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The Ghost Kitchen market is playing a crucial role in the rapidly growing food delivery industry. Ghost kitchens, also known as virtual kitchens or dark kitchens, allow restaurants to operate without a dining area and focus exclusively on delivery and take-out orders through third-party platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Swiggy. Ghost kitchens help restaurant operators reduce overhead costs by eliminating the need for waitstaff and front-of-house operations. Relying solely on delivery kitchens also allows food brands to launch several virtual restaurants from a single location and test multiple food concepts.
The Global Ghost Kitchen Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 70.37 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 12% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030.
Key Takeaways
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, and Keatz. The growing popularity of food delivery apps and on-demand services has increased the demand for ghost kitchens across major cities. Prominent operators are expanding aggressively by launching hundreds of virtual kitchens to tap into the growing demand. The global ghost kitchen market is witnessing rapid expansion with operators setting up cloud kitchen facilities in new markets across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa.
Market key players like CloudKitchens and Kitchen United have raised significant funding and are acquiring large real estate properties to develop hundreds of cloud kitchen facilities. The growing demand for delivery and takeout food has encouraged major restaurant chains and food brands to launch virtual brands through ghost kitchens. Operators are focusing on food preparation and delivery optimization to improve operational efficiency and offer customers a wide array of delivery-only food options.
Market key trends
The key trend gaining traction in the ghost kitchen market is the rapid launch of new virtual food brands. Major operators are leveraging their scalable infrastructure to incubate and test multiple food concepts without requiring large upfront investments. This allows operators as well as food brands to quickly understand consumer preferences and demand patterns for new cuisine options. Virtual brands launched from ghost kitchen have minimum operational and financial risks which is encouraging many restaurants to partner with operators and pilot new food offerings through virtual kitchens. The success of virtual brands is driving further expansion of the ghost kitchen facilities and benefiting third-party delivery platforms as well as consumers who can now access a diverse choice of delivery-only food options.
Porter’s Analysis
Threat of new entrants: Low setup and operational costs along with existing infrastructure in the restaurant industry help new players to enter the market easily.
Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have high bargaining power due to availability of multiple ghost kitchen brands and options on food delivery apps.
Bargaining power of suppliers: Ghost kitchen brands have lower bargaining power against food suppliers and rental property owners who can dictate costs and licenses.
Threat of new substitutes: Threat is low as no direct substitutes exist for cloud kitchens offering delivery-only services for restaurants without dine-in space.
Competitive rivalry: Intense as existing major players are attracting funding to expand cloud kitchen networks while new entrants are coming up with innovative service and operations models.
Geographical regions:
North America accounts for the largest share of the global Ghost Kitchen Market in terms of value due to strong market presence of leading cloud kitchen brands and delivery platforms in countries like the US and Canada.
Fastest growing region:
Asia Pacific region is expected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period led by China, India and other Southeast Asian countries where demand for convenience and online food delivery services is growing rapidly along with increased adoption of smartphones.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
