With the incredible growth of online delivery and takeaway there has been an exponential expansion of delivery kitchens.
Our take is that they are a great concept for expanding an existing delivery operation as well as offering many other benefits such as saving on labour costs.
Utilising technology, you can quickly and profitably get your delivery kitchen delivery operation up and running profitably.
What makes a delivery kitchen so compelling?
The delivery kitchen model is a great way to expand your brand and delivery operation for a number of reasons. Here are a few key benefits:
Low cost of initial investment
Delivery kitchens are often situated in cheap to build structures such as shipping containers on the outskirts of town – they are a fraction of the cost of leasing an expensive high street restaurant with kitchen.
Easy to fit out
They can be furnished for a lot less than a restaurant – with no seating area there is no need to buy chairs, tables and sofas. Costs can be pared down to the minimum. All you need is your kitchen equipment, chefs and produce and you are good to go!
Low cost of labour
Speaking of costs, you can reduce your staff costs considerably as you won’t need to pay any front of house staff and you can significantly reduce training costs. Less time spent managing staff too. Don’t work in your business – work on it.
A faster route to market
You can get your offering to the market a lot quicker too. Whereas a traditional restaurant may take months to get off the ground, you can have a delivery-only operation running in a matter of weeks. You just need to hire the chefs.
Increased profit margins
With reduced staff and overheads, a delivery kitchen helps to increase your profit margins. This makes them a relatively risk-free proposition compared to owning and running a conventional restaurant.
It widens your horizons
It also enables you to expand your existing estate. With a delivery kitchen you can move into new areas of town not served by your existing restaurant or even move into a new town altogether. Penetrating your local market has never been easier.
It complements your existing business
It takes the pressure off your restaurant staff. Having delivery drivers walking in and out of your premises might disturb your customers and ruin your carefully created ambience. Create a delivery kitchen so you can fulfil your delivery orders offsite with the minimum of fuss.
Create a whole new (virtual) brand
Don’t just have a virtual kitchen – have a virtual brand. Thanks to the low start-up costs you can trial as many different delivery brands and types of cuisine as you want without ever having to open another restaurant. Economies of scale make it another low risk and high profit enterprise.
Capitalise on customer feedback
You get a wealth of purchase data from your customers. You can easily pinpoint, using the restaurant EPOS software, just which meals are proving popular and which you need to drop from your menu. Star ratings from customers give you immediate feedback on new dishes – you can tailor the dishes until they totally satisfied.
Our technology checklist for a successful delivery operation
Running a delivery kitchen still requires a good technology stack to maintain an efficient operation:
- A restaurant EPOS software solution to process orders and take payments efficiently
- A robust reporting solution – analyse and optimise what is working
- Reputation management software so you can respond to guest feedback in real-time
- Stock control – minimise food waste and maximise your bottom line
- Kitchen automation – order tickets are printed automatically once an order is placed – eliminates human error and saves time
- Integration between the restaurant EPOS software and online ordering platforms such as Deliveroo for seamless payments, data capture and order processing
- Your own branded ordering app
- A solution for managing menu changes across all your brands – push them out to Deliveroo, your website, your app and digital signage immediately
- A loyalty solution to push special offers and combo deals
Check out our Aloha Now solution which offers all the functionality you need to make your delivery operation thrive:
Don’t just take our word for it
One of our longest-serving customers is the acclaimed and game-changing chain Dishoom.
When the pandemic hit they pivoted the business towards the delivery side of their operation and reached out to us for help. As a forward-thinking organisation, their objectives were not only short-term survival but to build a delivery brand outside of their traditional geographic areas.
Their ambitions were met with our software solution. As well as maintaining a successful delivery operation across their existing sites, thanks to the combination of our technology and opening two delivery kitchens they have managed to expand into lucrative markets such as Cambridge and Brighton.
Get their perspective on what the future holds here.
Conclusion
Online ordering is here to stay – it offers convenience for diners and a great revenue stream for you. The delivery kitchen model helps to support this while offering a scalable model for expansion. With this model you can provide breakfast, lunch and dinner if you choose.
However, all the principles of running a successful restaurant still apply from stock control to payment processing to menu management to payroll. Technology plays a key role in maintaining an efficient and profitable particularly if you choose to scale.
To help you make the right choice of restaurant EPOS software solution we have produced a number of resources specifically about improving your delivery offering – check them out today.
