.
And I saw this, I was like,that is the future and that is perfect
for Wild Out.
And actually in 2017, afterprivate equity got involved to fund
our growth, we got involvedwith the eatsa platform and we use
(06:13):
this technology and had theseself ordering restaurants.
So we've always looked forwhere the, where the industry is
moving to and where otherindustries are and how we can incorporate
that.
I think that's probably themost important lesson in learning
that CEOs and leaders ofbusinesses should be doing on all
avenues is look outside ofyour industry and take learnings
(06:36):
from what other successfulbusinesses are doing and then figure
out how to incorporate it intoyour business.
Couldn't agree with that more.
I'm a huge advocate for peoplegoing to the NRF ces, you know, just,
just getting out there andseeing other industries.
I, you know, with, with all ofthe new XR stuff I'm doing, I've
been exposed to multipleindustries that have nothing to do
(06:59):
with hospitality.
However, I'm exposed totechnologies and seeing how they're
utilizing it, how they'releveraging it and the ROI behind
it, and always trying tofigure out ways how can we bring
that into the hospitality space.
It's not always a big lift.
Sometimes it is, but there aresome definite crossovers that can
happen.
Let's talk a little bit about,I guess right around the time of
(07:20):
COVID maybe before you cancorrect me on this, but isn't that
about the time you kind ofmoved into virtual kitchens and the
ghost kitchen space?
Yeah.
So it was November of 2019prior to Covid and anyone knowing
Covid was.
We had the idea since our foodwas already in national distribution,
it was based on Lettuce'snetwork of restaurants and our private
equity's network of restaurants.
(07:40):
We thought, why couldn't theseother restaurants sell wow Bao out
their backdoor third partydelivery branded as wow Bao on the
apps.
And we put the whole projecttogether, launched one location in
January of 2020.
And then March came in.
The world shut down and therewas nothing but delivery.
And I think from March to theend of the year, in 2020, we launched
about 150 locations.
(08:02):
The following year we did 350more or 400 more.
And then we still to this dayare getting inquiries and turning
people on as a revenue streamto really help restaurants grow their
top Line sales and bottom line profits.
So it's been very, veryexciting to watch the growth and
rewarding from how we're ableto help restaurants.
(08:23):
I always tell this story aboutsitting on stage with you.
We are on some panel togetherand this is probably, I would have
to say this could possibly beMyrtek 2020.
Right, right.
When Covid was hitting maybe aconference before that.
But you were talking about,yes, you had 150 locations and then
you had these aspirations ofgrowing and doubling the next year.
And I'm like, who is this guy?
(08:44):
What is he talking about?
And you know, I sit back nowand I.
And you're laughing all theway to the bank there because you
have created such a successmodel not only on the, on the virtual
kitchen side, but you branchedout in areas that I don't think anybody
expected you to.
And some of those aregroceries, some of them are vending
machines.
Let's talk a bit, a little bitabout some of the technology that
(09:06):
you.
Probably the most impactfultechnology innovations that you implemented
within the organization, you know.
I think that's going to be,you know, you can ask 10 different
people what they think is themost important or impactful innovation
that we've done in 2010.
I told you we had self orderedkiosks, you know, and at the time
it was a bank, it was an ATMat a bank, it was your movie theater
(09:28):
ticket or it was an airport.
There was nowhere else wasdoing self ordering anything.
And now you look at it, it's mainstream.
But back then we were like oneof the only people to have it.
So that to me, I think willalways live out in my mind is really
breaking, breaking us out in atechnology forum.
I think getting involved withroadblocks from a restaurant standpoint
(09:49):
is not something anybody does.
And we went into that, I meanI, I think I can name like four companies
or five companies betweenChipotle, Burberry, Hilton and Walmart
have done Roblox.
I don't really think there'sthat many others on a national scale
or larger doing it.
So that I'm really proud of.
(10:11):
Obviously the technology thatwent on behind the scenes for us
to launch our delivery on theKitchen program, you know how we
brought Salesforce as a truthof a source of truth for our company
and incorporated that behindthe scenes really was game changing
from just how we ran our operations.
