Out of the Box

NOW THAT'S A COOL IDEA: DARK KITCHENS

AS CONSUMERS GET MORE USED TO RELYING ON HOME DELIVERY, THE GROWTH OF 'DARK KITCHENS' AND EVEN 'DARK STORES' REPRESENTS EITHER A THREAT OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL RETAILERS - AND ONE US FIRM IS MAKING NO BONES ABOUT THE FUTURE OF 'GHOST KITCHENS'

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Dark kitchens, or, as they’re called in the US, ghost kitchens.

WHICH ARE?

Restaurants without a restaurant. Home delivery only. There are parallels in retail with dark stores where no physical store exists and shoppers can only order home delivery.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Huge cost savings. No physical store, fewer staff, lower rates, none of the grief of maintaining a customer-facing store or restaurant, no merchandising, easier ordering and storage. Shall we go on? Thai exclusively in US ghost kitchens. Dark kitchens, it seems, are very much out in the open, and the trend could soon hit UK shores.

WHY’S IT IN THE NEWS?

The US ‘ghost kitchen’ industry leader, Kitchen United, has partnered with international Asian food business Camile Food Group to launch Camile Thai exclusively in US ghost kitchens. Dark kitchens, it seems, are very much out in the open, and the trend could soon hit UK shores.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The concept is delivery and takeout-only with Kitchen United pitching it to consumers as the ideal way to order a range of food styles all from a single vendor, rather than having orders from three or four different takeaway outlets.

IS IT BIG YET?

Well, Camile Thai only opened its first delivery-only restaurant in the UK and Ireland in 2010 and now operates from 40 locations, serving over 10,000 meals every day and, it claims, “has quickly gained popularity as a tech-savvy leader in the food delivery space”. The latest move sees the company takes its offering to the US in partnership with Kitchen United. Further investment in drone deliveries and kitchen automation is planned to “highlight Camile Thai and their technology-centric strategy”.

SO IS IT SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT?

Depends how you look at it. Dark kitchens and stores will almost certainly grow in the UK if the home delivery wave outlasts the pandemic-driven spike, so how bricks-and-mortar retailers respond is the key challenge. The attractions of the dark model are obvious, and the two options appear to be fighting back, or embracing it.