The past few years have witnessed a surge in digital adoption across several sectors in Dubai, and the food industry is no exception. Online ordering, unmatched in terms of convenience, has created a demand for quick and quality food delivery driving a spike in cloud kitchens and virtual food brands across the region. With that being said, here are four key players set to have a huge say in the industry’s ongoing transformation in 2024.
Kitopi
Kitopi is one of the most popular cloud kitchen platforms in the UAE. It was launched in Dubai in January 2018 and has since expanded to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Kitopi manages the whole food manufacturing and delivery process, including sourcing materials, cooking, packaging, and even delivery.
Smart technology has become increasingly integral as the firm has scaled in recent years. This has included the development of its own in-house Smart Kitchen Operating System (SKOS) with one central goal: serving more customers, as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Additionally, it continues to put increased focus on sustainable sourcing through partnerships with the likes of UAE-based agri-tech platform Fresh On Table, allowing it to not only track the origin and journey of the ingredients but also keep track of the food miles saved.
The Cloud
The Cloud was founded in Abu Dhabi, in 2019, by Georges Karam and Kamil Rogalinski, foodies and tech lovers at heart who believed that food delivery could be done better, faster, and at a much larger scale. Unlike the other names on this list, it is solely focused on using its technology to help both the kitchens and the food brands themelves. This includes connecting brands with partnering kitchens via its kitchen matching platform, increasing delivery coverage and reducing timeline for onboarding across delivery platforms.
Highlighting its potential, in February, the Hub71 startup announced a successful first close of $12 million in a Series B funding round including the entry of a new investor, MENA Moonshots. Additioanlly, a strategic acquisition of UK-based food tech startup KBOX recently expanded The Cloud’s presence by 200 locations in the UK bolstering its position as a UAE-based startup with global impact.
Deliveroo Editions
It is less than a year since Deliveroo expanded its delivery-only kitchen ‘Editions’ into Abu Dhabi, building on a concept that was intially launched in Dubai in 2017. Equipped with 10 super kitchens, the new Editions site was built to host a range of restaurant partners as well as an evolving rotation of virtual brands.
By design, the Editions concept facilitates the expansion of restaurants into a new zone without having to invest in a brick and mortar location. Just as they do in their brick and mortar venues, restaurants use their own expert chefs with the help of Deliveroo’s state-of-the-art kitchen infrastructure and rider network to bring the same restaurant quality items to more customers. Deliveroo currently has five kitchens in Dubai alone, including one on Hessa Street which it said was the largest “dark kitchen” in the world when it was launched in 2021. Having this infrastructure in place ensures quick dispatch and delivery times in the region, in turn enhancing the overall custoemer experience.
Kitch-In
The Kitch-In food platform launched in 2021 bringing together four virtual restaurant brands under one roof. Developed by chef Izu Ani and his culinary team, Kitch-In works with hotel brand Accor by utilising existing kitchens located in properties within the Accor network. Through this partnerhsip, Kitch-In can lean on the extended reach and accessibility of their hotels, as well as benefitting from operations, logistics and professional kitchen teams. This high-end concept plans to revolutionise not only home-delivery but also hotel in-room dining through a combination of nutritional experts and celebrity chefs. In addition to this, it has lofty ambitions to gradually expand across all Accor properties globally.
