by What are Dark Kitchens?
Dark kitchens are commercial kitchen spaces that are used solely for the preparation of delivery and take-out ordered food. They have no storefront and no dine-in options. Dark kitchens only serve the role of filling delivery orders placed through phone or online apps and platforms. These types of kitchens rose to prominence in the last few years as third-party delivery boomed.
Without the overhead of a traditional dining space, dark kitchens operate at much lower costs than brick-and-mortar restaurants. Rent and real estate are usually the biggest ongoing expenses for restaurants. By eliminating a dining area, dark kitchens can pay significantly lower rents for smaller commercial spaces suited just for food production. This model allows for lower menu prices which can attract more delivery customers.
What are Ghost Kitchens?
Ghost kitchens are similar to dark kitchens but have the added element of housing multiple virtual restaurant brands or “kitchens” under one roof. A single ghost kitchen facility may contain several different virtual restaurant concepts, each with its own brand and menu. Orders come in for each of the kitchen’s brands and the staff collectively works to fulfill all the orders.
This set up raises the efficiency of utilizing one large commercial space and staff by servicing demand from multiple food entities at once. It’s a more scalable model that lets budding food brands test concepts and build customer bases without needing to establish their own unique physical locations first. Popular virtual brands incubated in ghost kitchens can then choose whether to expand on their own later or remain within the facility.
What are Cloud Kitchens?
Cloud kitchens refer specifically to commercial kitchens run by companies whose primary business is leasing out space and services to local restaurants and brands looking to enter the delivery-only market. PBC (Pacific Bagel Company), Kitopi, CloudKitchens and Reef Technology are examples of dedicated cloud kitchen operators.
They develop huge centralized production facilities equipped with separate spaces that can be rented by various food companies. Along with the kitchen areas, they provide utilities, storage and hiring assistance. Delivery fleet logistics are sometimes managed through partnerships as well. This full service approach removes many obstacles for fledgling brands considering a virtual model.
Large investments have created some cloud kitchen facilities with capacities reaching into the hundreds of kitchen stations. Their size allows for efficiencies in overhead costs that can be passed onto client restaurants through competitive rental pricing. This emerging sector acts as infrastructure to propel the expansion of online ordering and delivery-only restaurant concepts nationwide.
Popularity and Challenges of Virtual Kitchen Models
US Dark Kitchens, Ghost Kitchens and Cloud Kitchens offer workable solutions for new restauranteurs and established players to enter off-premise markets and test ideas without major financial commitments. As delivery business grows, all three non-traditional models will likely proliferate further in the coming years. Their popularity also stems from flexibility for chefs chasing entrepreneurial dreams with lower barriers to entry.
However, challenges remain around visibility and discoverability for the many delivery-only brands anonymously operating within ghost and cloud kitchen hubs. Significant advertising and promotional budgets may still be needed to cut through the noise of major third-party delivery apps and sites. Consistent quality control can also pose difficulties across multiple virtual kitchen’s operators sharing one production space.
Food safety regulation will need adaptation to the evolving landscape. Oversight of operations across state lines may bring new jurisdictional issues as these businesses expand geographical reach. As virtual restaurants become a mature sector, best practices for their long term sustainability must still be explored and optimized.
The Future of Virtual Food Production
Though still in the growth phase, virtual commercial kitchen production is revolutionizing how the food delivery industry functions. US Dark Kitchens, Ghost Kitchens and Cloud Kitchens offer data-driven, efficient solutions harnessing technology and centralized infrastructure. Their affordability also allows for hyper-localization, experimentation and agility that traditional restaurants lack.
As demand for online ordering grows exponentially with each passing year, the future appears bright for these non-traditional concepts. More sophisticated synergies between kitchen facilities, delivery companies and ordering platforms will likely emerge to streamline every link in the customer experience chain. The impact of COVID-19 has turbocharged this evolution with many predicting brick and mortar models integrate virtual arms in some capacity going forward. While raising challenges, virtual food production models are here to stay and reshape how Americans access and enjoy restaurant meals at home.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public Source, Desk Research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
About Author - Ravina Pandya
Ravina Pandya,a content writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemicals and materials, etc. With an MBA in E-commerce, she has expertise in SEO-optimized content that resonates with industry professionals. LinkedIn Profile
