Moe’s Southwest Grill Celebrates 25 Years of Innovation and Record Growth
Moe’s Southwest Grill®, a subsidiary of the GoTo Foods family, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary by hitting a milestone average unit volume (AUV) of $1,235,422, its highest to date and marking four years of continual growth. Moe’s focused its efforts on franchise development, culinary innovation, and enhanced customer engagement through its loyalty program. Since appointing Mike Smith as Chief Brand Officer in October 2024, Moe’s has been on a mission to redefine the fast-casual Mexican dining space, while reinforcing its commitment to quality and creativity.
Smith said, “As we celebrate 25 years in the fast casual business, we are leading Moe’s into a new era of growth. By harnessing our rebel spirit brand positioning and strategically investing in culinary innovation, guest experience, and franchise development, we are positioning Moe’s for sustained success. Our unwavering commitment to unparalleled flavor, a welcoming atmosphere, and continuous improvement will drive our brand forward and create lasting value for our franchisees and customers alike.”
Moe’s growth strategy is fueled by a multi-pronged approach. In the past year alone, 15 new locations opened nationwide, with over 120 more in the pipeline. The brand’s menu has seen exceptional traction through successful limited-time offerings (LTOs) like Birria and Tequila Lime Chicken. In addition, the “Eat Out Loud” campaign will see a new lineup of fresh LTOs, salsas prepared in-house, and high-profile collaborations with brands like Cheez-It and Mike’s Hot Honey. Moe’s is also modernizing its physical spaces and revamping its rewards program to enhance the customer experience and boost customer loyalty. The new Moe Rewards 2.0 introduces a faster path to earning rewards, exclusive member deals, and a premium Gold Tier for top guests.
Learn more about the Moe’s rewards program here: https://www.moes.com/reward
Amazon Unveils Fulfillment Robot Named Vulcan
According to a May 7 blog post by Aaron Parness, Amazon’s director of applied science, the company is introducing Vulcan, a next-generation fulfillment center robot that can “feel” its surroundings, a major shift from the traditionally rigid and unaware industrial machines. Parness said most commercial robots have historically operated without the ability to sense physical contact. This often leads them to either abruptly shut down or power through unexpected interactions. Vulcan, in contrast, incorporates advanced robotics and physical artificial intelligence, allowing it to register and respond to touch.
Parness said in the post, “Vulcan represents a fundamental leap forward in robotics. It’s not just seeing the world, it’s feeling it, enabling capabilities that were impossible for Amazon robots until now.” The company’s fulfillment centers have compartments that would typically be difficult for robots to fit items into. But Parness said, “Vulcan can easily manipulate objects within those compartments to make room for whatever it’s stowing because it knows when it makes contact and how much force it’s applying and can stop short of doing any damage. Vulcan does this using an ‘end of arm tooling’ that resembles a ruler stuck onto a hair straightener, plus force feedback sensors that tell it how hard it’s pushing or how firmly it’s holding something, so it can stay below the point at which it risks doing damage.”
The debut of Vulcan is part of Amazon’s broader push to enhance efficiency and reduce costs through robotics and AI investments. Vulcan’s success in the structured environment of fulfillment centers represents a key advancement in the evolution of functional, touch-sensitive robotics.
Read more here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-vulcan-robot-pick-stow-touch
J.D. Power Study Shows Improvement In Airline Passenger Satisfaction
The newly released J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study shows overall passenger satisfaction has risen by six points compared to 2024, despite domestic air travel being down during the first quarter of 2025. J.D. Power attributes this uptick in satisfaction largely to improvements in the economy/basic economy cabin, where most travelers fly, which saw an eight-point increase in satisfaction. While satisfaction dropped in premium economy and first/business classes, airlines’ frontline staff proved critical in improving the overall travel experience. Friendly, helpful personnel contributed to a nine-point satisfaction gain in the economy segment. Additionally, only a small portion of passengers reported issues, with flight delays being the most frequent problem. Those who experienced a problem reported significantly lower trust and satisfaction, reinforcing the importance of reliability in building brand loyalty.
J.D. Power Senior Managing Director of Travel, Hospitality, Retail, and Customer Service, Michael Taylor, said, “Throughout our one-year study period, we’ve seen a slight decline in both ticket prices and passenger volume, which has helped keep overall passenger satisfaction levels high. But it’s clear that market dynamics are changing and will likely affect passenger experience in the coming weeks and months. Airlines will likely have a tougher year this year, economically, but the key to their longer-term success will be how well they manage economic headwinds without compromising on customer experience.”
Passenger satisfaction remains tightly linked to customer retention and loyalty. Among travelers who rated their flight experience as “perfect,” 81% said they would fly the same airline again compared to just 4% among those who rated it “poor.” The study also highlighted the top-performing airlines in each travel class. JetBlue led in first/business class, Delta topped the premium economy segment for the third year running, and Southwest remained the favorite in economy/basic economy for the fourth year in a row.
Unlock the complete study here: https://www.jdpower.com/business/north-america-airline-satisfaction-study
Original Article Links:
Moe's Southwest Grill® Marks 25th Anniversary with Four Straight Years of Growth
Amazon Introduces First Robot With Sense of Touch
Airline Passenger Satisfaction Improves Slightly as Industry Confronts Economic Headwinds, J.D. Power Finds