Cloud kitchen, Ghost kitchen, Virtual kitchen, Satellite kitchen, Dark kitchen, etc……
any other similar name calls to this new concept:
For a customer, it is a deliver only restaurant.
For a business, it is a model where food is prepared in any kitchen, shared, or designated, for delivery only. No offering of take-outs or dine-ins. Orders are received only through ordering-enabled websites, mobile app., or food aggregators.
Cloud kitchens came into existence after the ejection of CEO Uber, Travis Kalanick in 2016; the idea was to find a way to step into the food business with lower expenses.
In contrast from the traditional restaurants, Cloud kitchens are economically more profitable as;
• Location, Location and Location are not the top three requirements: Since the orders are for delivery only. To run a restaurant instead one needs to own kitchen or go for a shared kitchen in low cost and delivery centric location.
• No Dine-in Area: Less capital at the start with no need of furniture or decorations and less overheads from fewer staff needs.
• No Expensive Crockery and Utensils: Equipment used in typical restaurants i.e serving trays or cutlery to serve and eat in are no longer needed.
• No service staff: Security guards, Waiters, Manager, Cashier, etc. are no longer needed. Some Clouds kitchens share business space with other cloud kitchens or food brands, this creates another cost saving opportunity of sharing the staff.
• Online only solutions: They reach customers throughout the city by social apps.
• Adjustable menu: Can have unique menu items every day. Cloud kitchens can experiment their menu with different costs and availability of fresh produce.
• Multiple brands: Several menus can be offered by using a same shared kitchen as they can even partner up with restaurants or other home-based kitchens to drive more sales and profits.
COVID-19 gave rise to many new concepts and urged people to adopt new ways of living which might boom in the future world; Cloud kitchens is one of them, although the idea aged back long it gained popularity in recent times of social distancing.
Graph below shows the cloud industry growth analysis and forecast.
Around 60% of physical restaurants fall flat in their beginning year and 80% shutter down before their fifth, as compared to this Cloud kitchens provide opportunities to people with limited capital to set up a unique offering for their customers. The bottom line is that through boosting credibility, visibility, and sales Cloud kitchens are in a win-win situation.