Off premise dining has become the new popular thing especially after the 2020 pandemic. This has led to an increased demand of new food delivery services and also cloud kitchens.
It is expected that the global market for cloud kitchens will reach to about 71.4 billion in 2027. From the recent studies it is evident that the majority of restaurant owners will prefer a cloud kitchen over a traditional restaurant space.
There are a number of reasons why cloud kitchens are preferred over traditional restaurants. Some of the common reasons are:
- Increased efficiency
- Lower Costs
- Higher Efficiency
- Ability to test different things
- More focus on Cooking
Let’s dive deep into the concept of cloud kitchens in Riyadh. We will talk about the benefits of cloud kitchens, What they are and how cloud kitchens have revolutionized the food industry in the past few years.
What is a Cloud Kitchen?
As known as virtual kitchen or ghost kitchen is a business model in which food is prepared and delivered without having a physical store front or dine in area.
Restaurants that are looking to expand to new locations usually prefer cloud kitchens. This allows them to test out different menus and choose the best offerings before opening an actual restaurant.
Some restaurants exist for the sole purpose of food delivery. These restaurants are known as delivery only restaurants and operate through a cloud kitchen.
A cloud kitchen usually is a large facility where many different restaurants rent out kitchens. It means that in a single cloud kitchen there might be many different restaurants operating at the same time.
Benefits of Cloud Kitchen
Now that you know what a cloud kitchen is its time to take a step further and talk about some of the main benefits of cloud kitchens.
Many famous restaurants such as THE HALAL GUYS started out through a cloud kitchen initially. You can choose to operate through different cloud kitchens in different locations.
1. Lower Operational Costs
The first and probably the most important benefit of a cloud kitchen is its lower operational costs. Operational costs have the highest percentage among all the costs of a restaurant.
As you do not have to maintain a physical store front you can save on rent, utilities, and maintenance costs. The only costs that you incur when you operate through a cloud kitchen are the costs of chefs and the cost of cloud kitchen.
The cost of renting a kitchen space in cloud kitchen are still very low compared to renting your own restaurant. You also don’t require dinnerware, decorations, and branded signage, which can be costly.
2. The Ability to Experiment
When you are not worried about your costs going high you get a chance to test out new ideas and dishes. Weather you are an established restaurant or a startup you can use cloud kitchens to your advantage.
If you are an established restaurant you can use cloud kitchen services to expand to new locations and experiment with different offers for different demographics.
If you are a startup restaurant owner you can use cloud kitchens to test your new menu, gather customer reviews and build your brand awareness.
3. Increased Efficiency
In a cloud kitchen your sole focus is on preparing food for delivery. You are not worried about maintaining a store front neither are you worried about giving your customers a great dine in experience. This allows you to focus all your resources on food preparation which contributes to increased efficiency of your business.
The rest of the issues such as Water, Gas and equipment repair are all taken care of by the cloud kitchen owners. Cloud kitchens also allow you to operate multiple brands from a single kitchen. This allows you to prepare ingredients in bulk that would be needed to prepare meals for the different brands.
4. Scalability
The concept of cloud kitchen revolves around providing ease to restaurant owners and cutting costs. The next advantage of a cloud kitchen is scalability.
Consider this if demand for your food increases in a traditional brick and mortar restaurant you will have to rent additional area to accommodate more people. You will have to invest in new furniture, lightning and maybe even new waiters and staff. Not to forget your rent will increase significantly.
With cloud kitchen you can easily adapt to changing customer preferences. If the demand for your food increases all you will need to do is probably hire an extra chef. You don’t have to incur huge costs to scale your restaurant. This allows restaurant owners to quickly adapt to changes in demand.
5. High Quality Food
Traditional restaurants are focused on many different things at the same time. They have to provide a good customer experience, maintain a store front, ensure that incoming customers are accommodated and that the tables are cleaned before new customers arrive. All this adds a lot of management costs to the restaurant.
With cloud kitchens as we discussed earlier you are not worried about any of those things. Your sole focus is on food. This allows you to add more value to the food your offer and cook the most high-quality food for your customers.
6. Flexible Menu Offerings
With the cloud kitchen model you can easily mix and change your menus according to the demand of the customers. You do not need to print our physical menus anymore. All you have to do is update your menu with the food delivery service online.
If you run out of some ingredients you can easily hide those foods in your menu or replace them with something else. Changing up your menu is now just a matter of minutes with cloud kitchens.
7. Location
With a physical restaurant you need to buy or rent a space in locations which are crowded. With cloud kitchens you do not have to do that.
Cloud kitchens can operate from almost any location as long as the delivery service you are using offers pickup in that location. Cloud kitchens can operate in basements of a building, rooftops and even parking lots. All you need is just a space and equipment that you will use to cook your delicious food.
This is especially great for startups who have a tight budget but have amazing food to offer.
8. Support for Back -End Operations
Backend operations such as partnering with food delivery service providers are usually done for you by the cloud kitchen staff. They work with many restaurant owners and are usually familiar with the trends in the location.
They will provide you support regarding the best delivery service providers and inventory management. As more focus is given to efficiency they will also provide you with the best equipment that can boost your efficiency.
Conclusion
Cloud kitchens have a ton of benefits compared to physical restaurants. It can be a great opportunity for those who have a tight budget but want to start their own food business.
Cloud kitchens can also be a great opportunity to open up franchises in different locations. With lower costs you can test different items in different locations and make informed decisions.
While choosing a cloud kitchen it is important to have the knowledge about the prices to rent the kitchens and also the location where you are renting the kitchen. You should be aware of the different food delivery service providers in the location and also their prices.
Study your customers before opting for cloud kitchen model. Do you customers prefer dine in or takeaway? Which apps your customers use to order food? Questions like this will help you choose the best cloud kitchen for your business.
FAQ’s
What is a Cloud Kitchen?
In cloud kitchens restaurants utilize a shared kitchen space for the purpose of food preparation and delivery. There is no option for dine in with cloud kitchens
Are cloud kitchens a good idea?
Yes, cloud kitchens can help you save costs such as labor costs, rent costs and infrastructure costs such as painting, furniture and lightning.
Is Cloud kitchen expensive?
When compared with traditional physical restaurants cloud kitchens can help you save more than 66% of your costs.