The food delivery revolution has changed the face of culinary life. Like it or not, takeout is a permanent feature of our dining scene – never again will calling a number and waiting 20 minutes be perceived as a big hurdle. A dizzying array of food snaps into existence at the touch of a smartphone app, delivered to your kitchen table right there and then – or, if you prefer, brought straight to your door. A Grubhub survey suggests that this trend continues to grow, with the estimate that online food delivery orders will see a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent through 2024. Keeping pace is the clever and clandestine ‘ghost kitchen’ concept.
What are Ghost Kitchens?
Goodbye to the familiar brick-and-mortar restaurant with its welcoming atmosphere and warm waitstaff. The concept behind ghost kitchens – also called ‘virtual kitchens’ or ‘cloud kitchens’ – is radically different: delivery-only restaurants that dispense with the storefront altogether and instead use existing commercial kitchens to prepare food only for delivery. Where a regular restaurant focuses primarily on the eating experience – ambiance, seating, and waitstaff – the ghost kitchen is essentially a culinary production studio designed to prepare food in the most efficient way possible for the consumer who prefers to eat on the go.
A Recipe for Restaurant Success: The Benefits of Ghost Kitchens
For restaurateurs, this represents an interesting alternative to the entrenched but often risky model of the traditional restaurant, and it’s worth taking a closer look at some of the major advantages ghost kitchens have to offer
Lower overhead costs
One of the biggest benefits of ghost kitchens comes from the drastically lowered overhead costs. Since no prime area is necessary or expensive furniture, décor, and waiters, much less labor, are required to set up a ghost kitchen, it is not a big investment (The average cost of starting a restaurant is $800,000 – National Restaurant Association, restaurateurs can start from small and test their different concepts before scaling the business up to the level of a full-service restaurant.
Petri Dish for Innovation
Ghost kitchens’ lower cost and barrier to entry provide an incubator for culinary innovation. Restaurateurs can try out new menu concepts, experiment with different cuisines, and see what ‘sticks’ with diners, all without risking a hefty investment in a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant. If an idea finds some traction, it can be honed and refined prior to opening a traditional restaurant with a dining room to accompany the menu.
Wider Reach To Customers
Since ghost kitchens can connect with multiple third-party delivery platforms, their owners inherently gain access to a much wider pool of customers. These customers actively use these delivery sites for their food requirements and can considerably improve the ghost kitchen’s reach and potential. A recent study by Statista shows that online food delivery users will likely exceed>3.25 billion worldwide by 2027. That’s a lot of potential customers.
Want to learn more about the growing influence of ghost kitchens in the restaurant industry? Read our blog on ‘How Ghost Kitchens are Revolutionizing the Restaurant Industry’
Beyond the Benefits
Challenges and Considerations. Although ghost kitchens are an attractive proposition for restaurant owners, some caveats should be raised:
Lack of Brand Visibility
Ghost kitchens lack brand visibility without a storefront location. Customer foot traffic is a significant way for patrons to naturally discover new restaurants and become invested in their brand without spending money. This lack of brand visibility forces ghost kitchens to promote their brand heavily online (for example, through social media engagement, influencers, and online advertising).
Competition is fierce
Ghost kitchen activity is accelerating, and the market is filling up with established and new players. Standing out will depend on having a unique food concept, delivering high-quality food at the top level, and mastering visibility on delivery platforms. Ghost kitchens will have to identify menus that travel well, ensure that quality is retained in the transition from kitchen to end-user, and make sure the margins are adequate within the competitive landscape, which is the delivery app ecosystem. (We have you covered! Read our blog on “How to Market your Ghost Kitchen for Success” to get your ghost kitchen marketing off the ground).
The Future of Ghost Kitchens
A Culinary Landscape in Transformation. The future of ghost kitchens is bright, and as technological advancements accelerate at an unprecedented rate, it is reasonable to envision a scenario where kitchens are equipped with cutting-edge automation and robotics that could chop vegetables, stir sauces, and even flip burgers. This could potentially enhance efficiency and decrease costs for professionals servicing such job roles. Moreover, these kitchens could pave the way for driverless delivery vehicles transporting food directly to the client’s doorstep.
