What is Cloud Kitchen? Step-By-Step Guide to setup a Cloud Kitchen.
It is a type of kitchen in which there is no dine-in facility and they operate as a production unit. Food is prepared in the kitchen and delivered to the doorstep by calls or by any online ordering platform. That is why it is also known as the virtual kitchen or Ghost Kitchen. The kitchens have no walk-in traffic and they exist solely for fulfilling the delivery orders via delivery aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, Dine Out, etc.
The biggest advantage of cloud kitchen is the lower barrier to entry and lower expenses. The reduced expenses help to sustain the business and you can run for a longer time even if the profits are low.
Today even major restaurants are shifting towards cloud kitchen and if you are thinking to start a new restaurant, start with setting up cloud kitchen. It will give you a taste of the multiple segments of the market, and you can test different demographics without even wasting your initial budget.
So, now if you are ready to start a new cloud kitchen, I will give you the step-by-step guide to setup a cloud kitchen.
1. Location of the Cloud Kitchen
In a full-service restaurant, choosing a location can be a challenging task, but it is an advantage in a cloud kitchen. You do not need a very big space or in a crowded place. You need a 250 to 300 sq. feet area, and as there is no dine-in facility, the place of the kitchen doesn’t have to do anything with a crowded place or a high-end site.
If you have a good initial investment, then you can go with the standalone kitchen or a solo kitchen. Alternatively, you can choose the shared kitchen or the co-working kitchen to cut off the initial cost.
You can also choose your location based on the demography if you have any special cuisine for that particular area otherwise, you can opt for an unused residential area, market backside, or any low investment space. Initially, this will reduce your expenses, and do not spend more on irrelevant things like outside beauty, interiors, etc.
2. License Required for the Cloud Kitchen
After setting up the location, the most important thing is the license. Get the necessary licenses based on your requirements. Without a license, you can get in some legal hassle, or it can also reduce the customer experience as they require hygiene and food safety. Having a proper license will give them satisfaction and can also increase your brand value.
The major licenses required to start the cloud kitchen are the FSSAI license for food safety and regulation, GST registration will help your business to run properly, Night Operations license is required if you want to operate at night, Fire license for fire safety, a Liquor license is required if you want to sell liquor, etc.
The process of getting a license is the toughest and time taking task. So, be patient and consult any agency in case of any query. Otherwise, your license can even get canceled, or it may take a longer time. And before starting, do ensure that you have all these documents in place.
3. Inventory Management at Cloud Kitchen
At starting, managing your inventory can be a little bit challenging. But it can be easily done if you follow the right path. Based on your cuisine, list the equipment that you will need in your kitchen. After that place them on the shelf where it can be easily accessible as those are the equipments which are highly needed and will be used regularly.
On daily basis, you also need the raw materials for preparing the food. Keep a good track of all the materials and after some experience, you will get the frequency of orders and raw material requirements. Fill your inventory on time and you will not face a shortage of materials.
At last, even after preparing the food, the most important thing is the packaging. Consider getting a good quality packaging material for your food, otherwise no matter how good you are making the food, but bad packaging or low-quality packaging will reduce your brand quality and will also reduce the customer experience. Packaging also depends on the type of food you are serving.
4. Create your Kitchen’s Digital Identity
Once all other works are done, then you have to focus on creating a digital identity. Because for cloud kitchens there is one way to create brand quality. Cloud kitchens do not have any dine-in facility so they completely rely on online platforms or phone call orders.
The best way to promote your cloud kitchen is the online restaurant aggregators like zomato or swiggy. Get registered on online platforms for the orders. You will have to go to these aggregator’s website and submit an inquiry. After registration, it will take one or two weeks to get registered on these online aggregators.
If you want to establish an independent identity, then you get a website or a mobile app ready for accepting online orders. But this process can take a long time and cannot guarantee orders at starting. Because to get orders and to be at the top you should get the trust of the customers.
After this, you can start spending some cash on your marketing at your initial stage, and you should get ready with your social media accounts where you can post daily pictures of your food. This will help you to get new orders, and will also increase your brand value.
By following these steps it will be easier for you to create your own cloud kitchen. Wishing you all the best for your restaurant startup.