So there's a whole bunch ofstuff, there's great technology out
(10:31):
there that we don't use that alot of other restaurants use, like
pay at the table, the thingsthat Toast has created and put out
there in the marketplace.
It's fantastic.
What Ollo's doing, trying toincorporate it into restaurant reservation
information so when you walkin, it knows all this information
about you.
I mean, there's such amazingtechnology out there that it's just
(10:52):
fun to watch.
But what I think that I'm mostexcited about, well, what I'm excited
about and what I hurdle with,what I'm most excited about is still
what's to come, because Ithink it's just, you know, but the
hurdle that goes in line withthat and what we've always faced
is all this technology, whichis so great, is never made by restaurant
(11:13):
people.
And there's a hurdle, there'sa rough patch that has to go through
to find success.
And the benefit that wow Baohas, because we've always done so
much with technology, ispeople come to us now with their
ideas or their prototypes andask us for input, to test pilot,
to try things out, give feedback.
(11:34):
And we're more than happy todo that as long as it fits what we're
trying to do.
But the changes and thewillingness on the creator side to
make it work for restaurants,I'd like to see that be a little
bit more forward because we'rebeing forced to change the way we
do business to accept all thisgreat technology.
(11:54):
And that's one of thechallenges I've placed in front of
vendors as I've spoken tothem, is maybe a little more innovation
within the industry.
You know, as you look at theeco culture, I'm going to get myself
in trouble on this one.
But as you look at the ecoculture of restaurant technology
vendors, very much tunneledvision regarding how they move forward.
I think they're assuming toomany things.
(12:15):
About the operators, like thisis what they want.
I don't know that they'reactually listening to the operators
enough.
Like you.
You are very tech forward,tech advanced, not just for the sake
of throwing technology atsomething, but for the sake of solving
for problems and making yourcompany more efficient, effective,
and improving the customer experience.
And those are the areas thatreally need to be concentrated on
(12:36):
during this process.
You know, many restaurantbrands struggle at scaling efficiently.
Now.
You've done a masterful job at that.
How is wow Bao managed toexpand so rapidly while maintaining
quality and consistency?
Yeah, and it's.
It's a great question.
And I think it.
Look, if you, if it'simportant to you as the leader, it's
(12:58):
important to the rest of your company.
And when I give an analogyabout that.
You've gone into restaurantsand it's clean and everything's great
and the place runs smoothly.
Then you go into the bathroom,the bathroom's dirty.
And that to me is an exampleof a leader who doesn't have eyes
on the bathroom.
Because if the bathroomcleanliness matters, the leader,
then everyone makes sure thebathroom is clean.
So if you want to grow or ifyou want to implement something new,
(13:22):
or if you want to scalewhatever it may be, if you're passionate
about that and you make that afocus, then your team will respond
and they will make it a focus.
So when you ask like, how arewe able to do it?
Very.
It takes work.
It takes work, it takespassion, it takes buy in from your
team, and it also takes planning.
(13:46):
You know, you can't.
You know, they always say thehardest thing to do is go 1 to 2,
2 to 3 isn't as hard, but 1 to2, it's sort of like when you have
kids, right?
One kid is difficult.
Number two, like you're losingyour mind.
But number three, yeah, youmade the mistakes already, right?
So it's about, you know, justreally focus on, on, on the task
(14:07):
at hand and putting the energyinto that and then moving on to the
next task without leaving thefirst task.
Now, not only from thescalability perspective, but your
footprint has significantlyexpanded in areas that other organizations
might not have ventured into,including non traditional locations
like airports, stadiums,grocery stores, Costco, and even
(14:30):
vending machines.
What's the strategy behindthese expansion moves?
You know, the first has to fitthe brand, right?
So I remember back in 2000 andI think it was like 13 or 14, I had
the idea that we'd be reallygood in hot food vending machines
and spent a long time tryingto find a partner.
And at 18, we found a partnerto do hot food vending machines.
(14:53):
We went out there, we testedthe food, we were all excited.
But technology is hard.
And that company lost itsfunding and we shelved it.
And then Fast forward in 21and we found another company who
could do hot food vending.
