Ghost Kitchens - The disruption of the fast-casual market

Even before Covid-19, online food delivery was transforming the industry. As a result, restaurants are looking for ways to capture more business, thus directing them to ghost kitchens. The pandemic accelerated these trends, as restaurants were forced into restrictions and limited operations.

Ghost kitchens were seen as a niche operation before the virus, but during the pandemic they became an important part of the urban local supply. The "ghost kitchens" are Restaurants, in which only cooking is done, but no guests are served.

With the ghost kitchens, a disruption of everyday gastronomy was announced even before this crisis. Now it's happening faster than expected. The new food delivery platforms that operate with ghost kitchens are developing into the Netflix and Spotify in the catering industry. Already, an estimated 100,000 virtual kitchen concepts exist on third-party apps. The delivery service companies are becoming food platforms that create completely new gastronomy concepts.

With the increasing quality of delivery food, restaurants are increasingly becoming places where the quality of stay is becoming more important. The corona crisis is the decisive driver and at the same time the stress test for alternative catering concepts. If the food delivery worked well in the crisis and the quality of the food is convincing, Ghost Kitchens have the chance to establish themselves in the mainstream and to become part of the everyday food culture.