by Market Overview:
Ghost kitchens, also known as dark, dark, virtual, or cloud kitchens allow restaurants to operate food preparation and storage facilities without the high overhead costs of standalone storefront locations. With no dine-in area, these facilities focus exclusively on meal preparation for delivery and take-out. Ghost kitchens have found increasing popularity among restaurants looking to expand their delivery radii or launch new brands without the expense of a traditional brick-and-mortar location.
Market Dynamics:
The growth of the ghost kitchen market is driven by two key factors. Firstly, the rise of delivery-only restaurant concepts has surged in popularity in recent years as consumers increasingly opt for take-out and meal delivery services for convenience. Secondly, ghost kitchen infrastructure allows restaurants to penetrate new markets and uncover untapped demand pockets at a significantly lower capital expenditure compared to traditional locations. This makes ghost kitchens an appealing option for restaurants seeking geographic expansion or new brand incubation. The streamlined, delivery-only operations also enable restaurants to keep prices competitive for consumers.
Market Key Trends:
The growth of the ghost kitchen market is being driven by the increasing demand for food delivery during the pandemic. With people staying indoors and preferring online food ordering over dining out, the number of delivery orders surged significantly over the past year. Ghost kitchens allow restaurants to utilize their existing infrastructure to cater to this online delivery demand without requiring additional real estate for seating areas. The centralized commercial kitchen model of ghost kitchens helps restaurants lower their overhead costs and focus solely on delivery and take-out orders coming through online food aggregators and delivery platforms.
The global Ghost Kitchen Market Share is estimated to be valued at US$ 71.14 Billion in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 12% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.
SWOT Analysis
Strength: Ghost kitchens have lower operational costs compared to traditional restaurants since they don’t require dining space. This allows restaurants to operate profitably even with lower sales volumes.
Weakness: Ghost kitchens lack the walk-in customer base and ambiance of dine-in restaurants. They also have limited brand discovery online.
Opportunity: The growing popularity of food delivery presents an opportunity to target more customers. Cloud kitchens also allow restaurants to launch multiple brands from the same kitchen.
Threats: Increased competition from many new ghost kitchen startups. Possible oversupply if too many kitchens are set up in the same area.
Key Takeaways
The global ghost kitchen market is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting a CAGR of 12% over the forecast period of 2023 to 2030, due to increasing dependence on food delivery services.
Regional analysis: The US represents one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for ghost kitchens currently. Abundant funding for ghost kitchen startups and high adoption of food delivery apps have made the US a prime location for ghost kitchen operators. Cities like New York and Los Angeles have several commercial kitchen spaces dedicated to ghost kitchen brands.
Key players: Key players operating in the ghost kitchen market are CloudKitchens, Kitchen United, REEF Technology, Virtual Kitchen Co., Zuul Kitchens, Deliveroo Editions, Kitopi, DoorDash Kitchens, Grubhub/Seamless, Swiggy Access, Uber Eats Kitchens, Rebel Foods, Ghost Kitchen Brands, JustKitchen, Keatz. Large players like CloudKitchens and Kitchen United have expanded to multiple cities and launched new brands from their shared kitchen facilities.
*Note:
- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
