Kitopi Cloud Kitchen : Business Model , Development Cost & Features Explained

By 2023, the food delivery market is expected to generate $137,596 million in revenue.

These ghost kitchens, or cloud kitchens, have no host to welcome diners, no seating availability, and no customer contact area. In a cloud kitchen platform, tablet ordering is done, and delivery drivers have a pick-up window.

Think of having a restaurant in a shared kitchen with other popular food chains like Mcdonald’s and KFC, and what it would be like for a delivery person to pick up your order for their customer. You won’t have to worry about restaurant setup fees, staff fees, and managing ambience – only the food and how to promote it on Instagram. This is an explanation of what a cloud kitchen is.

Cloud kitchens are the new food processing and delivery technology to keep up with the population increase and renovate the food processing industry.

The global cloud kitchen market reached a total value of $29.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to hit $112.7 billion in 2030. It is projected to grow by a CAGR of 13.12% from 2021-2030.

A Limetray survey found that 67% of restaurant owners would like to open a cloud kitchen Kitopi as their next outlet.

The customer can have their food packed or place an order for home delivery, but it is not supposed to serve the customer’s sitting and resting arrangements. Cloud kitchens offer more than just a restaurant experience, so let’s explore how you can build your cloud kitchen platform like Kitopi.

What is Cloud Kitchen

A cloud kitchen is a type of food service that offers local chefs the opportunity to prepare high-quality, freshly-made meals for customers on a large scale. Cloud kitchens have been popping up in different cities across North America, and this new business model has the potential to change the way we feed people.

Through its digital platform, Cloud Kitchen prepares meals based on customers’ orders. Compared to traditional restaurants, cloud kitchens don’t need additional facilities, such as dining services, parking spaces, etc. With the cost of the meal being low, restaurant owners can provide meals of high quality at the lowest prices, thus increasing their business.

However, many challenges come with running a cloud kitchen. That’s why we developed an app that makes it easy for chefs and restaurant owners to launch their own white label cloud kitchen platform.

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Everything About Kitopi Kitchen

Kitopi is the world’s largest cloud-based kitchen in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Poland, and Bahrain. Founded in 2018, they establish connections with restaurants that need to deliver their food online.

Kitopi facilitates opening more delivery-only restaurants by providing the essential infrastructure (such as a kitchen) and app. In total, it is valued at 1.2 billion dollars. There are other companies in the cloud kitchen market, like Kitopi, who make more money off of the cooking niche.

As well as Kitopi, REEF and Cloud Kitchens are popular options in the UAE and Western markets. Kitopi raised $415 million from global investors like SoftBank Group Corp. Cloud kitchens are showing interest from larger corporations. Hundreds of restaurants around the world deliver Kitopi’s cuisine right to customers’ doorsteps.

Their platform allows them to accept orders, manage deliveries, and manage customer reviews, and they get paid an onboarding fee by restaurants that choose to use their service. In addition, Kitopi Kitchen charges restaurant companies a 10% royalty fee. This is its business model.

4 Reasons Why Opening a Cloud Kitchen is a Great Business Move

Opening an online cloud kitchen app development company can help you bring your establishment into the 21st century and give you the edge you need to remain competitive in this industry. If you’re thinking about launching your cloud kitchen but aren’t sure whether it’s right for your business, here are reasons why opening a cloud kitchen is a great idea.

You don’t need a physical space

Launching your own white label cloud kitchen platform could boost productivity and earn more money. Your team can remotely connect with you and complete tasks using your mobile app while they never have to leave the comfort of their own home. Plus, with this type of business, you don’t need any physical space because you’re working from an online platform!

Better expansion opportunities

Cloud kitchens don’t need heavy investments or a big space. You can start slowly but expand quickly if it succeeds. Building an efficient kitchen operation and a positive reputation will grow your business in new locations or different menus.

Faasos has expanded to a fleet of 160+ restaurants and four brands, Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story and Firangi Bake.

You have more control over the menu

The number one reason opening up a cloud kitchen is such an amazing idea is that you have more control over the menu. You get to decide what dishes are offered, how they are presented, and what ingredients are used.

It means you can launch your own white label cloud kitchen platform to create your restaurant without the expenses of owning and operating your brick-and-mortar location. Your cloud kitchen can be as mobile or stationary as you want it to be!

It’s more cost-effective

For many chefs, opening their restaurant has traditionally been the only option to get their cuisine out there. But today’s food scene has evolved, and there are other options for making your food available to the public.

And it’s more cost-effective than opening your restaurant. Because of its economy of operation, you can’t go wrong with a cloud kitchen. You don’t need client-facing staff, decorations, a front desk, a parking area, etc. Your profit margin is likely to be better if you charge a higher price for items or have lower-priced menu items.

