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Let’s head to the back of the kitchen to look a little deeper at dark kitchens and the key to making it work.
One idea with many names
Dark kitchens, ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, virtual concepts: there are a lot of different ways to say it but whatever you prefer, refers to a menu that is prepared inside an existing restaurant or kitchen but its only sold through a delivery service. Have you ever been scrolling through Deliveroo and found a takeaway that you’ve never seen around town before? Yes, that’s a dark kitchen.
Optimising space and equipment to maximise revenue: the logistics of dark kitchens
How many other ways can you think of that a side project allows you to reach new customers, offers different options to your existing clientele and make more money without any huge initial investments? Dark kitchens are a logistic dream! You’ve already got the kitchen, the equipment you need and staff that are already being paid on shift while the delivery is taken care by external drivers through Deliveroo, JustEat, UberEats or whoever you prefer to work with. You are basically just making the most out of what you already own.
Whether you are operating out of a hotel kitchen or from a restaurant that closes its doors between lunch and dinner, a dark kitchen allows you to optimise dead times without increasing operational and labour costs.
Dark kitchens and Coronavirus
COVID-19 has already had a terrible impact on restaurants and the hospitality industry as a whole, now more than ever it is vital to be able to adapt and succeed. Though restaurants are slowly reopening it may be time to consider pushing food deliveries as a strategy going forwards.
Even if you are already offering takeaway options, no matter how much somebody might love your restaurant, there’s only so often that they will order the same type of food. By giving the customer more options through separate menus, you can reach potential new customers whilst making it more likely your current ones will purchase from you more frequently.
How to get started
Choose your flavour
So, now you’re familiar with dark kitchens and why they can help your business, you’re probably wondering just how do you get started and create a dark kitchen? Truthfully, the best way comes down to your equipment and the capability you have of producing different cuisines. Love Mexican food, go down that route. More partial to Japanese? That’s your answer. You should do what you’re comfortable with. Look at what you currently have and some foods you’re confident with and go from there.
Creating a business
No business can grow without getting the behind-the-scenes up to scratch first. Yes, with a restaurant the food is your bread and butter (pun intended) but without a good brand name and attention-grabbing logo, why would any potential customer give you a chance?
Getting marketing right!
You’ve decided the cuisine you’re going to be working with, thought of a really catch name and gotten yourself a great, bold logo to make you stand out from the crowd, now what? You have to get your marketing plan right. You can go whatever route you want to: be the super professional restaurant or playful and cheeky with what you put online; the important thing is that you are online!
Pheby Food Concepts Consulting
At Pheby Food Concepts, we offer operations consulting services that will help you produce a successful brand, develop a creative menu and get your dark kitchen up and running. PFC Consulting has renowned franchise consulting programmes that are also very beneficial when coming up with a concept that can be replicated and delivered to more than one premise.
Dark kitchen opportunities
If starting a new brand sounds a bit much and you want a quick fix, why not steal a dark kitchen? All with proven track records, Pheby Food Concepts Group has a portfolio of dark kitchens available that you could incorporate into your kitchen. Get in touch: we’ll help your turn your vision into a reality.
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