With 8 million lunches served in 16 cities around the world since it launched two years ago, the food delivery service MealPal has found success by cozying up to the people dishing out the food.
"You've got the challenge of an industry, the restaurant industry, that historically has really low profit margins," said Mary Biggins, MealPal's co-founder. "The average restaurant has a margin of only six percent."
That's been too tight for some Silicon Valley food-delivery startups such as Maple and Munchery to operate (both went under). Postmates struggles to find its own profit within those margins.
The difference for MealPal, Biggins said in an interview on Cheddar, was that it tied its model to restaurants' profitability from the start.
"We want every restaurant on MealPal to be able to say that MealPal is their most valuable partner," she said.
Biggins first had success with Classpass, an app that allowed users to sign up for a bunch of gym classes for an affordable fee. MealPal functions similarly, offering lunch for just $6 from some of the most popular restaurants in a city.
"You need to build something that's going to resonate with consumers, but also work for the supply side as well," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/digging-into-the-world-of-apps).
The holiday season is underway and it's a good time to put your Christmas tree up if you haven't already. But making your home festive can be costly. Cameron Forbes, founder of Forbes Functions, joined Cheddar News to provide tips for decorating on a dime.
Google is moving forward with its previously-announced plan to delete inactive accounts and all associated data.
Federal regulators are investigating Chevrolet Volt hybrid cars after some drivers reported issues including sudden power loss and failure to restart.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell weighed in on interest rates, some of Tesla's cybertrucks have been delivered, Apple and Paramount have reportedly discussed bundling their streaming services together and Panera Bread has reportedly filed to go public.
Accounting firm PWC is facing a $7 million fine from U.S. regulators.
Build-A-Bear Workshop has been one of the most recognizable and beloved toy brands in the world since opening in 1997. Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, spoke with Cheddar News about its plans for the holiday season this year as well as the company's first animated feature film.
Pfizer will stop the development of its twice-daily weight loss pill due to adverse side effects.
Stocks were generally flat after the opening bell on Friday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments in a speech at Spelman College later. Investors are growing optimistic that the central bank is done raising rates and may start cutting next year.
Holiday shopping on a budget.
The network of nearly 4,800 fake accounts was attempting to build an audience when it was identified and eliminated by the tech company, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
