People love to try different cuisines, but they are not able to order at their favourite restaurants all the time. Only a handful of restaurants have opened franchises around the world. The rest of them struggle to expand their businesses internationally. Cloud kitchen makes their job easier. Cloud kitchen is a popular topic for entrepreneurs and startups. Cloud kitchen is an innovative technology that allows local restaurants to be globalized.
New restaurants and startups are opening cloud kitchens around the globe as delivery, and food ordering apps become more popular. What is a cloud kitchen? It's a basic kitchen that receives orders from customers and delivers them on time to a restaurant in another country or state.
It is not intended to be used as a sitting or resting place. Customers can choose to have their food prepared or order home delivery. Cloud kitchen is a vast topic. We'll be discussing how to build a cloud-based kitchen platform such as Kitopi in the UAE.
Kitopi Kitchen: Introduction
Kitopi, a cloud kitchen based in Dubai, is one of the most well-known. Many world-famous restaurants use it to sell their products in Dubai and the UAE. Kitopi was founded in 2018 and provided food for many during the Covid19 epidemic. The concept of cloud kitchens was also popularized in Dubai, which is still very much in demand there. Kitopi is the perfect solution to your question about what cloud kitchen you can use.
Kitopi is not the only option in the UAE. Cloud Kitchens and REEF are also popular options. Kitopi raised $415million last year from global investors such as SoftBank Group Corp. Kitopi is targeting hundreds of restaurants in Dubai and around the world to offer customers their favourite cuisines.
They can receive orders, manage delivery, and adjust their business operations through the platform. Kitopi Kitchen receives an onboarding fee from all restaurants that wish to connect. The platform also charges a 10% royalty fee to different restaurant companies. Kitopi Kitchen's business model is this.
What's Cloud Kitchen?
Cloud kitchens are virtual kitchens that allow you to create a menu and deliver it. Cloud kitchens can be started at a low cost, have high customer demand and are easy to access with your user data.
Cloud kitchen prepares meals based on orders placed by customers via its digital platform. Cloud kitchen has the advantage that it does not require additional facilities such as dining services or parking spaces. This is a major benefit over traditional restaurants. Because it is affordable, the owners can offer high-quality meals at a low price to their customers and, in turn, get a great increase in food delivery business.
What's Kitopi, and how profitable is it to invest in the cloud-based kitchen business?
Kitopi is a UAE-based company. Kitopi has the required kitchen infrastructure and an official app that allows other restaurants to open delivery-only outlets.
Kitopi's market value is estimated to be more than 1.2 billion US dollars. Online kitchens are more lucrative than ever. This business is also profitable for Kitopi and many other cloud-based kitchen platforms.
The infographic below will help you understand the future potential of the business.
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Cloud Kitchens: Why are they so popular?
A study found that the global cloud kitchen market was valued at $29.4 billion in 2020. According to another study, it is projected to reach $112.7 billion by 2030. Cloud kitchens have seen a significant increase in popularity over the past few years due to their low-cost infrastructure and high margins. Cloud kitchens are free to use online and sometimes even by phone. There are no overheads for staff or dining.
Professional cooks and the kitchen are essential to food preparation. A third party can take delivery, which saves owners money in most cases. Even if the chef takes the orders, the delivery costs are much lower than renting a restaurant with staff.
What does a cloud kitchen do?
These are the business stages that will help you understand how this business model works from start to finish.
Stage 1 - Taking orders via mobile apps
Restaurants and kitchens can place orders through third-party or exclusive food ordering apps. Kitchens receive a commission for each order that is delivered using non-exclusive delivery apps.
This reduces profits and gives them the option to get their app from a software company. They can avoid giving away commissions on every order by having an exclusive food ordering app development.
Stage 2 - Preparing meals based on customers' orders
Restaurants prepare meals according to orders placed by customers via food ordering apps. To ensure that their customers receive high-quality meals, the staff of the restaurant or kitchen follow strict hygiene guidelines.
Stage 3 - Packing the meals
Each restaurant or kitchen will have a different packaging strategy after the food is prepared. This allows them to create a distinct brand impression for their customers. To provide a better dining experience, staff follow all the packaging guidelines.
Stage 4 - Delivering food to the address of the customer
Restaurants and kitchens may partner with delivery companies or deliver them fast to their customers.
