Dark Kitchens: Why It’s an Emerging Trend in Foodservice
Food delivery, backed by innovative technology, is increasingly expanding and creating a new market: dark kitchens. Changing consumer demands along with the rising costs of operating a restaurant has launched the new segment.
What Are They, and Why Are They Growing?
Dark kitchens are commercial cooking spaces that function as hubs for food delivery and catering orders. The concept is an emerging trend that has developed due to the changing conditions of the industry in the digital age, as customers want easy, convenient ways to enjoy cuisines without having to cook or dine at a restaurant.
These kitchens offer restaurants the ability to reduce labor costs, streamline delivery operations, and delight customers. They operate like any other type of commercial kitchen, requiring professional equipment to store, prep, and cook foods, including walk-in coolers and freezers. Some offer foodservice equipment as part of their lease agreement while others require the tenant to purchase their equipment.
Why Dark Kitchens Are Attractive
The concept’s growth isn’t just propelled by small businesses trying to survive. Major chains are also embracing the trend to streamline food delivery.
For those just starting out in the food service industry, these kitchens allow for the ability to make a minimal investment and build brand awareness, which could eventually lead to dine-in opportunities.
Adding a dark kitchen could allow small restauranteurs to break into delivery and catering without expanding your current footprint. It offers you a way to test the waters for entering other locations.
Large and chain brands have much to gain with dark kitchens, as they can optimize their delivery efforts without infringing on the dine-in experience.
The Dynamic of Dark Kitchens: How They’ll Grow in 2020
The idea of dark kitchens has become mainstream in 2020, with many big brands buying into the concept. Chick-fil-A uses them in conjunction with DoorDash, and Starbucks has begun to build its own to satisfy delivery orders.
Right now, there are dark kitchen providers, as well as restaurants building their own. Restaurants will have to weigh the options of investing in their own or using a provider. Only major chains have the capital to develop their own dark kitchens while most rely on new spaces opened by dark kitchen operators.
The other expansion of dark kitchen spaces will be food delivery companies, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. They aren’t in the restaurant space and act as a partner to them, so it makes sense that they would also get into the game. These delivery businesses have every reason to invest, as they’ve grown 300% faster than dine-in eating over the last five years, according to Upserve.
Dark Kitchens Require Top of the Line Equipment
KPS Global is providing walk-in coolers and freezers for many of the large dark kitchen providers over the last 12 months. Like any traditional foodservice operation, the scale and speed at which KPSG can operate is very attractive to foodservice providers who need to move quickly to satisfy demand. To learn more, check out our walk-in products or contact [email protected].
