Are you planning to start a cloud kitchen business in UAE?
Please have a look through this checklist before you start …
The food delivery market is burgeoning everywhere in the world. According to UAE food delivery statistics, the sector is predicted to develop at a 6 percent annual rate for the next five years. Many foodservice companies in the UAE are now transitioning to an online delivery or cloud kitchen model, which is proven to be more viable, due to rising rentals, evolving client trends, and tight profit margins of a typical restaurant.
What is meant by Cloud Kitchen alias Dark Kitchen?Cloud Kitchens are primarily delivery-only restaurants, which do not offer a dine-in facility. Online food aggregators such as Talabat, DoorDash, and Deliveroo make it easy for people to order from the restaurants via their websites, mobile apps, or hotline numbers. They are also known by Virtual kitchens, dark kitchens, and even ghost kitchens.
The delivery-only model involves a low cost, high profitability, and low risk. A cloud kitchen is less expensive to set up than a traditional restaurant with an opportunity for new experiments. New variations of the food delivery business models have come out such as multi-brand kitchens, aggregator-managed kitchen spaces, or coworking spaces for different experiments.
Setting Up A Cloud Kitchen Business In The UAE
Cloud kitchens are one of the most profitable food business formats to set up. They require low set-ups costs, and can easily be replicated. They do not require a storefront at a prime location or front-of-house staff.
Follow these checklists before starting a cloud kitchen business in the UAE.
1. Location and Property
Renting a quality space for your restaurant is not necessary to start a cloud kitchen. One can operate a business from just 250-300 Sq Ft of space, cutting the cost of renting a high-quality location significantly.
Setting up a ghost kitchen can be done in a variety of locations, one of which is residential neighborhoods. They are often located near market backsides or in parking lots that are usually unused. Operators can also utilize shared kitchen space to save on the initial investment.
Before launching a cloud kitchen, you must first obtain the necessary licenses and certifications. Having all of the essential permits and licenses in place will save you time and money in the long run.
In order to launch a cloud kitchen business in the UAE, you'll need a Trade License and a Food License. Before launching a meal delivery business, make sure you have these in place.
3. Kitchen equipment and PackingThe type of kitchen equipment you get for your kitchen is determined by the cuisine you serve. However, a cooking range, refrigerator, oven, cutting knives, and other important kitchen equipment are required to get a cloud kitchen up and running. Another important aspect of having a food delivery business is packing. No matter how excellent the food is, if it is not packaged properly, the entire customer experience will be ruined, and your brand's reputation will suffer. To ensure proper packing of your food, invest in high-quality plastic containers, cartons, spoons, and other packaging materials that match industry requirements.
4. StaffBecause a typical cloud kitchen business does not include Front-of-House operations, you won't need a large crew to run it. With just a few staff, you can quickly start a cloud kitchen business. If you operate many brands out of the same kitchen, the same chef can prepare cuisine for all of them. It is best to start the firm with a small crew and expand as the number of incoming orders grows.
5. Generating online orders and the Marketing
The downside to a cloud kitchen is that its marketing relies solely on online and telephonic orders. This means that you must spend heavily on marketing, in the beginning, because you don't have any way to create brand recall. You need to advertise your food delivery brand heavily online because there are no storefronts, display boards, or signage.
Sign up for online food aggregators, to make it easier for customers that are looking for your restaurant’s cuisine.
Paid marketing should be used to increase visibility, but know that paid marketing will charge a higher percentage per order. Despite this higher cost, the visibility gained compensates for the loss of profit in many cases.
It is always a good idea to focus on Social Media Marketing when getting your Cloud Kitchen off the ground. Create restaurant pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and make sure to post enticing pictures of your food. Also, consider running paid ads on social media platforms that will reach a broader audience and generate online orders.
Utilizing the right keywords and phrases in your website content, as well as ensuring it is mobile-ready will enable you to rank higher on search engines such as Google.
Personalized emails and SMS campaigns can be used to retain customer loyalty.
6. TechnologyTechnology is a crucial part of any business. An online ordering system helps to make running your own restaurant much easier. These are the technology requirements to set up your cloud kitchen.
Invest in a cloud kitchen POS system, so that your restaurant can be found easily on various online food ordering platforms. The POS will automatically keep track of important information, like the dishes that are ordered through each platform and the ingredients that are needed.
The best way to maximize efficiency is through online food aggregators. The next step in the process is to build a website or mobile app for accepting orders and incorporate user-friendly features tailored toward making the ordering process efficient.
To manage telephonic orders, create an integrated Call Center panel. This will streamline all the telephonic orders, and log them directly into the POS. You can also access customer details and ordering history because they are already logged in.
Integrated Kitchen Display Systems make the order preparation process in a fast-paced, "cloud kitchen" much smoother. The moment you receive an order, it is automatically updated if the KDS is used in the cloud kitchen. KDS also identifies anything that could slow or delay the process, such as capacity or equipment failures, and make adjustments accordingly.
Integrated Delivery System For Food Delivery: In-house delivery will help you assign orders to a driver, which can be done quickly by their location and availability. You can then track the order status and automatically notify your customers through SMS updates.
An inventory management system helps to keep your food costs in check, by tracking daily stock intake and anticipating when to order more. Cloud kitchens use this system to ensure they can keep a balance between inventory-in-hand and minimizing food wastage.
Many businesses are now adopting the format of a cloud kitchen, as it reduces operational costs and has many opportunities. Restaurants in the UAE prefer this concept, as they now have more opportunities to open stores. So, we can affirm that cloud kitchen is one of the trending topics in the f and b industries.
Since the dark kitchen concept is booming the need for the cloud kitchen interior fit-out is also flourishing. As a result, the food & beverages interior fit-out companies in Dubai are now focussing on the latest trends and designs in dark kitchen interior fit out.
So if you are planning to start a business cloud kitchen, consult with the best interior fit-out company in Dubai, UAE that provides services such as f & b interior design & fit out.
We, Capstone interior design company is a leading interior fit-out contractor in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 2014, Capstone is a privately-owned interior design company with a noble history built on quality and integrity. We provide a comprehensive selection of office interior solutions, and as a result, we are quickly becoming the leading commercial fit-out company in Dubai. Because of our competent professional team's ability to provide high-quality projects on time, our firm is regarded as a leading retail interior fit-out company.
Feel free to contact us and our experts will guide you
