Cloud kitchens, the new normal in post covid world

It has now become a trend for passionate chefs to set up their businesses

Hyderabad: The food industry keeps evolving with new ideas and sometimes prevailing conditions also force it to improvise. During the Covid pandemic, the concept of cloud kitchens began and within a few months, it has become a trend.

While traditional restaurants can never be replaced, cloud kitchens have for sure started to make their mark in the industry. Cloud kitchens, also referred to as virtual kitchens, utilise a commercial space for the purpose of preparing food for delivery or takeout only, with no dine-in customers.

These businesses deliver food with minimal overhead. “Cloud Kitchens are now a part of the food industry and are here not only to stay but grow. Setting up costs and overheads are less for any cloud kitchen as compared to a physical restaurant. While everything in this world can go virtual, restaurants and bars can never go virtual. Cloud kitchens and traditional dining restaurants will survive and thrive together for a long time,” says Zorawar Kalra, owner of Louis Burger, a cloud kitchen that serves signature craft burgers.

“We have generated more sales from a 200 sqft kitchen than restaurants do from 3,000 sqft,” he added. These virtual kitchens help owners to concentrate on the quality and taste of food along with marketing while minimising their administrative and logistics burden.

“There is a lot of cost-cutting when it comes to cloud kitchens. We can also supervise directly. While restaurants require more waiters and workers, cloud kitchens can work with just a single worker.

Additionally, restaurants require thousands of sqft to operate compared to cloud kitchens that can be started in just 100 sqft as well,” says Malthi Rao, owner of Telangana Vindhu, a cloud kitchen that offers traditional food.