What happens when two mega stars with a knack for creating innovative and over-the-top meals partner up? Only the best “milli” dollar idea ever.

Like so many others, the casual-dining chain inserted itself into the virtual brand wars and saw swift results.

Unilever Food Solutions (UFS), the arm of Unilever that supplies the catering sector, is supporting the growth of so-called ‘ghost kitchens’. FoodNavigator examines what the company is doing in the space and asks why UFS expects ghost kitchens to be an ‘increasingly important way’ for food businesses to operate.

White Castle launched a ghost kitchen back in February 2021 that was so popular that the company was forced to shut down operations and wait until the new flagship restaurant by the Disney parks opened in order to take off some of the pressure.

With about 200 restaurants opening per year and a push into Canada planned, Chipotle is positioning its brand for nimble growth with innovative new formats.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is just might be taking over as the next big deal in the virtual concept space with the launch of its newest delivery-only brand and it’s not a wings concept.

Arthur Treacher's — which recently announced its conversion to a ghost kitchen brand — will partner with Franklin Junction to use the latter's so-called "Host Kitchens" to open 100 locations of the seafood QSR by year's end.

Soon, options like pizza, pastries, salad, and more will be available from these fast-food spots when you've worked up an appetite browsing the aisles of America's largest grocery chain.

The restaurant industry is seeing a major shift with the arrival of ghost kitchens. Ghost kitchens are establishments that create delivery-only food. No storefront, no dine in, just delivery.

A Surrey-based maker of food trucks has partnered with a Florida-based company that aims to put “ghost kitchens” in parking lots across North America.

Stockholm, Sweden-based ghost kitchen startup Curb announced this week it has raised a €20 million (~$24.4 million USD) round led by Point72 Ventures (h/t tech.eu). EQT, an existing investor, also participated in the round. Curb has now raised €23.2 million to date.

It’s not enough to operate a restaurant these days; many operators are running several, all under the same roof. As restaurant owners welcome ghost concepts into their kitchens, some are going all in and operating several.

Over the past five years or so, the term “ghost kitchen” has emerged as a new moniker in the food and beverage sector. But while the term is relatively new, the general concept underlying it has been around for decades — a commercial kitchen focused on preparing food for delivery, but not for pick-up or in-person dining.

There was a saying back in the Web 1.0 days. “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” A modern twist on this might be, “In a pandemic, no one knows you’re a virtual restaurant.”

Ever since the world was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and began to embrace the modes of the new normal, the ‘go virtual’ mode has become inevitable in almost all businesses. The restaurant industry is no exception.