September 1, 2022

Peter Cook, Editor

Remarkable week for ghost kitchen and virtual brand news!  The first article really jumped out at me and I am surprised it has not received more coverage by other media sources (other than an article we included in last week’s issue).  MrBeast has some big news, and other industry leaders are making adjustments to their virtual offerings.  There is also some good analysis in this issue, and interesting articles from ghost kitchen professionals around the world.

Reach out to Pete Cook (pcook@ontrendconcepts.com) if you are interested in talking about international expansion.  Pete has meetings with industry leaders in the UK, EU, and UAE coming up, just to talk about how their approach international expansion, how they find the right partners, etc.  We’d love to have you as part of the conversation as well!

And now, the news…

Issue #108

DoorDash Introduces an Upgrade to Help Restaurants Expand Their Offerings

Kristen Hawley gives a nice overview of this new service. It’s organized in a way to provide fast access for restaurants to do more with DoorDash— including one that she found particularly interesting: brand licensing.


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MrBeast is Opening a Brick & Mortar

The outlet in American Dream mall in New Jersey will be the first physical location for the fast-growing virtual brand.


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Will MrBeast Burger’s Digital Success Translate to Physical Restaurants?

As virtual restaurant brands look to convert their digital followings into long-term omnichannel success, some are turning their focus to brick-and-mortar.


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Changes in store for It’s Just Wings

The virtual brand It’s Just Wings helped Brinker get through the worst times of COVID-19. The brand will stick around, although in a smaller format, as the pandemic’s effects lessen.


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Focus Brands taps operations experts for exec roles

Both Shelli Harris and William Armstrong have extensive restaurant operations experience, which could help the company as it targets non-traditional and off-premise-focused growth.


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Dine Brands Leverages Flybuy Technology to Help Support Virtual Brands Growth

Dine Brands Global is currently utilizing the Radius Networks Flybuy Platform through its franchisees at all 2,800 Applebee's® and IHOP® locations for a faster curbside and in-store pickup handoff. They announced that they have extended their partnership to make the Flybuy Pickup and delivery optimization platform available to franchisees for their virtual brands Super Mega Dilla and Thrilled Cheese from IHOP and Cosmic Wings® from Applebee's.


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Graduate Ann Arbor hotel offers cuisine from around the world with new kitchen concept

Graduate Food Hall rolls eight different concepts into one, featuring a variety of dishes from American classics to Japanese street food. Graduate Hotels launched the concept in partnership with Creating Culinary Communities, also known as C3.


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‘Euphoria’ star Nika King and her chef mom opening incubator kitchen in Fort Lauderdale

Nika King — who plays the mother of Zendaya’s troubled character in the pretend world of HBO’s hit series “Euphoria” — is teaming up with her actual mom in the real world for an incubator kitchen.


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Dark kitchens & the future of food

Shane O’Neill with Hosted Kitchen provides a nice commentary on ghost kitchens and the future of food.


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Considerations Regarding Takeout, Delivery Services, and Off-Premise Dining

Ordering and delivering food has grown 300 percent faster than dining-in since 2014, As a result, restaurants need to carefully define their plan regarding takeout and delivery.


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Creating a network of kitchens that are reviving the food economy, one meal at a time

Cloud kitchens, ghost kitchens and more from a Vancouver-based company that provides private and shared kitchen and production space to food companies.


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Podcast: The virtual-restaurant conundrum

Joanna Fantozzi recently wrote about the virtual brand conundrum and how restaurants should react to the changing landscape based on a very personal experience she had.


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UK: Edinburgh cost of living: Deliveroo customers provide 25,000 meals to food banks in the Capital

The nationwide partnership launched in April 2022 is aiming to provide two million meals and vital support for people facing hunger across the country, as part of the next phase of Deliveroo’s Full Life campaign.


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EU: ‘Dark commerce’ backlash grows in cities across Europe

Cities are struggling to keep dark stores and kitchens in check, as locals complain of traffic and trash.


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Ireland: Irish businesses must focus on a flexible work environment

Flipdish CEO and Co-Founder discusses what will shape and define the new business era, namely hybrid working and digital transformation.


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Germany: Delivery Hero Closes Several Virtual Kitchens

Delivery platform to stay focused on its core business.


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France: Case study: Providing a new light to a Franco-Italian dark kitchen

Well-presented case study on how a company helped a French restaurant improve their online presence and increase 1st party delivery orders.


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Brazil: iFood stake sale is welcome relief for beleaguered Just Eat Takeaway investors

The group announced a deal to sell its 33% stake in the South American food delivery arm to iFood’s majority owner (and one time Just Eat suitor) Prosus for €1.5bn


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Brazil: Delivery App IFood Focusing on Growth, Not Profits, Says CEO

"Our marketplace and fintechs businesses will still grow for five to seven years," Bloisi told Reuters. "If you pursue profitability too fast, it can kill the business."


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India: The Story of Swiggy v. Zomato in Value Curves

Analyst does a deep dive comparison of the two delivery leaders in India.


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India: With House of the Dragon streaming on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar, the company has partnered with food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy.

The collaboration between the two has turned the Swiggy rider into a dragon, with a tag line on the top of the order “Fire with reign, hunger will not. Our dragon rider is on the way!” I guess using a dragon is one way to keep the food hot.


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India: One kitchen, hundreds of internet restaurants

Someone with too much time on his hands ran across a couple of ghost kitchens running 100+ brands out of a single site!


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MENA: Why is Grubtech shifting its focus to Egypt?

It is not just the market opportunity in Egypt that has driven Grubtech’s pivot to the country. The main reason is gaining access to a wider pool of talent.


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Malaysia: A conversation with Arin Aghazarian

Arin leads Malaysia’s largest cloud kitchen brand, KitchenConnect.


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Australia: Blobfish partners with food delivery companies for R U OK?Day

Households across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will receive their take-away deliveries during September along with a reminder that they already have what it takes to support their family, friends, and colleagues. The branded bags will encourage customers to start a meaningful conversation with their friends, family, and colleagues. These will be distributed by major food delivery companies Uber Eats, Deliveroo, MenuLog and DoorDash.


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