The online ordering industry is set to become a multi-million dollar industry in a matter of just a few years. Precisely, the value is projected to reach $137,596 million worldwide, by 2023.
It's no wonder, after looking at these statistics, that more and more people are jumping into this business. But in order to truly benefit from these numbers, one must understand what cloud kitchens are and what they imply. In this article, we shall discover the best ways to set up cloud kitchens.
What is a Cloud Kitchen?
A cloud kitchen is essentially a restaurant kitchen that handles orders only via online ordering platforms and does not provide dine-in service. Dark kitchens, ghost kitchens, virtual restaurants, and satellite kitchens are all terms used to describe cloud kitchens.
Cloud kitchens may have their own website and app for online ordering, or they may receive orders via a variety of meal delivery companies. Because numerous food ordering platforms such as Swiggy, FoodPanda, Zomato, and others are the major source of revenue for these online restaurants, it is critical to have a check-in system that keeps track of orders and the quantities the company generates from each platform.
This can save business time at the end of each day when it comes to adding and calculating orders from multiple ordering systems.Once we have clearly understood what are cloud kitchen and how they operate it is now time for us to discuss the various steps involved in setting one up:
Licensing
Obtaining the right licencing is the first step for anyone setting up a cloud kitchen. Setting up the restaurant necessitates the acquisition of a licence. For a hassle-free business, a few permits are required to be obtained within the first month of operations. FSSAI license, GST registrations, municipal health trade licences, fire licences, and so on are examples.
Location
The key differences between a traditional restaurant and a cloud kitchen are location and property. A cloud kitchen does not require a huge volume of traffic or a desirable location. Because there is no House Front, it may easily be set up in a 250-300 square foot room. The cost of starting a cloud kitchen is considerably reduced as a result of this. In a cloud kitchen setup, The main focus should be given to proper sanitation, hygiene and water supply.
Staffing
In a cloud kitchen, there is no need for a waiter or servers. A modest, stand-alone cloud kitchen company may start with as few as six workers, including a head chef, two junior chefs, two helpers, and a housekeeper. Even if only a small number of people are needed, proper staffing will allow your establishment to accommodate any amount of food preparation. When there are multiple kitchen brands, the same chef will prepare cuisine for all of them. It's better to start with a small crew, and as the number of inbound orders grows, you can hire more people.
Kitchen equipment
The next step for any aspiring cloud kitchen owner is to procure kitchen appliances. This greatly depends on the type of cuisine you are planning on serving. If it is a bakery cloud kitchen then you would need baking equipment like ovens etc. but the basic set of kitchen equipment that every cloud kitchen needs are; stove and oven, as well as the refrigerator and utensils. Packaging is an important aspect of running a food business.
No matter how wonderful the cuisine is, it will sabotage the entire customer experience and tarnish the company's reputation. Packaging is also determined by the type of food.
No matter how wonderful the cuisine is, it will sabotage the entire customer experience and tarnish the company's reputation. Packaging is also determined by the type of food.
Online ordering management
After you have completed all the previous preparations for a cloud kitchen setup, the final step is to optimize your online ordering platforms. Customers place orders straight on the cloud kitchen's website or through third-party food aggregators like swiggy and zomato. Manually managing orders from numerous channels can be difficult, which is where a centralized ordering system comes in handy.
Because a cloud kitchen does not offer a dine-in option and relies entirely on online and telephone meal orders, it is critical to invest in marketing the food delivery brand, at least in the beginning. In the absence of a physical store with display boards and signage, digital marketing becomes critical.
There is a major shift happening in the food and beverage industry, people are opting to dine in more and more dine-in options. Do you feel your food business is ready for such a drastic shift?
If not then it's best to consider the concept of ghost kitchens or cloud kitchens for your own business. Setting up a cloud kitchen might not be a cakewalk for anyone that is why espangle is here to assist you in all the ways of starting as well as managing a successful cloud kitchen operation.
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