Cloud kitchen is also known as Ghost kitchen refers to a place where the food is prepared and delivered at the doorstep by taking orders via calls, texts & online ordering platforms.
Due to the outbreak of this global pandemic, there has been limited exposure to offices, educational institutions, malls, restaurants & even local shops. In such trying times, Cloud kitchens are better suited to the needs of socially distanced customers than traditional dine-in restaurants. Since the restaurants and cafes have been closed during the Pandemic, takeaway meal options & online food delivery services have been booming in India.
For the past year, the takeaway has become a vital source of revenue for many restaurants. Be it the high-end exotic ones, or your local friendly diner, all your favourite cuisines are available at just one tap of your smartphone. With lesser to almost no such delivery charges, you can order your favourite meal instantly or place an order a few hours prior to the expected time of arrival.
With the popularity of takeaway meal options, the restaurants have also been able to minimize some costs such as rent and without wait-staff requiring fewer people on the payroll. With an increased number of takeaway food counters & cloud kitchens, there are signs that the shift towards home-delivered food is here to stay.
It has been seen that Cloud Kitchens with commercial cooking facilities that have no physical dining space and cater only to delivering orders placed online are projected to become a $2 billion industry in India by the year 2024 according to an expert report by a management consulting firm. In the survey, 21% of the respondents said that they were more likely to increase their online ordering of takeaway food after the lockdown while only 9% said they were more likely to visit restaurants more often.
With the change in work from home culture & online classes held by educational institutions, the eating habits & lifestyle of people has also witnessed a remarkable change. With restricted exposure & social mingling, the consumers are likely to get monotonous of their home-cooked meals & ordering their favourite food from a trusted cloud kitchen with hassle-free delivery at their doorstep is the need of the hour.
With the restaurant footfall at an all-time low and sales down as much as 90% due to the Pandemic, according to CRISIL Research, the takeaway has now become a vital source of revenue for many restaurants. CRISIL estimates that the recovery of the 1.5 trillion rupees ($20 billion) sector will take at least a year after the lockdown is lifted.
The shift in consumer behaviour shows that in the coming few months, there will be a considerable change in consumer buying behaviour and an evolved market. Some Mumbai based food delivery businesses have experienced that among all the people ordering during the lockdown, 90% of them have been new retail customers although corporate orders have taken a hit due to office closures all across India.
There have been several applications received by these online food delivery businesses to join the team of cooks and delivery agents as people have started looking for additional or secondary income sources due to financial pressures.
Many homemakers have started their own small ventures in Cloud kitchen offering customisable weekly meals to quick & short weekend meals that attract customers given their hectic work from home schedule along with managing household chores due to the unavailability of the house helps & various other resources.
However, takeaway options would not entirely replace restaurants in the future. Cloud kitchens going forward will be substituted for more variety and conveniences as opposed to cooking at home, but not a replacement for a social or celebratory occasion for eating out.
“Demand for cloud kitchens will emanate from a fatigue with home-cooked food and the need to order once in a while, though frequency will reduce due to income effect,” said Rahul Prithiani, Director of CRISIL Research.
The convenience of readily available cuisines or curated meals as per choice has become a popular trend amongst youngsters and even people with hectic work schedules & that’s when the need for these takeaways or Cloud kitchens emerge & gain success.
Do you own a cloud kitchen or thinking of starting your own, claim a free demo of oneresto today and know how you can easily start, manage and operate your own delivery hassle-free.