The pandemic has changed the restaurant business forever. It has accelerated a shift that was already underway towards digital ordering and delivery.
Suddenly, customers could no longer just visit a restaurant for a quick bite without giving it any thought. Now, customers want to order their food easily online and have it quickly arrive at the perfect temperature. It’s been hard for some restaurants to adapt, especially those that have only welcomed guests to their dining room instead of offering take-out and delivery.
Restaurant owners have been forced to take a look at how they run their business and embrace new technology to meet the changing needs of their customers. While this has been a challenging process, it has also created new opportunities for restaurants to serve their customers.
As the restaurant business continues to change, owners must change too. They need to be able to offer customers easy online ordering to be successful today. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available to help restaurants make the transition to an online-only model.
Virtual kitchen, real food
A virtual kitchen is a restaurant that only offers meals for delivery — there is no dine-in option for customers. A more accurate term might be a virtual brand rather than a virtual kitchen. The term virtual kitchen often gets confused and interchanged with ghost kitchen, dark kitchen and cloud kitchen. But a virtual brand does not exist in a physical location.
When you hear the term “virtual brand,” you might think of a computer-generated image or a faceless entity. However, a virtual brand is simply a brand that exists primarily in the digital world. As the restaurant industry has shifted to become more reliant on technology, many restaurants have begun to create virtual brands as a way to reach more customers.
A virtual brand can be run from any commercial-grade kitchen including restaurant kitchens, ghost kitchens, and commissary/shared kitchens. Virtual brands operate on delivery apps like Getit Local, DoorDash, Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes to deliver meals straight to their customers. Partnering with one or more of these delivery providers will help you reach more customers.
The advantages of virtual kitchens
A virtual brand gives you the opportunity to experiment with new concepts and reach customers who might not otherwise visit your restaurant. Adopting the virtual brand concept for your restaurant allows you to take advantage of your existing kitchen and staff to fulfil more orders under multiple names. Restaurants can create a new brand to reap the benefits of a different menu and clientele, or licence an existing brand to take advantage of the name recognition to increase online orders.
One of the biggest advantages of a virtual brand is that it can be very cost-effective. By partnering with a third-party delivery app, you can launch your brand without having to invest in your own location and equipment. Additionally, a virtual brand gives you the flexibility to quickly respond to changes in demand.
So if you’re thinking about launching a virtual brand for your restaurant, know that there are many advantages to be gained.
Things to think about before starting a virtual brand
For all the benefits a virtual brand can offer your restaurant, it’s important to understand what works in your particular market and what doesn’t. No matter what type of cuisine you want to offer, it is important to know who your competition is and what they are missing.
For example, if the only sushi shop in your neighbourhood is closed for lunch service, that creates an opportunity to fill a niche. By taking the time to do a little market research, and knowing your competition, will give you a better chance to successfully use the virtual brand concept for your restaurant.
Another key detail for successfully adopting multiple brands within your kitchen is to match them with items that use similar ingredients and equipment for what you already produce.
For example, if you’re a diner that already has a strong burger brand, you might be able to offer a taco brand, a sandwich shop or maybe even pizza. But you likely wouldn’t have the ingredients or employees with the skill set for starting that virtual sushi brand that might be in demand in your neighbourhood.
Launch a virtual kitchen with Gohost
Starting a virtual brand is easy with the Gohost platform. We have a wide range of kitchens for rent. You can specify your requirements, easily compare different kitchens, and choose one that’s just right for you to start a virtual brand.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always happy to chat about anything you’d like to know. Give us a call at 613-720-9885.
October 13, 2022