Covid-19 accelerated digitization in the most remarkable way
across different industries. But one the most unexpected and
widely accepted emergent is the rise of ghost kitchens. In
fact, these virtual kitchens are anticipated to
dominate the global market by 2027
and could be worth $1 trillion by 2030.
Ghost kitchens (also known as dark kitchens and virtual
kitchens) are kitchens without dining rooms and are
typically used to describe standalone delivery and takeout
operations. All it takes is to rent a space, create a
mouth-watering digital menu and start selling your food to
online customers. They will probably never become your
traditional brick and mortar destination.
Global food service delivery sales have more than
doubled from 2014 to 2020.
52% of global consumers are comfortable ordering from a
delivery only restaurant with no physical storefront. Sound
like the perfect time to join the new restaurant generation?
If you want to get ahead of your competition and leverage
new business opportunities at lower costs, this is the blog
post for you.
Get creative with the empty space in your dining
establishments
For the past couple of years, take-out and delivery have
been the means to survival for restaurants looking to stay
afloat during the pandemic. And now, as restaurants begin
to recover, takeout and delivery aren’t going anywhere, in
fact they seem to have restructured the global restaurant
industry.
For the past couple of years, take-out and delivery have
been the means to survival for restaurants looking to stay
afloat during the pandemic. And now, as restaurants begin
to recover, takeout and delivery aren’t going anywhere, in
fact they seem to have restructured the global restaurant
industry.
This is disruption at its best because these challenges
also led way to new opportunity. Several dining
establishments have turned their dining areas into ghost
kitchens they have expanded their concepts, reach out to
varied target markets and spun up new digital brands,
without taking on additional overheads.
Restaurants no longer have to be located in the busiest of
locations, they don’t have to employ around the clock wait
staff or shell out thousands on furniture, and they can
easily customize their menu so it focuses on food that’s
delivery-friendly. Call it a silver lining!
The growing delivery industry
According to UBS, global online food ordering is expected
to expand to
$365 billion by 2030.
That represents 20% growth each year as the number of
customers who prefer delivery continues to increase.
Now these are the stats every ghost kitchen owner dreams
of! And with more and more diners opting for delivery over
dine-in, removing overhead costs while still being able to
experience continuous growth and product diversification
is a major upside.
Trial and error isn’t as scary in this scenario, testing
out new cuisines and experiment with varied food groups is
becoming easier than ever. Especially when equipped with a
real-time updating digital menu, which can also help to
streamline costs.
Want to drive more sales this holiday season?
Get a Demo
Bring your ghost kitchen to life with a strong digital
presence
It’s clear that consumer behavior has changed, for better
or worse. So now it’s up to you to reach out to them
through digital mediums. Just creating a great looking
website won’t do the trick, you’re going to need to show
your customer the food your selling – and what better way
to do that than with an interactive, mobile-adaptable (51% of internet user’s
login through their mobile) digital menu! If you remember
from our previous post;
The biggest factor behind
diners’ decisions to order out from a restaurant
after looking at its website, were the items on its menu.
For more information please
click here.
When running a ghost kitchen, you also need to remember to
interact with your customers regularly on social media.
According to a study,
86% of millennials
try a new restaurant after seeing food-related content
online. So make sure to create regular posts highlighting
your dishes, interact with customers in the comments
section and most importantly share your QR code menu for
ease of access to the dishes you have available.
Build meaningful relationships
Remember a strong brand persona can help customers
overcome any doubts on quality. Communicate brand stories
through exceptional user experience. This is important now
more than ever because you’re denied direct contact with
your customer which helps build relationships.
The key thing that can help you close this gap is a trendy
and up-to-date digital menu that your customers will love.
Intrigue them with a convenient, interactive,
user-friendly menu they can view from anywhere, at any
time, and then quickly call in their orders.
Make sure to promote your restaurants logo so it remains
top of mind and select a menu theme that embodies the tone
and style of your restaurant. Keep customers coming back
by featuring enticing pictures and stimulating product
descriptions of your food, remember a staggering
82% of people buy a dish
because of how it looks in a picture. A high quality user
experience of this sort can build trust which leads to
long customer relationships and ultimately profits.
Keep your customers coming back
We are all naturally drawn towards aesthetically pleasing
products and packages – it’s in our DNA. Attractive
packaging if the first physical impression you make to
your customer and it will have a positive effect on the
customer’s perception of your restaurant,
driving repeat sales up by up to 52%.
Customers feel valued when restaurants go the extra mile
to deliver, so maybe consider add a personal note or a
quirky statement on your to-go boxes to help you stand out
from the rest, after all it’s the little things that
matter! Even increase customer retention by printing the
QR code to your digital menu on your packaging, so
customers can check out your products at their
convenience.
The sum up
Ghost kitchens are an interesting example of how digital
can support old industries rock new trends. Order out and
deliveries doesn’t have to mean the end for restaurants.
In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite. Ghost kitchens
were forced to reevaluate their value proposition and
prove to the world that sometimes change is for the
better, especially in today’s digital age.
Looking for a Free Online Digital Menu to support your
ghost kitchen?
Create your own Digital Menu for FREE now with
Applova!
Our easy-to-access and user-friendly interface that allows
you to create, customize and update your digital menu in
minutes. With just a few clicks, you can upload an
unlimited number of pictures of your dishes or beverages,
along with its price and respective product information.
Get creative by swapping backgrounds, color themes and
even upload your own logo.
Ensure your customers will always have access to accurate
and current information with Applova’s Dynamic QR Code
that allows for real-time price changes and menu item
availability or substitutions.
Applova Free Digital Menu is FREE FOREVER. So what are you
waiting for? Create a digital menu now, to bolster sales
turnover, increase customer engagement and go next-level
digital!
Check out a
sample menu
here and
sign up now!