The recent rise of on-demand food delivery has completely changed the restaurant industry.
This new phase of consumer dining is less about place and status, instead shifting the focus towards expediency and superb taste. Virtual brands and ghost kitchens are one of the most effective and profitable ways of meeting these shifting consumer tastes.
Although definitions and operating methods differ, virtual brands generally refer to food concepts working without a physical storefront. The only space required is a kitchen to cook the food.
Virtual food brands and ghost kitchens offer a highly environmentally-friendly business model, with advantages including less staff travel, reduced food waste and increased energy efficiency.
It’s something consumers genuinely care about, so let’s take a look in more detail…
Why does sustainability matter?
As the online food delivery sector grows, customers are increasingly questioning the environmental impact of rapid delivery.
80% of consumers want food brands to help them be more environmentally friendly and cite this as a key factor when deciding where to eat. What’s more, over 40% said they’d be willing to pay more for sustainable dining.
For long-term success, virtual food brands need to actively demonstrate their sustainability credentials.
With this in mind, here are just two of the main environmental concerns impacting the restaurant industry, and how virtual food brands can help.
Carbon Cost of Construction
What are the problems?
If new kitchens or restaurants need to be built, this will come with significant carbon emissions. Indeed, the average new ghost kitchen represents around 1,200 tonnes of embodied carbon.
What are the solutions?
Compared with dine-in restaurants, ghost kitchen brands take-up less space and construction materials. This is a significant environmental benefit, as put simply – less construction materials mean less carbon.
At Peckwater Brands, we enable kitchen operators to make the most of their existing space. This prevents the environmental footprint of building, as well as reducing energy usage…
Energy Usage
What are the problems?
It’s no secret that commercial kitchens are prolific energy users.
Energy typically accounts for up to 10% of a restaurant’s costs, with most of this powering hobs and ovens, as well as HVAC systems.
What are the solutions?
By incorporating virtual food concepts into existing kitchens (as opposed to adding multiple, separate kitchens to the market), energy efficiency is improved. Ovens and HVAC systems can support multiple brands from the same space.
Our model uses five times less incremental energy, compared with creating a new dark kitchen space.
The bottom line
In addition to cutting construction-related carbon and energy usage, our virtual food brands reduce the number of in-house staff. Fewer commutes mean less fuel and carbon emissions.
Food waste is also reduced, with multiple menus and tech-based ordering systems offering the ability to forecast demand and re-use ingredients across dishes. It’s all about maximising efficiency and leveraging economies of scale – helping the environment and your bottom-line.
Peckwater Brands help kitchen operators improve their efficiency and environmental impact through flexible virtual food brand concepts. Book a call today and say hello to extra orders, increased revenue and profit margins.
Topics from this blog: Operations
