Food and sex are the two things which will never go out of fashion. Everyone is scared at the moment to start something new, but always remember that big things happen when the chips are down. ‘’To get the biscuit, you have to risk it’’. In this article, I will explain that the next big thing in the restaurant industry will be the Ghost Kitchen with a Twist.
Why should I open Ghost Kitchen now?
In the 2008 recession, Mac D was one of the rare restaurant businesses which was in profit. They even made more profit than in 2006 and 2007 combined. But why? Affordability, Consistency and Fast delivery were the answers. The restaurant business didn’t change its concept, and most of them went to doom. You need to make adjustments before it’s too late. The food truck business also became famous in that period.Ghost Kitchen would be the perfect business to open at this time. It’s a professional food preparation and cooking area structure for the preparation of food delivery meals only. It relies on home delivery orders placed by phone or website or third-party companies running in your country. They don’t have any area for people to sit and eat. In simple words, the Ghost Kitchen structure is as follows: 1. Order comes from the customer.
2. Staff gets the order on the system.
3. The chef cooks the meal.
4. Chef packs the food.
5. Food package is delivered to the guest.
Market Situation During Coronavirus
The market situation during this coronavirus crisis period is hammered. It has also shown some rays of light for new segments in this industry. People will try to improve their lifestyle after this crisis. We are going into Charles Darwin theory and ‘’Survival of the fittest’’.- Health Cautious
- Scared to go out
- Budget
- Food delivery
The Restaurant Academy Tips:
Surviving the coronavirus storm will be crucial for your Ghost Kitchen. Here are the points which you can consider to sustain your initiative in the world of coronavirus:- Hygienic
Don’t have more than five items in this crisis. Your food cost would be in check all the time. It even makes ordering and customization (the guest wants to swap any item to a particular dish) easier. You can easily provide consistency of service and quality to every guest. This should help to achieve higher profit. You can do special weekend items. Maybe d ao poll option one week prior to interact with your followers. It would help you to create a buzz for your company.
3. Push MembershipThe ultimate goal of every business should be to convert a one-time customer to permanent. You should always start with the 3rd party app business but put your company pamphlet in the food bag and offer them an offer they can’t refuse. Example: If you call them directly, you get a 10% discount to begin. When you have reached 10K members, you can even think of creating your own app. Always have certain targets before you want to go to the next level. This is one of the major downfalls for a lot of businesses. A good business starts small and expands instead of the other way round, unless you have a big company.
4. Food OrderFor the first few months, you can even take food orders on social media; it can be something out of the box. Ask people to put their phone number as well. Most of the food orders will be done through 3 party apps also. Register your company with every food delivery company portal and try to convert them into your regular system, just as I explained above. You can even do something extra by providing biodegradable cutleries.
What do you need to open Ghost Kitchen?
Low-cost business investment is required compared to owning a restaurant. Most of the time, one-time investment is enough. Also, if you want to try something new, it has a low cost of experimentation. For example, an owner who owns a delivery kitchen and delivers South Indian food, decides that he should start delivering North Indian food as well. You wouldn’t need to change everything upside down like in the restaurant business.* Take the food orderYou need a POS system for the kitchen. It’s a way to complete orders for your place. You can even take orders through phone, social media etc., as explained above. The system also provides an analytic report to you. You can see what people are ordering, which menu item is not popular, what time and day people order the most, etc.Check system here:
* Order processDifferent orders will be coming in. You need to check if an order has any particular demand or is customized. You can have one person here when your company becomes busy just to make sure the orders are taken accurately, and people know at what time they can expect them back. * StaffingYou need two good chefs here. Please don’t try to cut corners by hiring average staff. Taste is the king here. You don’t require any waiter, reception, bartender, etc. You save here a lot of money on staff compared to the restaurant. Hire your own delivery boys only when you are well established in the market. My advice is for any owner to be with them for the first three months. You will also be learning a lot about the new business.
* Managing supply and inventoryIt depends on the menu how much supply you need for your kitchen. Your chef should be good at managing food cost. Try to make a standard food recipe for all the dishes as soon as possible. Menu engineering will help figure out what items to remove from your menu. You can learn all of them free of cost on my website. Inventory is managed by the POS system and the chef should be able to take care of it.
* PromotionCloud kitchen requires different forms of promotion compared to the restaurant business. You can learn from my marketing book. Check the link here:https://therestaurant.academy/the-restaurant-book
