A business model that once seemed marginal before the coronavirus pandemic now looks like the future of restaurants.
Just like fashion, electronics & gadgets, and cab services, the food delivery sector is one that is earning massive compensation as the workplace continues to become demanding with everyday increase stress due to heavy traffic.
As of January 2019, if you did a count on the food delivery startups in Nigeria that were doing well, you will get more than five. Fast forward to this present day, and online food delivery startups are all over the place, many starting from Lagos and then expanding to other states.
Just for clarity sake, a ghost kitchen is a professional food preparation and cooking facility set up for the preparation of delivery-only meals. Ghost kitchens strip down the traditional dining establishment by removing dining areas and fancy décor. Instead, they serve as large kitchens for restaurants to prepare food to deliver to customers.
In this write-up, we examine three business practices that can enhance the sustainability of your food delivery startup.
1. A GHOST KITCHEN DEPARTMENTAL STORE
While many entrepreneurs will love to stand alone, think of your ghost kitchen, a co-working space for food, or a restaurant without a storefront.
Numerous restaurants can operate out of the same ghost kitchen, either working from the same facility or breaking the space into separate areas. That way, customers can order from any combination of the restaurants in the same order and have it delivered all at once.
2. LEVERAGE ON THE ALREADY GROWING FOOD DELIVERY MARKET SPACE
Ghost kitchens don’t just benefit the restaurants themselves. There is leverage with the already growing delivery/logistics market space. Considering the growth of food delivery giants like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Postmates in recent years, the food delivery industry is expected to be worth $24 billion by 2021.
A growing number of customers prefer eating in the comfort of their homes without having to wait in line for a table or for their food to arrive. At the same time, eat in-restaurants are still dealing with regulatory compliance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. COMBINES YOUR GHOST KITCHEN WITH EXPERIENTIAL RETAIL (WHICH IS BY THE WAY, THE NEXT BIG THING)
Experiential retail, in simple terms, is a type of retail marketing whereby customers coming into a physical retail space are offered experiences beyond the traditional ones.
The target market for experiential retail is chiefly Millennials. Millennials, according to “studies,” are as a group overall less materialistic than previous generations and prone to spend relatively more of their disposable income on services – for example, wellness and gyms.
For Ghost kitchens to harness the many strong customer trends surrounding experiential retail,
1. There is a need for personalization and on-demand items. Customers want to get precisely what they want when they want it. They want to be in control of their experience and decide if they’re going to go out for a fancy meal or stay in a while and still enjoy great food.
2. Ghost kitchens also leverage the sharing economy with delivery services, which often makes the experience more accessible. Invest in reliable delivery services.
IN CONCLUSION
Modern customers want personalization and convenience. They crave experiences over products. A Ghost kitchen meets those needs while giving them the freedom to customize the experience and create precisely what they want.