Launching your own white label cloud kitchen platform can be an amazing opportunity for aspiring chefs. With the right support and guidance, you can Build cloud kitchen app and take advantage of it.

Esferasoft’s team knows the challenges a budding entrepreneur will face in this field. That’s why we offer our services to help business owners overcome these hurdles by launching apps like Kitopi or developing custom apps to help them reach their goals.

The 5 Benefits of Cloud Kitchen App Development You Need to Know

If you’re planning your next big release and are considering launching with an app, you must understand the benefits of cloud kitchen app development and the features that will make your application shine. Here’s what you need to know.

Flexible Layout

With custom-built spaces and optimized processes, cloud kitchens make meal preparation and delivery more efficient and faster, which makes them financially beneficial. Cloud Kitchen, unlike traditional restaurants, does not have to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For instance, if no orders come in, operating will be useless. As a result, if there are many orders, it must operate over time.

Real-time Adaptability

In the ever-changing world, we live in, being able to adapt quickly is crucial. And with cloud kitchen app development, you can do just that. This type of software allows you to work on your app in real-time and make changes as needed with no limits on what you can do. Plus, updates are delivered instantly, so you don’t have to worry about waiting for the next cycle or release.

Greater Engagement with Customers

One of the biggest benefits you’ll get from cloud kitchen app development is that it will help your business engage with customers. People can view the menu, order food, and pay on their phones when they use a mobile application. This helps cut down on waiting time and makes the process more convenient for customers. 

By creating a mobile app, you’ll get access to analytics data that can help you understand how users interact with your company’s product. That way, you can continue improving the experience for them and others in the future!

Real-time Adaptability

In cloud kitchens, analytics software is used to optimize orders, processes, and consumer behaviour. In addition, you can modify the menu to meet the demands of different customers and increase margins.

Increased Sales

Cloud kitchen app development offers many benefits for small businesses, including increased sales, lower operating costs and easier expansion. As technology becomes increasingly advanced, people look for new forms to get the most out of their devices.

For example, when you have an online ordering system, you can offer your customers the option to order and pay online for their food without ever having to leave home. It eliminates the overhead cost of staffing a physical location just for those orders and saves time from coordinating deliveries.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cloud Kitchen App Development

Technical requirements of cloud kitchen

POS system

Having a POS system that can take orders from various aggregators is arguably the most important feature a cloud kitchen needs. If you want to move traffic to your software eventually, you will want to experiment and test these various platforms.

Online ordering software

If you are willing to trust your restaurant’s menu and delivery responsibilities to a third party, you should expect to pay 12-18% on online orders and 18-25% for deliveries. Though visibility is inevitable, having your own online order system would be nearly as crucial – a website or a mobile app. This software can be synced with your point-of-sale system and kitchen display screen to provide an exceptional dining experience. 

System to receive orders

Businesses require an integrated system to deal with incoming phone orders. The phone-order-processing-system-based call centre system will be useful in streamlining telephone orders, especially when you have multiple retail outlets. Digitizing the system will also allow you to view the customers’ personal information and past orders to prevent the confusion that might come with repeat or incorrect orders.

Integrated kitchen display system

On average, it takes 15-20 minutes to prepare food in a cloud kitchen. Such fast order processing is easy with a kitchen display system. How does it work? When a request is submitted to the KDS, it updates the order automatically. Then the staff can view, prepare, and organize delivery orders correspondingly.

In addition to smoothing the operation, this also helps identify delays and loopholes.

Food delivery system

Food delivery in a cloud kitchen can be handled in-house or through third-party aggregators. Using a food delivery system, you can easily assign orders to a nearby delivery person using the former system, which provides convenience but requires management and hiring costs.

Inventory management system

In any restaurant business, managing inventory is crucial. A robust inventory management program would give you insight into when to restock and keep track of daily inventory usage. As a result, wastage costs will be reduced.

Operational considerations of cloud kitchen

Location

Indeed, cloud kitchens don’t need luxury locations and spaces to match the vibes owners hope to create, but they should be located near their target audiences. Because ghost kitchens aim to make deliveries as quickly as possible, they need to be located near where they can make deliveries.

One great thing about cloud kitchens is that they can be put up in residential areas, empty parking lots, or even on movable food trucks.

License

Licenses are a crucial part of the cloud kitchen ecosystem. Since customers can’t inspect food safety, hygiene, etc., they rely on licenses. Certifications and licenses provide confidence in the quality of your food.

Kitchen and packaging equipment

As your menu grows in complexity and range, so will the equipment you will need to prepare it. The more complex and wide the menu becomes the more required equipment. It’s best to start with a fridge, stove, oven, counters, and kitchenware.

Bad packaging can ruin the customer experience regardless of how good the food is.

