Fast food giant Yum Brands to begin taking orders via text message

Fast food company Yum Brands, whose brands include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, announced Wednesday that it has acquired a company that will allow it to take orders through social media and text messages, among other methods.

“Founded in 2016, Tictuk is a privately held company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, that specializes in conversational commerce, a technology solution that allows users to complete orders and interact with brands through a variety of social media and chat channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, SMS, QR codes, and email,” the announcement states.

Yum Brands says the new technology can be used for pickup orders, delivery or in-person dining, and that the test pilot of these features was successful in 900 locations across 35 different countries outside the U.S.

“As we navigate a consumer landscape reshaped by the events of 2020, we continue to intensify our focus on leveraging our scale and reinforcing our growth model with investments in digital and technologies to enhance the customer and employee experience, strengthen restaurant unit economics and enable our brands and franchisees to compete and win in a rapidly changing world,” said David Gibbs, chief executive officer of Yum Brands.

Fast food companies saw an increase in sales in 2020 after many other restaurants were shut down to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Yum Brands had a 45 percent increase in sales in 2020, bringing in a record $17 billion.

The company also made a deal with Beyond Meat last month to expand its chain locations’ plant-based menu items.