The food and beverage industry is going through a period of upheaval. A combination of new technology, innovative ideas, busier lifestyles and clamour has led to a gradual decline in dine-in restaurants and the rise of delivered food. This process has no doubt been sped up by the coronavirus pandemic, leaving traditional restaurants behind. On the other hand, those that have worked hand-in-hand with the likes of Deliveroo, Foodpanda, GrabFood, or even their own delivery service, have experienced growth like never before.
The numbers support this, too: at present, the delivery industry in Singapore is already worth over $700m per year and is well-positioned to grow a further 10% each year.
If you’re planning on bringing your restaurant into the delivery world, this is great news. But what exactly qualifies as a delivery-focused restaurant, and what are the makings of a successful one?
What is a delivery-focused business?
For decades, dine-in restaurants have been the go-to option if you want to buy cooked meals. We all know how they operate: a mix of cooks, front of house staff and managers run a restaurant that has a kitchen and dining area. This model works great if you have lines of people waiting to get inside or book a seat in your restaurant. After all, you are able to charge them a premium not only for the food but for the service and for the seat.
But with more and more people choosing to stay at home and order delivered food, much of these resources are wasted. There aren’t enough dine-in customers for staff to serve, and seats are going empty.
A CloudKitchens® delivery kitchen cuts out these inefficiencies. It recognises that with more and more people ordering delivered food, that should be its sole focus. In short, delivery kitchens (also known as dark kitchens, virtual kitchens, and even ghost kitchens) have no dine-in area, and have no need for the front of house staff. And by outsourcing deliveries, they are able to fulfil as many orders as they receive, never having to worry about seating logistics or anything else.
How do you start a delivery-focused restaurant business?
Opening a delivery-focused business can be simple or complicated, depending on how you do it. If you’re doing everything yourself from scratch, here’s what you’ll need to have sorted before opening a fully-functional CloudKitchens® delivery kitchen.
Know your cuisine
This part is no different to opening a traditional restaurant. You will want to have a cuisine that you specialise in and cook great-tasting food under. Just because your food will be delivered doesn’t mean it will be any less quality than dine-in restaurants!
Organise all the logistics
Starting a delivery-only restaurant business by yourself is no easier than starting a traditional restaurant. You’ll need to:
– Find the perfect location
A restaurant that doesn’t serve dine-in orders doesn’t need to be in the centre of town. Contrastingly, it shouldn’t be too far out, as then nobody will receive their food hot. The perfect location will have affordable rent and be near residential areas.
– Work out what the best and most optimised usage of space is
Kitchens are meticulously designed to be an efficient usage of space. But traditional restaurants have a different focus. You won’t be washing as many dishes in a delivery-focused kitchen space, and thus can optimise it more efficiently.
– Find contractors to complete all the renovation work
This is another time-consuming process that unfortunately can’t be skipped.
– Buy all the equipment you need
Buying all the equipment you need can create high up-front costs that soon build and make the venture a huge undertaking.
– And much more
The alternative to much of this is renting a delivery kitchen space from Smart City Kitchens. For many, delivery kitchens are a much more realistic, affordable and even profitable option when starting a new delivery-focused restaurant business. They offer you the chance to:
– Easily find a new pool of customers
Nowadays, there’s a huge demand for delivered food. By sticking to an older restaurant model, you lose out on this huge group of hungry customers who would quickly order your food if you had greater delivery capabilities.
– Lower upfront costs
By renting our delivery kitchen spaces, you negate the need to organise your own renovations and pay for your own expensive tools. Depending on the type of kitchen you want to run, you can save 30-40% in costs by renting a CloudKitchens® delivery kitchen.
– Enjoy extreme flexibility
Renting a CloudKitchens® delivery kitchen also gives you the power of mobility. This allows unmatched flexibility no matter how big and how quickly you grow.
– Reduce your operational costs
A delivery-focused business simply has less to worry about than a traditional restaurant. No front-of-house staff and no dine-in area to maintain means much lower operational costs.
– Access your very own support team
Renting a delivery space through Smart City Kitchens gives you access to our business team who are here to advise and support your business as it grows.
With all this in mind, starting a delivery-focused business is a great way to take advantage of the recent delivery boom. CloudKitchens® delivery kitchens offer an affordable and realistic way of starting your business and finding success in the modern food & beverage industry.
Want to get started in your own space? Get in touch with our team by filling out the form below!