And now we're in 600 or 700machines in manufacturing, hospitals,
college campuses and so on,with a lot more on the Runway supposed
(15:14):
to be growing.
So it's about having ideasthat might sound outrageous to other
people, but if you believe init, it's about following that idea.
And again, I say go back tolooking outside of your own industry
and look at how other peopleare growing.
The consumer packaged goods.
We're doing grocery, We'vebeen doing grocery since 2015, but
(15:36):
from 2015 to 2022, it was likean afterthought.
It was a side hustle that wejust did.
We were in 350 grocery storeshere in the Chicagoland area.
And then through our deliveryonly kitchen program, we met somebody
who connected us throughsomebody else into Walmart.
And in 2023, we launched3,000, 3,100 Walmarts, and now we're
(15:58):
in 11,000 plus grocery storedoors across the country.
Target, Kroger, Costco.
You mentioned Walmart still.
So it's just about what'sright for your concept.
What do you have passion aboutdoing and adaptability.
We got into the idea of thedelivery only kitchen in late 2019
because we saw it as a way forus to grow our business, not knowing
(16:20):
Covid was going to.
Then we launched 1000 locations.
Then through that business, wemet Walmart and now all of a sudden
we went from 350 to 11,000 grocery.
We got paired up with a hotfood vending machine group.
At the time, we were in threemachines with them, and now we're
in 700.
So it's just what works forwhat you're trying to do and making
(16:43):
sure you have the bandwidth topull it off.
Jeff, we're going to take alittle break, but when we come back,
we're going to dig into someof the licensing and partnerships
and some of the strategybehind that.
In addition to, we're going totalk about some of your future vision
and leadership ideas.
And then we're going to have alittle fun at the end of the show.
So everybody hold on.
We'll be right back.
(17:03):
Are you ready to level up yourtech game and understand the world
of xr?
Dive into the world ofextended reality with Magic Gate's
XR Bootcamp Master.
The concepts of virtualreality, augmented reality and mixed
reality in just weeks.
No special equipment orprevious knowledge is required.
Limited seats are available tosign up now@bootcamp.magicgate.com
(17:26):
that's bootcamp.magicgate.comyour future in XR starts there.
Jeff, when we left off, wewere talking about some of your expansion
into different market spots.
Let's talk about licensing and partnerships.
They've been a big part of wowBao's growth.
What have been the key factorsin successfully rolling out these
(17:47):
models?
You said when we come backfrom commercial, we're going to start
to have some fun.
So these are the fun questionsnow, huh?
These are the fun questions.
No problem.
I'm having fun before thecommercial Break.
Just so you know, look, we, wegot involved in, in 2014, we became
the first lettuce brand toopen up in an airport.
We opened up in Terminal 5 ofChicago O'Hare In 2016, we went to
(18:08):
Reagan Airport.
And now I think we're in sixor seven airport locations.
We got involved with collegecampuses back in 2015, partner with
both Sodexo and Aramark.
We got involved with sports services.
And I think we've done.
Well, not that I think I knowwe've done Major league Baseball,
NFL basketball, NHL.
(18:29):
So we've done all the top fourdifferent types of venues, sporting
events, and I think we've donesix or eight different stadiums.
So the food translates really well.
The food travels well.
The food is very easy to prepare.
You're just steaming, right?
You don't need to have a hood,you don't need to have any kind of
(18:49):
special equipment.
You just need to boil water.
And our flavors are really fantastic.
And the fact that we havenational distribution of the product
because of all of thoseopportunities dating back almost
a decade now, it's allowed usto grow at a rate that is not what
other concepts can do.
And the ease of execution, thelow footprint in square footage and
(19:13):
the fact that you only needtwo or three people to work the concept
to do incredible volumenumbers lends itself to other people
wanting to turn us on whichlicensing deals where we've done
all in all these different environments.
Well, you bring up a goodpoint because I was going to ask
you about the entry levelrequirements for a brand to take
on your virtual concept.
So how quickly can they get upand running and how time consuming
(19:35):
is it for a brand to produceyour product?
So we can get somebody up andrunning in about three to five weeks.
