Uber Eats tightens regulations on ghost restaurants that sell the same product with multiple brands

When using a food delivery service such as Uber Eats, it is said that ``Exactly the same menu is sold at multiple stores such as 'roast beef bowl specialty store XX', 'original roast beef bowl XX', and 'roast beef bowl main store.' I run into situations quite often. Meanwhile, it became clear that Uber Eats has strengthened regulations on ``vehicles that sell the same product under multiple brands''.

Uber Eats to Take Down Thousands of Virtual Brands to Declutter the App - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-eats-to-take-down-thousands-of-virtual-brands-to-declutter-the-app-2e05ca96

Many businesses that operate on Uber Eats have multiple brands. In addition, Uber Eats calls a business format that has a separate brand that operates only on Uber Eats a ' virtual restaurant '. We recommend each business operator to develop restaurants.

How to Launch a Virtual Restaurant | Uber Eats
https://merchants.ubereats.com/jp/en/services/virtual-restaurants/

However, Uber Eats indicates that the use of virtual restaurants is to open a Hawaiian restaurant on Uber Eats, while also launching a separate brand such as a 'fried chicken specialty store' and opening a Hawaiian restaurant at the same time. It recommends 'opening multiple stores to offer different types of products' and does not officially endorse the business style of 'selling the same product under multiple brands.'

The number of businesses that develop virtual restaurants with Uber Eats is increasing year by year, and as of 2023, 8% of all stores will be operated as virtual restaurants. However, John Mullenholz, who oversees the business department of Uber Eats, said, ``(Users) are effectively browsing 12 brands that sell the same menu.This situation leads to a loss of user trust. ``(Uber Eats) is in a situation where anything goes, like in the western pioneer era,'' he said, and contrary to Uber Eats' expectations, ``the number of vendors selling the same product under multiple brands'' is increasing. I admit that In addition, Uber Eats has revealed that it has confirmed the existence of ``a vendor that sells exactly the same burrito with 12 brands'' and ``a vendor that sells exactly the same sandwich with 14 brands'' while hiding the store name.

To remedy the situation, Uber Eats plans to remove 5,000 stores, representing 13% of virtual restaurants operating in North America, from its platform. In addition, the company has updated its guidelines for opening virtual restaurants, stating that 'the virtual restaurant menu must not overlap more than half of the operator's main restaurant menu', and that 'a photo of the 'menu specific to the virtual restaurant' should be 5'. It is also stated that it plans to add a clause such as 'It is necessary to post more than one.' Furthermore, he said, ``Virtual restaurants with an average rating below 4.3 (maximum 5) will be deleted,'' revealing that virtual restaurants will have stricter standards than regular restaurants.