Kitchen staff

This way, your cloud kitchen is usually only the back end of your restaurant business. All you need are staff to cook and clean the food- somebody who knows how to do those things with total hygiene.

Choosing a cloud kitchen model

Understanding the details of all the models below will help you choose the right business.

Standalone kitchen

This cloud kitchen model follows a single concept, and only a few dishes are offered. For example, is a pizza joint with a menu consisting of ten or fifteen dishes.

Cloud restaurants

With this model, the brand takes over the kitchen of existing restaurants. The brand uses its infrastructure and prepares food based on customers’ orders. The restaurant provides its infrastructure to the brand either on a contract basis or through rent so that the brand can reduce its expenses on utensils, furniture, and other kitchen accessories.

Co-working cloud kitchen

It involves the operation of many online restaurants at one time. Each online restaurant has its kitchen. Using the kitchen infrastructure costs every brand money.

Aggregator cloud kitchen

An extended version of the co-working model in which restaurants only cook for takeout has kitchen infrastructure provided for them.

Hopefully, by now, you understand cloud kitchen models and can begin your own with help from the best model. 

The Costs Of A Cloud Kitchen Business

The costs for a cloud kitchen depend on various factors like rent, license, kitchen equipment, staff, and marketing. Rent is the most significant factor in your budget and can vary from 15,000-30,000 for a small building to 50,000-100,000 for a large commercial building.

Licensing depends on the state and municipality you will be operating out of, as there are different laws governing food preparation in each area.

Kitchen equipment can range from 50,000 to 500,000 depending on the size of the kitchen and the type of equipment needed. Staff cost depends on how many cooks you plan on hiring and their pay rate. They must have experience cooking similar foods and know how to use all the necessary equipment.

Marketing costs depend on what type of advertising you want to do: social media ads, billboards, magazine ads, etc. You must start promoting your business immediately so customers will know about it when it launches!

How Can Esferasoft Help Your Cloud Kitchen Business Grow?

Esferasoft is an app development company that specializes in cloud kitchen solutions. Our advanced white label platform, Kitopi, has been successfully used for both commercial and non-profit kitchens.

Our developers, quality assurance staff, designers, and project managers strive to improve their skills, turning limitations into opportunities constantly. We can provide timely results to our clients by utilizing an agile methodology while maintaining complete transparency.

Esferasoft helps people achieve their goals with scalable and sophisticated cloud solutions.

We offer help and support to their customers who are using modern technology by providing them with custom IT solutions. The company’s team works closely with its partners to ensure that they provide innovative, reliable and cost-effective services which meet customer requirements.

Wrapping Up

Cloud Kitchen Service is a revolutionary development in the food industry, meaning it’s better for restaurant owners and the restaurant brand to work together.

There are a lot of opportunities within the kitchen app development process, but research & technical support must be considered. Cloud Kitchen are significantly changing restaurants because they require less overhead and improve operating practices.

Starting a food industry business is a great idea, and where better to run this than the Cloud Kitchen? The app development process is easy by employing Mobile App Developers who know exactly what they’re doing.

Esferasoft offers complete solutions like web and mobile app development to help you succeed.

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FAQs

Is a cloud kitchen worth the investment?

It would appear so. Being a start-up, a cloud kitchen doesn’t have the space or personnel it had before the pandemic. The key is getting creative about finding & sourcing new ingredients for customers – for example, changing to a “pick your own” model or providing their recipes.

What things do you need to know when choosing a location for your kitchen?

We recommend that you pick a place with less foot traffic so that the rent is slightly lower. However, it is important to have consumers, so the key to getting this site is to find these people in your area.

If your customers are around twenty-something and go to school, you can use a service that locates places nearby like magic. No more searching for hours to find a one-stop shop.

How does Cloud Kitchen make money?

The idea behind cloud kitchens is pretty straightforward. All food is made in a central kitchen and then re-heated and delivered to customers via click-and-collect orders. It means they rely 100% on online ordering, which requires a partnership with a food aggregator like Zomato or Swiggy.

How to get start a cloud kitchen business?

Starting a restaurant might require a financial investment in equipment, space, or staff. After that, you can partner with third-party platforms to take and deliver orders. We will also advise that you have your app for taking and placing orders.

What benefits of a cloud kitchen app?

A cloud kitchen app is an innovative way to manage your kitchen and food. It has many benefits that make it stand out in the industry.

Cloud kitchens are a recent trend in the food industry. They offer many benefits for both customers and chefs.

1. A cloud kitchen app is an application that connects chefs with restaurants, hotels, or other food establishments to generate new dishes and flavours.
2. The cloud kitchen provides a platform for chefs to share their knowledge about cooking techniques. It also allows them to create recipes and share them with others in the community.
3. Chefs can use it as a way to find new clients as well as build their brand and reputation.
4. It can be used by anyone, not just chefs and restaurant owners.