And the reason for the, what Iwould call delay, because I like
everything to happen tomorrowis that's just turning on the third
party delivery apps.
We're already in national distribution.
So I can get food to you inthe next four days.
And all you need to do is boilwater to have a steamer and a rice
cooker.
(19:55):
Rice cooker you can buy acrossthe street at any bodega or Walmart
or Target or anywhere.
So you can literally berunning our food very quickly.
And as far as convenience,anybody can boil water.
So you don't have a learningcurve really for that one.
And the food can be done fromfrozen to service in about eight
(20:17):
minutes in a steamer.
So the product is very easyand good to work with.
We also, you know, but ofcourse, because of Our skill and
what we've done.
We have training videos, wehave online testing.
We have, you know, we haveeverything that's needed to get somebody
to be doing it correctly.
Jeff, if you had to predictwhat does the future of restaurant
(20:38):
tech look.
Like or maybe even what wow about.
Looks like in the next five to10 years, what does it look like
in your head?
Yeah, I've given up on predictions.
I mean, no one saw Covidcoming, so I don't do those kind
of questions.
But I can tell you where myfocus is for the growth, the concept.
There are 120,000 grocerystores out there, freezer doors,
and we're in 10,000.
(20:58):
So we're going to continue togrow our consumer packaged goods.
I fully believe we can getinto the food service business between
transportation, betweenairlines, rail cruise ships, the
penal system, highereducation, that there's a lot we
can do in getting into food service.
(21:18):
What I want to do right now,look, we didn't create bao.
Bao's been around forthousands of years, right.
But what we're doing is we'remaking it a lot more mainstream.
And more players are coming toenter the field because of either
the success we've had or the.
The.
The interest in Asian cuisine,which is really springing up now
more than I think it has inthe past.
(21:40):
What I want is I want to bethe Heinz ketchup of Val.
Right?
When you go to your localrestaurant and you order a hamburger
and they bring you ketchup, ifit's Heinz, you pour it right away.
If it's not Heinz, you sort ofhear the record scratch in the middle
of the restaurant and you'lluse it because it's ketchup.
But there's a little bit of disappointment.
I want everyone to who enjoysbao and eats bow to be eating wild
(22:02):
bow.
If they're not eating wildbao, they'll still eat it.
Because it's important to growwhat the food is.
But they should have thatlittle record.
Scratch that.
Oh, and disappointment insidethat it's not wild.
So we're trying to find moreways to get our product into people's
hands to help educate aboutthe food, educate about why our ours
is superior to others, andcontinue to grow our footprint.
(22:26):
Well, talk about being every place.
So I'm exposed to your producteverywhere I go.
I was up in Wisconsin visitingmy family over the holidays.
Walked to the grocery store.
There you are.
Come down to Florida, ofcourse, here at Publix.
There you are in the frozen section.
I get off my plane inCharlotte at Gate C10.
There you are, 69.
But yes.
And Charlotte's a great store,a great restaurant.
(22:48):
It's really.
It's a nice small footprintthat it's amazing how many people
fly through Charlotte.
I had no idea.
And it seems like everyone Iknow goes through Charlotte for some
reason.
It's my second home.
I literally, because I flyAmerican out of Fort Lauderdale,
which means I pretty much haveno direct flight.
So I'm always going through Charlotte.
And absolutely, I'm stoppingto get my wow bow before I go to
(23:09):
the lounge and hang out for awhile, because I'd rather have wow
bow than lounge food.
Just saying thank you.
That'll be our new slogan.
Yes.
Created by Skip.
I'll be your spokesperson.
How about that?
So what's one piece of adviceyou give to entrepreneurs like yourself
looking to really disrupt thefood industry?
I don't know if you can gointo the industry to try to disrupt
(23:30):
it.
I think if you have an ideaand a plan that you and.
And you believe in it, you gotto stick with it.
And that, I think, then breedsthe disruption.
Right.
Because if you.
Look, if I want to go open upa hamburger stand tomorrow, what's
making my hamburger standdifferent than the last hamburger
stand?
Right.
And if there is somethingthat's a little bit different, that
(23:51):
could be a level of disruption.
If I have some new wild ideathat no one's ever seen before, then
it's larger disruption.
