The Delivery Prophets

What happens when ChatGPT becomes your food ordering platform? The answer might transform how restaurants connect with customers forever.
In this week's minisode, Peter catches up with Bites founder Bala Subramaniam on their breakthrough as the first AI native food marketplace integrated into ChatGPT. Discover how restaurants are bypassing traditional delivery apps to offer conversational ordering that keeps control of margins and customer data in-house.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Bala Subramaniam on LinkedIn
Bites
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Sunny Chhina is the CEO and co-founder of The Fat Pizza, a rapidly expanding franchise operation opening one store per week across the UK. Starting in his family's Perfect Pizza business at age 12, Sunny has built a tech-forward delivery empire that combines traditional hospitality values with cutting-edge AI and automation. As chairman of the Pizza and Pasta Association, he shares insights on scaling through franchising, the future of delivery, and how family businesses can embrace innovation while maintaining their core essence.
In this episode, we discuss:
Growing from family pizza shop roots to tech-forward franchise empire
Using AI and automation to optimise delivery operations and menu personalisation
Franchising vs equity models and maintaining control while scaling rapidly
The critical importance of volume and own-driver fleets in delivery success
Balancing traditional hospitality values with modern technology innovation

Links mentioned in this episode:
Sunny Chhina on LinkedIn
Fat Pizza

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In this episode of Delivery Prophets: Tech Smart, JP Then, founder of Slerp, joins us to reveal how restaurants are quietly taking back control – one direct order at a time. From inventing the sourdough doughnut at Crosstown to building tech that lets even small operators access delivery networks once reserved for the giants, JP shows how ‘unbundling’ from the marketplaces is reshaping the game for everyone, not just the big brands.
In this episode, we discuss:
Unbundling delivery platforms and expanding restaurant options
Rise of direct ordering channels and customer data ownership
Technical and operational challenges of delivery integration
Delivery’s shift from resistance to an essential revenue stream
Increasing role of AI and digital efficiency in operations
Future trends: innovation in transport and ongoing digital growth

Links mentioned in this episode:
Connect with JP on LinkedIn
Slerp

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In our second episode of Delivery Prophets: Tech Smart, we’re joined by Bala Subramaniam is the Founder of Bites, the AI-first restaurant marketplace built for POS providers and restaurants to reach diners directly across AI search.
Drawing on his experience at Instacart and Amazon, Bala exposes how aggregator apps took control during the chaos of COVID, driving up costs for both restaurants and families. But change is on the horizon – Bala reveals how AI, decentralisation, and empowered POS systems could give restaurants back their customers and their profits.
In this episode, we discuss:
Post-pandemic power shifting from restaurants to aggregators
How delivery tech is rapidly evolving and reshaping restaurant operations
Current app models remain costly, inefficient and outdated
AI poised to democratise ordering and streamline delivery
Decentralised, POS-connected networks replacing traditional aggregators

Links mentioned in this episode:
Bala Subramaniam on LinkedIn
Bites

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Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi is the founder and CEO of Collectiv Food, a company focused on decarbonisation and automating supply chains for restaurants. Together, we explore the meaning of “value” in delivery – whether through the convenience offered to consumers or the efficiency streamlined for restaurants – and the profound differences between food delivery platforms and wholesale distributors.
In this episode, we discuss:
Redefining value in food delivery services
Comparing restaurant delivery vs wholesale distribution models
Convenience as a key driver for operators and consumers
Technology and automation reshaping food supply chains
Sustainability and decarbonisation in delivery logistics

Links mentioned in this episode:
Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi on LinkedIn
Collectiv Food

Like the show? We’d be hugely grateful if you could help us spread the word by taking 1 minute to leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice. Full instructions at https://www.thedelivery.world/ratingsandreviews