CLOUD KITCHENS: Cooking Up A Storm in the Foodservice Industry

Essentially, a kitchen without a store front, is called a Cloud Kitchen. Customers access their services through online channels, mostly through online food aggregators, brand website or app and even through various social media platforms…

- Charu Lamba

Cloud Kitchens, Dark Kitchens, Internet First Kitchens, Online Kitchens, Delivery Only Kitchens, Ghost Kitchens – these are all the different names given to the fastest-growing food delivery business in India and perhaps, globally. Essentially, a kitchen without a storefront, is called a cloud kitchen. Customers access their services through online channels, mostly through online food aggregators, brand website or app and even through various social media platforms.

“Like restaurants are designed to serve dine-in guests, similarly, cloud kitchens are designed to deliver food experiences. Cloud kitchens depend on business from virtual channels such as websites, apps and from delivery aggregators, and that’s how the term was coined. Convenient food options at the consumer’s fingertips is what is driving the momentum in this sector,” states Kumar K Katra, Founder and CEO, CloudKitch.co.in.

“Cloud kitchen is the new line of business which has come up in the foodservice sector. It is an extension of what e-commerce does – which is to deliver food in a way where you do not have to bear the running cost of running a restaurant,” adds Anurag Katriar, Director, deGustibus Hospitality Pvt Ltd.