But I don't think you go outand say, I'm going to go disrupt
the hamburger industry.
It's, I'm going to try toserve the best product I can the
way that I think it should be served.
And that's what I thinkentrepreneurs should be focused about.
Just do things really, really well.
(24:12):
And the rest of it will lenditself to opportunities to disrupt,
whether it's how you handleprocessing of payments, how people
order the systems used in theback of the house.
Right.
What kind of configuration youhave for your tables, or as a dine
in or carry out how you do delivery.
There's so many avenues andverticals just inside the four walls
(24:36):
of the restaurant that you candisrupt plenty.
Are you planning on any otherconcepts and expanding it like this,
or are you just sticking tothis for now?
I really think there's a lotmore Runway with wow about.
There's actually more Runwaywith wow about today than there probably
has been in the last 20 yearsthe concepts existed.
So I'm fully focused oncontinuing to push wow about right
(24:59):
now because of all these new Opportunities.
Well, for instance, if you'vegot Wisconsin clientele that's gone
beyond bratwurst, cheese, andbeer, you've scored right there.
That's a testimonial in itself.
All right, here's where we'regonna have some fun.
So first of all, what's yourgo to item on the Wild Bao menu?
I'd probably.
That's gonna be a toss upbetween either our chicken pot stickers
(25:20):
or our coconut bao.
I have not had the coconut bao.
The coconut custard is.
It's the kind of thing youcould have for breakfast, you could
have for an afternoon snack,you can have for dessert for a meal.
It's just.
It's soft, light, velvety,great flavor.
You gotta like coconut, butit's really good.
Oh, that sounds fantastic.
(25:41):
Is that available at C9?
I believe it is, actually.
All right, that'll be my.
I do believe.
I do believe it is.
That'll be my next try nexttime I go through there.
All right, here's another onefor you.
If you could have lunch withany business leader or chef in the
world, who would it be and why?
You know, I probably wanted togive the same answer that most people
say, which is Steve Jobs.
(26:02):
Just because I think he.
He'd be an incredible personjust to listen to and learn from.
There have been five people inmy life from a mentorship in business
who I've worked with.
Two of them both passed on,and I worked with them back from
the age of 13 to 19 in agrocery store on the East Coast,
Bob and Frank Whitney.
And then since joiningLettuce, I've had Kevin Brown, the
(26:23):
CEO of Lettuce.
He just got promoted toexecutive chairman, and Rich Melman,
the founder.
And then John Shulkin out ofmy private equity Valor Equity Partners,
who's the chairman of theboard for.
Wow.
About.
And any of those five people.
Although I've learned anincredible amount from them already
there, I know there's so muchmore for me to learn and the stories
(26:44):
that they can share in the context.
One thing that I think isimportant is you could say you want
to listen to Warren Buffett,Steve Jobs, whoever it may be.
But that, to me, is going tobe your listening to lunch.
At lunch, you're eating,they're talking, and you might be
learning.
The five people I named arepeople that I've grown up with and
I have relationships with.
(27:04):
And I think the greatestlearnings that can come out is having
a conversation and the.
And I probably stick with oneof those five that I'VE already been
able to have the luxury ofhaving lunch with.
Love it.
All right, one final questionfor you.
What's something about wow Baothat most people don't know about
but should.
I'll tell you this much.
(27:26):
Although we're in hundreds andhundreds of locations for delivery
only across the country, andalthough we're in thousands of grocery
stores across the country, andalthough we've had airport locations
for over a decade, most peopledon't know the brand.
And I think no matter who youare, no matter what brand you are,
(27:47):
and I'll even say withMcDonald's, no matter what brand
you are, if you think you'rebig enough that everyone knows your
brand, I'm going to tell you,you got work to do because you reinvent
yourself, you introduce new food.
You know, I have my order whenI go to McDonald's.
You know, the Quarter Pounderwith cheese, fries and a Coke.
Right.
And I've been eatingMcDonald's for over 50 years.
(28:09):
There's half a menu I've never tried.
Yeah.
And so McDonald's has its workcut out on how to get me to try the
rest of the menu.