A custom app can be created for restaurants that wish to offer delivery services. A complete app allows them to offer their customers all the services they desire.
There are many online models of kitchens that you can choose from. We will explain each one in the next section.
The most popular models of cloud kitchens
Let's look at the best options to start your online restaurant. This section will help you understand all models and make a decision.
This blog will help you understand more about online kitchen models. We also have four other online kitchen models, which we will discuss below.
Standalone Kitchen
This model allows the business to take orders online and prepare meals. This category typically has only 10-15 items on the food menu.
Owners can improve their taste by limiting their menu and focusing on one dish, such as pizzas with many toppings or burgers with different fillings.
Cloud restaurants
This model allows brands to work in existing restaurants' kitchens. It uses its infrastructure to prepare dishes according to the customers' requests.
Restaurants that provide their infrastructure make contracts or rent it to brands. This model is also beneficial to the cloud restaurant industry.
Brands can save money on utensils and furniture.
Read More: What is GCP (Google Cloud Platform) and How Does it Work?
Co-working cloud kitchen
Many online restaurants can operate from one location under the co-working model. This model allows for sharing a separate kitchen among all online restaurants.
Each brand rents the infrastructure and size of the kitchen to the mutual.
Aggregator Cloud kitchen
This is an extended version of the co-working model. The aggregator model provides the infrastructure for restaurants that only need to prepare food for delivery.
Look at the top online restaurant platforms to learn more about their business models. Choosing the right platform will help you start your business quickly.
Top best cloud kitchen platforms
You can find the best online restaurant platforms to help you understand how this business operates.
- Next bite
Restaurants can now go online with the Nextbite platform. It offers a variety of food options for restaurants and provides training for registered kitchen staff.
- Kitchen United
It works in two ways. It provides a workspace for staff from various online kitchen brands. It also provides POS systems for other kitchen businesses, which help them run their business efficiently.
- Franklin Junction
The brand offers "host kitchen" services to help restaurants grow their businesses. These services include data and analytics features that help restaurants analyze their sites, match their kitchen infrastructure to their competitors, and provide digital marketing services.
- Cloud Kitchens
Ghost kitchen startup. This allows restaurants to use the kitchen space to create delivery-only menu items and run their businesses. Restaurants can use the brand to explore other food options and grow their business.
They are found in densely populated areas and have better records and more delivery orders.
- Reef Technology
ParkJockeyGlobal is the brand's Miami headquarters. There are approximately 5,000 parking spaces in North America.
Reef Company uses these locations to host online restaurants in various areas.
- Virtual
Virtuarant can offer many different cuisines through the establishment of multiple chains. Virtual allows restaurants to form partnerships that allow them to manage their staff and different types of equipment.
You can read the next section if you are interested in starting your digital kitchen platform.
How do you start a cloud-based kitchen platform like Kitopi?
This section will provide information on the requirements and ways to start a cloud kitchen business like Kitopi.
This section is broken down into technical and operational requirements to provide more clarity when starting your business.
A. Cloud kitchen operation needs
Let's look at what you need to do to run your business beyond the digital realm. This section will provide the necessary information to run your restaurant if you are interested in opening your restaurant.
- Localization
It is important to have a location for the business. Without a kitchen location, a cloud kitchen app won't work. App developers and owners need to know where their target audience is located.
It is important to know the local eating habits. Non-veg restaurants can't be served in a location where there isn't a demand. You should choose your target area.
- License
A proper license is required to operate your cloud kitchen. You don't need to provide your customers with a table or space to sit. The license is an essential part of the kitchen ecosystem.
Customers often cannot reach the kitchen or outlet where the food is prepared. They review the license to assess the reliability and safety of the kitchen.
- Equipment for kitchen and packing
You will need a variety of kitchen equipment to prepare larger dishes. It is better to invest in the equipment first.
After your food business makes profits, you can increase your budget. You can start by investing in equipment such as a refrigerator, stove, oven, and cooking utensils.
- Kitchen staff
It is necessary to hire kitchen staff for associated restaurants. This could be difficult if you are willing to serve famous brands like KFC, Domino's, McDonald's or KFC.
These companies may have secrets they are reluctant to share with the public. These factors also affect the cost of cloud kitchens, such as how much you have to pay for chefs and cooks who are part of your business.
