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Cloud kitchen – A game changer for workplaces in 2022
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Tuesday, 19 April, 2022, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Karan Totlani
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Two years ago, commercial workplaces had a different story to tell; they bustled with activity, employees frantically worked to achieve their professional goals, while one of their most important needs – food – was adequately met by their organisations through onsite kitchens. Fresh, nutritious food was at their disposal almost 24 by 7. Enter the global threat Covid-19 and every comfort zone was challenged. The streamlined system was left in disarray.
To rein in the pandemic threat, employees resorted to working from home, workplaces lay vacant, onsite kitchens stopped functioning. Businesses struggled to maintain their momentum; employees laboured to overcome the challenges of working from home. However, in time, people and organisations started realigning themselves according to the ‘new normal’. Gradually, people engaged in critical activities started returning to their workplaces, while others either continued to work from home or function from nearby co-working spaces. Consequently, the food space too evolved to meet the needs of this hybrid workspace.
Food delivery models started flourishing. With the Covid protocols in place, people preferred to skip the dine-in option and order their favourite food instead, to be delivered at the designated place. Research shows that today, 52% of global consumers are more comfortable ordering from a delivery-only restaurant.
With the desire to provide an enhanced employee experience, organisations too started brainstorming about a food model that could provide a similar enchanting experience to all their employees. Thus, was born the concept of cloud kitchens – a kitchen producing food only for delivery, with no eat-in or customer facing areas. Although this concept had always been there for the airline industry, but now it gathered storm for the corporate workplaces.
5 trends that support the cloud kitchen concept
• Anywhere, everywhere – Although corporate workplaces started reopening, but they adhered to a hybrid workplace where only a part of the total employees attended office on a particular day. Rest of the workforce operated from home or from co-working spaces near their homes. Delivering freshly cooked food to all the employees was possible only through cloud kitchens that were in near proximity of the employees. Similar food experience could then be provided to all employees, irrespective of their place of work.
• Shrinking commercial real estate space – Businesses looked to curtailing costs and real estate space was one of the first to come under the scanner. According to the global real estate leader JLL, net leasing of office space fell by 47% between January and September 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, across 7 big metros of India. Organisations began looking at offsite kitchens to replace the onsite ones, and cloud kitchens emerged as the possible answer.
• Easier on the pocket – Cloud kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens, cater to many organisations located within a short distance. Also, various food services players can operate from the same cloud kitchen. Thereby, the cost structure of prepared food becomes lesser for everyone in the ecosystem. With rent and staff accounting for almost 60% of the cost of a food item, meals from these cloud kitchens weigh much easier on the pocket of the consumer as compared to onsite kitchens.
• Food services giants are entering the space – With cloud kitchens becoming an attractive business opportunity, big players are entering the market, leading to good investment in kitchen infrastructure, more emphasis on safety and hygiene, better menus, qualified chefs and improved taste and style. This is a boon for the consumers who get quality food that supports the pandemic norms.
• Technological support – Search engines like Google are supporting this concept and consumers can locate a variety of cloud kitchens in their locality when they browse the internet. Also, the entire process of food preparation and delivery is based on technology – food is prepared in smart kitchens with combi ovens that preserve nutrients and prepare consistently tasty food. Food is delivered in temperature-controlled vans and payment is made through apps that also encourage feedback for improvement. The entire process is transparent, simple and digitised.
Studies have assessed the market size in India to be around $ 47.5 billion. Currently, the cloud kitchen concept is a game-changer for the corporate workplaces only. However, there is every likelihood of other workplaces like healthcare and educational institutions joining the bandwagon soon. After all, the advantages are too many to ignore.
(The author is corporate services segment head at Sodexo Onsite Services – India)
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