[stickfigure]

it still costs $15/hr to deliver up to four $10 items that costs $3 to make

It seems like Sprig should have had a major advantage over delivery restaurants though - they didn't have to travel back and forth to the restaurant. With a fixed menu of a few non-heated items, they (presumably) loaded the truck with enough to satisfy the demands of the day and then their only problem is Traveling Salesman.

I don't understand why this isn't a killer model. Delivery restaurants make a living, right?

I'm inclined to believe that the parent comment is right, that the expectations were just too great. Even if the food delivery business was much more profitable than the average restaurant, they still had to support a very expensive VC-built technology team.

Also, I just wasn't that excited about the food. I ordered from Sprig a few times; it was just sandwiches and salads. You can get those within about 50 yards from any office downtown. I'm guessing that delivery restaurants make a living because their food is compelling enough that people are willing to wait an hour. Maybe remarkable food doesn't keep all day on a truck?

[emodendroket]

I find it hard to believe that having to occasionally return to the restaurant to pick up more orders represents such a large percentage of a restaurant's cost.

[stickfigure]

The cost of the delivery driver is amortized across the total number of deliveries the driver makes. If you can double the number of deliveries, you've halved the cost of delivery.

Having to return to a fixed point every 3rd or 4th delivery seems like it would add up.

[beokop]

You're assuming the delivery driver can be kept busy throughout the entire shift. I doubt there's many places where a driver could do a single pickup and then be kept busy for 6-8 hours straight.

[emodendroket]

Can you actually double it? I am not so sure. Even if you could, what percentage of cost does that actually represent?