A COMPLETE GUIDE ON LAUNCHING A CLOUD KITCHEN IN DUBAI

There has been a very high rise seen in the food delivery market in recent years. An increase in number of people ordering food online rather than cooking at home is found nowadays. A recent study shows that, the food delivery market will be worth $370 billion by the end of this decade and the UAE will be one of the major contributors to this market. This has increased the popularity of cloud kitchen in Dubai.

Cloud kitchen or restaurant is a virtual entity that works with minimal infrastructure which means that there is no physical restaurant by that name where people can go and dine in. Instead of which they can order food from these virtual restaurants and get them delivered at their doorstep. Cloud restaurants extensively use the POS restaurant software.

Cloud kitchens usually have a website, smartphone application, or hotline number through which prospective customers can place their orders. A lot of cloud kitchens also collaborate with online food delivery services such as Zomato, Deliveroo, Swiggy etc. Most of the restaurant businesses use a third-party food vendor service as it helps them to start their business before investing money for creating their presence among people and building their brand value in a much faster and easier way.

Why Do People Prefer Investing in Cloud Kitchen in Dubai?

You will be required to invest a huge amount of money for renting out the space, furnishing the building etc. if you want to start a restaurant business in any part of UAE. With a very low investment, a high profit margin is guaranteed by a cloud kitchen. If you are running a physical restaurant, you may experience a sudden hike in your income during a particular season or on certain days and also a dip in your business when a new restaurant in launched in the nearby premises. Such risks are minimal with cloud kitchens.

Another benefit of cloud kitchens is that it enables you to run multiple brands or virtual kitchens simultaneously. For example, one for Indian cuisine, another for Lebanese cuisine, or for Chinese cuisine. By this, you can build a larger customer base in the long run.

Are you looking to start a cloud kitchen in Dubai?

As a result of low installation cost, many entrepreneurs are attracted to this new form of business. There is a huge demand and scope for cloud kitchen in many parts of the UAE. One of the best sides of cloud kitchens that attract many business owners is the future possibility of scaling up the business with zero additional investment.

What all things should be considered in order to start cloud kitchens Dubai or anywhere else in UAE?

The checklist you must consider is as follows.

1. Getting Government Approval

To start your cloud kitchen in UAE, firstly you must need to get a license for it from the concerned government authority. Two types of licenses you are required to possess are a food license and a trade license. Get them ready before taking any step forward in order to avoid any legal consequences.

2. Finding the Location to Set up the Kitchen

While setting up a restaurant, you will have to look for a location which is easily accessible to your prospective clients. If your restaurant is located in a less noticeable area, you will not able to generate the expected income from your business. Also, there will be a huge investment for you to rent out a space in a highly accessible location. Here comes the actual benefit of cloud kitchen. You have a freedom to set up your cloud kitchen anywhere you like. Similarly, you can think of renting out shared commercial kitchen spaces as you start. Once you have accomplished the establishment of your name and have achieved enough hold in the market, you can scale up your operation.

3. Finding the Right Employees

Initially, you will not have to recruit a lot of employees to work in your cloud kitchen. At the beginning, you can start the operation with minimum number of staff by hiring people who can do multitasking. Once you have made your base strong, gradually you can hire more employees. Also having multiple brands is a good way to maximize the sales.

4. Making Investments in the Right Equipment

Two different types of equipment will be required for your cloud kitchen, cooking equipment and packaging equipment. Moreover, you will need a few more equipment such as a refrigerator, vessels, storage facilities, etc.

Your brand will be identified by the people by the way you pack and serve the food. As a result, it is important to invest in standard, superior quality and attractive packing containers or boxes. You should not go with cheap quality and sub-standard plastic containers in order to cut down the cost. It will have effects of distancing your customers from your brand and also will put you in legal hassles.

Make sure that you choose the right type of packaging according to the cuisine and provide additional supplies such as spoons, tissue paper etc. If your customers enjoy good quality food at a reasonable rate through your service, they will definitely recommend your brand to their friends or family.

5. Using the Right Technology

Cloud kitchen runs on technology. So, it is very important to integrate the right technology such as a restaurant software Dubai with your business. You will be depending on modern technology from order management to delivery management. Below is a list of modern technologies that you will need.

• Kitchen Display System

You can’t prepare the food in advance, store it and serve it when you receive orders from your customers while running a ghost kitchen. You may be required to prepare only some of the dishes in real time and serve them. An integrated kitchen display system which shows the orders by category, delivery time and location helps the entire operation to run smoothly.

• Restaurant POS

People will order through different sources such as your website or app, hotline of online food aggregators etc. All these orders must be processed into a centralized system so that you can get them ready and deliver them on time. An integrated restaurant POS software Dubai will make this organized and simpler.

• Website/Mobile App

If you have created an online presence of your brand, people are more likely to trust you. So you can invest in developing a website and mobile app. Creating your brand’s online presence can be done even in the later stage of your scaling up. In addition to the best restaurant POS system Dubai, a dedicated website and a mobile app for both Android and iOS operating systems are mandatory if you want to continue your ghost kitchen business for the long term.

• Advanced Food Delivery System

It is possible to have your orders delivered either by your in-house delivery agent or have it done by using the delivery capacities of third-party food aggregators while running a ghost kitchen. It is necessary to coordinate the deliveries in both scenarios. Doing it manually can be both time-consuming and lead to human errors at times. In this context, it is recommended to use an advanced food delivery system. You will not have to worry about this, if you are using the right type of restaurant software Dubai.

• A Dedicated Hotline

Having a dedicated hotline number to which your customers can ring up and order food will help so much. Make sure to attend the calls and process the orders straight away without much delay.

• Inventory Management System

Once your business operation is started, you can’t make your stock to run out. To avoid shortage of stocks, an effective inventory management system is of course needed. By using a reliable and efficient inventory management system, you can keep real-time track of your stocks and have them refilled on time.

Cloud kitchen Dubai has been well-received in the UAE. The information and checklist shared through this blog shall help you get a brief knowledge of ghost kitchen and pick up the most effective restaurant Software in UAE before starting your cloud kitchen.