So when you say, what is itthat people don't know about wow.
But I'm just gonna say theydon't know the brand.
They don't know the brand asmuch as I want them to know it.
There's so much more that's be done.
And that's sort of the funpart of the business, right?
Is learning how to communicateand converse with your consumer,
(28:33):
how to hear what they'relooking for from you and how to help
them understand who you'retrying to be and find that middle
ground and introduce newproducts and make sure you're staying
on trend and getting decisionmaking decisions that help them and
help you grow, not just doingwhat you think is right.
What do people mostly not knowabout wow Bao?
(28:54):
They don't know enough aboutwow Bao.
That would be my answer.
Good point.
Very good point.
Well, now you've inspired me.
What's one thing people don'tknow about Jeff Alexander that we
should know?
Maybe we shouldn't know?
I'm just saying.
Well, it's out there forpeople to know.
Most people don't know.
It is that I'm also a spin instructor.
(29:14):
I've been teaching indoorcycling for about 15 years.
So a lot of people don't knowthat about me.
But the more, the more peopleask, what do they not know about
Jeff?
The more I'm telling themabout that.
So.
Well, let's see you went tothe University of Wisconsin, right?
I did.
I'm a Badger now.
You live in Chicago now?
I live in Chicago.
Born and raised on the eastcoast in New York City.
(29:35):
So who's your NFL team then?
I'm very curious.
The New York, the New York Giants.
Okay.
There's no, there's no GreenBay Chicago problem for me.
I am a New York Giants fanthrough and through.
Go blue.
Well, that makes it pretty,pretty easy we're having that conversation
in Chicago then becausethey're pretty vicious fans up there
when it comes down to their loyalty.
Yeah, my wife is very much aChicago Bears fan, so I still have
(29:59):
to deal with the, that rivalryto some extent.
Yeah.
I'm sorry for her.
It's not been good the pastfew years.
No.
She is an Ohio State Buckeye.
Oh.
She's got a lot to celebratethis year.
She does, that's for sure.
Jeff, thanks for coming on the show.
Always a pleasure to talk to you.
And I look forward to seeingyou at Mirtech.
Coming up here in a month or so.
(30:19):
That will be a fun show andit's always good to hang out with
you there.
Once again, thank you fortaking out the time today and talking
with us.
Thanks, Skip.
Thank you to everybody and anyof your listeners that are Murtech.
Make sure you say hi.
I'm sure they will.
A huge thank you to Jeff forsharing his incredible journey from
his early days at Let usentertain you enterprises to revolutionizing
(30:42):
the industry with wow Bao.
His insights on technologyadaptability and drawing inspiration
from outside the restaurantworld are lessons that every hospitality
leader can take to heart.
Now there's no reason for this to.
Be a one and done thought.
Let's continue thisconversation online.
You can leave a message onLinkedIn and you can also reach out
(31:05):
to me via everything social,Skip Kimple or everything Magicate
Tech.
This includes X, Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn.
You can always go to thewebsite@SkipKimple.com for all of
the archived shows and you canalso hear all of these new episodes
on the Magic gatewebsite@magicgate.com now in preparation
(31:26):
for some pretty bigannouncements coming out of the Magic
8 headquarters this month weare going to be having a series of
guests on talking aboutcutting edge innovation around technology
in hospitality.
While many of you might thinkthat some of these concepts are far
off and into the future, Iwill have you know that they are
(31:48):
already in the here and now.
This is why you need to staytuned into the Tech Chef so that
you are always up to date onwhat's coming down the tech pipeline
and the questions your C suitewill be asking of you.
Now, are you ready for that?
FYI, Magic 8 can help bringyou up to speed.
(32:09):
Just visit magic8.com to learnmore and set up a call to discuss
your needs.
Can you believe it is February already?
It seems like we just gotstarted in the new year and already
one month has passed.
Man, time flies when you'rehaving fun.
Right now, it's time to getback to work.
Big month ahead leading intoMarch for Murtech.
(32:31):
Who's going to that?
Drop me a note if you are, asI would love to meet up.
Well, until next Tuesday, staysafe, stay healthy, and stay hungry.
My friends.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!