Sonic CEO Claims Amazon Could Potentially Kill The Fast Food Industry

Amazon has been making waves in the food industry as of late. Their acquisition of Whole Foods and delivery partnership with Olo are eating into the grocery and food delivery spaces respectively. Now, Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson fears that the fast food industry may be one of the next areas that Amazon threatens.

Photo: Mike Mozart on Flickr

In an interview with Business Insider, Hudson revealed that Sonic is “concerned” about Amazon’s potential to cut into fast food sales. It wouldn’t be through Amazon’s own fast food chain, but through how it’s revolutionizing the food and beverage space. Whole Foods continuing to expand their prepared foods program and Amazon going even deeper into food delivery is cutting into fast food’s sales space. As part of the restaurant industry, fast food traffic has also been shrinking consistently over the past year and a half, adding new pressure onto an already struggling field.

The answer for these chains appears to lie in technology, which can help restaurants stay relevant while increasing their reachable audience. The Sonic CEO has his business working on a new mobile order-and-pay function for the drive-in’s restaurants. Many other fast food giants, like McDonald’s and Starbucks, also have their own technology and apps to keep themselves in the game. Some places also have paired with delivery firms, like Jack in the Box’s recent partnership with Doordash or McDonald’s alliance with UberEats, to make their food even more convenient and accessible.

Despite all that, Hudson feels that Amazon is a continual threat even if chains can keep up with the technology. “Amazon is going to try and figure out … how to use their customer engagement, customer knowledge, and distributions to encroach on anyone’s business they can,” he claims.

One thing’s for sure: fast food chains definitely need to keep a close an eye on Amazon, if they haven’t been already.