CONTACT US
Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn I recommend visiting cushmanwakefield.com to read:%0A%0A {0} %0A%0A {1}

Dark kitchens are offering bright spot for the Food & Beverage and hotel sectors during lockdown

3/30/2020

covid update banner (image)

As governments around the world impose strict social distancing measures to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors have been extremely hard hit by enforced business closures, effectively putting the sector into hibernation. Helping keep these businesses afloat, however, are dark kitchens and food takeaway services that are delivering food right to the customers’ doors.

Dark kitchens (or ghost or virtual restaurants) are commercial establishments with no physical restaurant dining space in the traditional sense. Instead, these kitchens are designed to produce food that can only be ordered through a mobile app. This model offers a number of benefits to restaurants and hotels, including:

  • Lower occupancy costs: Without seating or dining space requirements, they can operate with reduced footprints, which lowers occupancy costs.
  • Lower rent: Not only is the footprint reduced, but the price per square foot is also typically lower since these spaces don’t need to be in prime retail locations where rent is traditionally higher.
  • Reduced labor costs: The model eliminates the need for dining services staff, and as such, reduces some of the labor costs of a more traditional restaurant model.  

Restaurants and hotels from around the world are increasingly looking to these dark kitchens and delivery services as they diversify their focus from in-house diners to at home delivery. There are many examples of this growing trend across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific, including one large-scale example in Hong Kong where Deliveroo has been working with a number of mall owners to support their F&B tenants. And in the UK, Deliveroo says it has registered almost 3,000 new restaurants on its platform in the past month alone.

It seems unlikely that the recent spike in online food orders will completely offset revenues lost due to the fall in in-house dining, but at least it offers a valuable lifeline for many F&B and hospitality businesses – both large and small - and could in fact be instrumental in keeping them ultimately afloat. These kitchens may be “dark,” but they are offering a bright spot for many in the food industry during this incredibly challenging time.

Related Insights

Retail readiness (image)
Research

Retail Readiness Essentials Checklist

Cushman & Wakefield Retail experts have compiled the Retail Readiness Essentials Checklist to share experiences, industry knowledge and best practices across the globe.
4/30/2020
Restoring Retail Confidence (image)
Article

Restoring Retail Confidence: Strategies Forward-Looking Brands Should Consider Now

it is critical that retailers begin to look forward and strategize how they will re-engage their customers when this virus is contained.
Barrie Scardina • 4/10/2020
Grocery (image)
Article

How is COVID-19 Changing the Grocery Industry?

While retailers that sell groceries in North America (grocery, convenience, drug, dollar, warehouse club and mass market super stores) are exempt from mandatory closures, business is anything but usual for these chains.
Barrie Scardina • 4/15/2020

クッシュマン・アンド・ウェイクフィールドでは、トラフィックの分析および本ウェブサイト上でベストの体験をお客様に提供するためクッキーを使用します。このダイアログを閉じ、お客様の同意を確認されるか、詳細については次のページを訪れてください:
クッキー通知

その他のオプション
同意する
これらのクッキーにより、当社のウェブサイトが期待通りに動作することが保証されます。例えば、ウェブサイトのトラフィック負荷を当社のサーバー間で分散し、使用量が特に多いときにウェブサイトがクラッシュしないようにします。
これらのクッキーは、お客様が行った選択(ユーザー名、言語、居住地域など)をウェブサイトに記憶させ、より充実した機能を提供するためのものです。これらのクッキーは、広告に使用される可能性のあるお客様の情報を収集したり、お客様がインターネット上でどこにいたかを記憶したりすることはありません。
これらのクッキーは、当社がマーケティングパートナーと協力して、お客様が当社のウェブサイトに訪問する前にどの広告やリンクをクリックしたかを理解したり、当社の広告をお客様にとってより適切なものにするために使用されます。
すべてに同意する
すべてを拒否する
設定の保存