B. Technical requirements for a cloud kitchen company
Once you have set up the operational components of your business, it is possible to make your business available for digital platforms.
- POS System
Your business can benefit from a point-of-sale system to increase sales and improve customer satisfaction. The POS accepts orders from various social media platforms and keeps real-time order records.
This system will show you what works best for your business. It will check out the online sources of massive traffic to your platform and order food.
- Software for ordering online
You can choose not to have your online ordering software. For delivery, online orders made using third-party software will be charged 12%-18% and 18%-25%, respectively.
It would be better to have your app for ordering food so that you can outsource reliable software providers.
- Food delivery system
You have two options for delivering meals to customers. You can either become a partner in third-party delivery companies like Uber food or hire delivery men to deliver meals from your restaurant.
You may wonder which option is best for you. It is better to work with third-party delivery companies initially. You can hire delivery men to speed up and lower your delivery costs as you grow your business.
- Inventory management
Inventory management is essential for any food business. The same applies to cloud kitchens. Intelligent inventory management systems will allow you to track your inventory usage and even let you order additional inventory as needed. It will also help you reduce waste and manage your food costs.
Technology plays an important role in the smooth operation of a cloud-kitchen company.
Read More: Cloud Platform Cost understanding for AWS, Microsoft Azure, & Google Cloud
A manual for Developing Apps like Kitopi
This brief guide will give you an overview of the food delivery app development stages. It will be easier to track your cloud kitchen project if you know all the steps involved in app development.
Step 1 - Use a Restaurant Management System to track your kitchen business
Step 2 - Select an inventory management system to manage your kitchen stock.
Step 3 - Deciding on the app UI
Step 4 - Create an online portal to place food orders
Step 5 - Selecting from a wide range of payment options
Step 6 - Creating a forum to solicit feedback from customers
Step 7 - Viewing the order history of customers to view their preferred dishes and recommend them for future orders
Step 8 Customers can place advance orders for birthdays, parties, and other celebrations.
Step 9: Adding the minimum order value feature
Step 10 -Time-based menu modifications
Step 11 - Adding SSL Certification to allow encrypted connections
Step 12 -Using Point of Sale (POS) systems like Shopify, Lightspeed, and others.
Step 13 -Customer relationship management (CRM) to improve customer experience
Step 14 -Do an app test to identify any flaws or drawbacks in the app.
Step 15 -Promote your kitchen business to gain more customers.
Tech stack required for cloud kitchen business
Consider the tools and techs your development team will need to create the digital platform for your business. The tools required can help you estimate the investment and cost of technology for your business.
Here are some things you should consider when developing an online platform.
- Analytics dashboard
- Integration of white-label delivery
- POS system
- Node.js
- React.js
- React Native
- Stripe
- Atlassian Confluence
- G Suite
- Slack
- Microsoft Project
- Figma
We have now covered all the requirements for starting a business. Let's now move on to the end.
App development costs:
Kitopi-like cloud cooking costs vary depending on what features you choose to include. Your Food Delivery App Solution provider will determine the price range. Smarter is a leading company in food app development. They can help you develop multiple web and mobile apps at a very affordable price. Our experts are also familiar with building cloud-based kitchen apps.
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Conclusion
There are many ways to launch a business using a cloud platform like Kitopi. There are many options available to you. You can also set up an operational infrastructure. Instead of focusing on creating your online kitchen digital platform, you should outsource it to top IT companies such as Idea Usher.
Although building a cloud kitchen is not easy at first, you can build a business online with the help of a trusted team and investors. You can contact a cloud app development firm to learn more about cloud kitchen platforms and share your business goals. Get started today to discover your business opportunities.
Cloud kitchens offer a variety of options for restaurateurs as well as aggregators. This has resulted in several spin-offs within the FnB industry. Cloud kitchens are a popular restaurant format that allows established and new restaurant brands to start a new business or scale up their existing one. It is possible to create your cloud-based delivery platform for food delivery. This is one of the most effective ways to maximize the potential of your business.
Cloud Kitchen Service is the most revolutionary food technology innovation. It is best to create a restaurant model that allows both restaurants and business owners to collaborate. Smarter is the best company for e-commerce, mobile and web app development. We can develop apps with quality and flexibility.
