How cloud kitchens are the future of the food industry?

Popular folklore dictates that people believed that food came from the heavens. They weren’t too wrong, for food these days does comes from the ‘cloud’.

The concept of cloud kitchens is perhaps as monumental in the food industry as the very discovery of fire.  Our food consumption has witnessed a drastic change, leading to a flourishing foodservice industry. We have gone from wholesome home-cooked meals to dining out on special occasions. That paved way for dining out once a week to ordering in thrice a week. Convenience trumped at every level.

UAE has seen extensive growth in the restaurant industry in the past few years and just when we thought that’s all, the influx of cloud kitchens proved us wrong! A cloud kitchen is essentially a restaurant kitchen that accepts delivery only orders and has no dining-in facility. Customers place their orders online through the online food aggregator apps or the restaurant website or app. According to PRIME (POSist Restaurant Industry & Market Evolution) Report UAE Edition, 70% of dine-in players are willing to invest in cloud kitchens.

What is a cloud kitchen?

A cloud kitchen, also knows as a ghost kitchen or dark kitchen refers to a place where food is prepared and delivered at the doorstep by taking orders on calls or via online platforms. This implies that cloud kitchens rely on third-party delivery platforms such as Zomato, Uber Eats and Talabat.

In simple terms, these cloud kitchens act as large kitchens for restaurants to prepare food and keep ready for pickup by a customer or delivery personnel. Various restaurants can operate from the same ghost kitchen, either working from the same facility or breaking the space into separate areas.

How are cloud kitchens different from restaurants?

Ghost kitchens do not provide dine-in services. They mainly prepare food and package it for delivery.

Unlike these virtual kitchens, restaurants are traditional brick and mortar outlets that have their distinct branding. Restaurants also need to focus on ambience and service.

Nowadays people are busy at their work and most of the people mindset is changed to go and spend their time in restaurants for their food.so Food delivery companies like Zomato, Uber Eats, Talabat provides food deliveries for their customers from their favourite places.

Growth Of The Food Delivery Segment And Cloud Kitchens In UAE

Considering the growing demand for online food delivery, restaurant operators in the UAE are now preferring to open a cloud kitchen instead of an expensive good looking restaurant. The low cost of experimentation and lower risks further encourage both new as well as established restaurateurs to venture into the cloud kitchen business.

On the other side, several cloud kitchen operators and Kitchen as a service (KaaS) providers have also come up in UAE that provides the infrastructure, equipment, and utilities to facilitate the operations.

Why Cloud Kitchens Have Become The Most Favored Restaurant Format

Low costs, saving on the overheads, and lower risks along with the growing demand have made cloud kitchens one of the most favoured restaurant formats.

1. Savings On Infrastructure

The infrastructure cost for opening a restaurant is quite high but the cloud kitchen concept has helped in controlling it. Considering the high rentals for a good restaurant located in Dubai, cloud kitchens have an edge over the brick and mortar restaurants as the cost of real estate drops down significantly. One can modify this kitchen unit as per the requirements for optimizing the food-making process.

2.Less Risk, High Profit

Cloud kitchen is a low-risk yet high-profit business. The initial investment required for starting a cloud kitchen is quite less as compared to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. This makes opening a cloud kitchen a low-risk business. It gives restaurant operators the flexibility to experiment and cut down on the overheads, making it a profitable venture.

Cloud kitchens are fast capturing the FnB market in Dubai, and the food delivery sector is expected to grow at a rate of 6% annually and this is set to continue for at least the next five years.

3.Order Easy

Ordering food from cloud kitchens is very easy. They often collaborate with third-party delivery apps or websites or have their own platform where people can place an order from. Ordering food is a common practice in Dubai with more than sixty per cent of people preferring to order food via an app.

4. Faster Delivery

If you have cloud kitchens all over the city the food can be served warm and fast with a much lower delivery time. Cloud kitchens collaborate with food aggregators and delivery apps or websites to deliver food to their customers. This gives them more time to concentrate on preparing the food. Altogether, this makes the delivery service much quicker.

5.Affordable Price

Compare to running a restaurant operating a cloud kitchen is more affordable, where infrastructure and operational costs require a heavy investment. This helps cloud kitchens in the UAE make more profit and set nominal competitive rates, which attracts more customers. They do not compromise on the food quality yet provide a full meal at a nominal cost which people love and keep coming back for!