{"id":1775,"date":"2021-05-26T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/?p=1775"},"modified":"2021-06-16T02:08:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T07:08:55","slug":"ghost-kitchens-food-truck-owner-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/ghost-kitchens-food-truck-owner-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghost Kitchens: What Every Food Truck Owner Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2020, takeout and delivery restaurants are suddenly everywhere. Most food trucks and restaurants have transformed. They are no longer merely enjoying food while relaxing and sitting. Instead, they transformed into ghost kitchens offering a wide array of food menus for delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ghost kitchens are not new. They have been around since\u00a01889\u00a0when King Umberto of Italy and his queen ordered pizza for delivery on the palace. In 1995, World Wide Waiters, now\u00a0Waiter.com, started ghost kitchens in the US. They offered online food delivery for different local restaurants. Since then, ghost kitchens have been an American thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, the ghost kitchen network in the US has connected 390,000 merchants to more than 18 million consumers. Here\u2019s what every food truck owner should know about ghost kitchens.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 3px solid; padding: 10px; width: 100%; border-radius: 25px; border-color: #F4A70F; color: #007bff;\">\n<strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #007bff;\">What&#8217;s Inside<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#ghostkitchens\"> What are Ghost Kitchens?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#advantages\"> Advantages of Ghost Kitchens<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#disadvantages\"> Disadvantages of Ghost Kitchens<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtoopen\"> How to Open a Ghost Kitchen?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#legalfactors\"> Legal Factors<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#foodmenu\"> How to Create Your Food Menu<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#deliveryservice\"> How to Choose a Food Delivery Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#market\"> How to Market Your Ghost Kitchen Business<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ghostkitchens\"><strong>What are Ghost Kitchens?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ghost Kitchens are cooking and food facilities set up for preparing delivery-only meals. They have no dining areas for walk-in customers. They have no dining rooms or waitstaff. Ghost kitchens may either be home commissaries, food trucks, or restaurants that offer both retail food distribution among households and offices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other terms for ghost kitchens are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloud Kitchens<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commissary Kitchens<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dark Kitchens<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delivery-Only Restaurants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headless Restaurants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shadow Kitchens<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virtual Kitchens<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most food entrepreneurs prefer ghost kitchens because they have lower overhead expenses as compared to traditional restaurants. The absence of dining location, front house staff, and paper menus give them a higher profit margin even if they pay 3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> party delivery charges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some popular 3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> party delivery services for ghost kitchens are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caviar\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DoorDash<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GrubHub<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Postmates<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UberEats<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"advantages\"><strong>Advantages of Ghost Kitchens<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several benefits of starting a ghost kitchen instead of a brick-and-mortar restaurant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, ghost kitchens have lower overhead costs in the absence of dining locations, front house staff, and paper menus.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, they are also quicker to start up as owners can just add their food menu offerings on the website of 3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> party online delivery apps. There\u2019s no need to wait for brick-and-mortar shops to remodel. You can set up a ghost kitchen on a commissary space, food truck, or restaurant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third, a ghost kitchen can be an extension of an existing food truck or restaurant business. The ghost kitchen can increase the reach of food brands to different locations through <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/29\/online-ordering-options-food-truck\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">online ordering<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These loyal delivery customers can significantly increase revenue through a steady stream of online orders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"disadvantages\"><strong>Disadvantages of Ghost Kitchens<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/02\/food-truck-business-pros-cons\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food trucks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and traditional restaurants, ghost kitchens have their challenges and downsides.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a meal for the delivery concept, ghost kitchens are challenged to engineer excellent packaging for deliveries. They should find ways to keep the food intact and at the right temperature upon delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ghost restaurants exist solely online. There is no direct contact between the customers and the ghost kitchen itself. In case a guest had a bad experience with the delivery service, the ghost restaurant suffers without any control. It would be hard to reach out to the customer to redeem their online reputation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third party online food deliveries may also charge higher fees for delivery, which can affect the costing of your menu offerings. The income will have to be split between the ghost kitchen and the delivery service, which could mean a lower ROI for such a type of business.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"uv-lst\" data-category=\"20\" data-count=\"6\" data-type=\"new\"> <\/div>\n<h2 id=\"howtoopen\"><strong>How to Open a Ghost Kitchen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a few common ways of structuring a ghost kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, several independent food brands may share a commissary space. Or a single team to develop multiple in-house brands in a commissary space for these different brands.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, some dine-in restaurants launch \u201cspin-off\u201d brands. These are the same brand they serve but are handled by a separate entity for food delivery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third, some chefs rent out restaurant spaces. They share the cooking facility with a dine-in shop but they cook meals for delivery services only.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, food trucks can be a ghost kitchen alternative. For extra revenues, food truck owners can tie up with 3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> party online food delivery apps to deliver and market their food offerings.<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"legalfactors\"><strong>Legal Factors<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Entrepreneurs who want to start a ghost kitchen should first consider 3 legal factors. These are the corporate information, leasing issues, and local laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The perfect corporate option for a ghost kitchen is the Limited Liability Company (LLC). As a flow-through identity, all net incomes are taxed at an individual level for an LLC. This equates to significant tax benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typically ghost kitchen leasing is under a subleasing agreement. So, ghost kitchen owners must see to it that contracts are very clear. This is because renting the kitchen was not made directly to the building\u2019s landlord.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The local city health department is generally the one regulating ghost kitchens. Like food trucks and restaurants, ghost kitchens should also comply with business permits, insurances, local health codes, and standards.<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"foodmenu\"><strong>How to Create Your Food Menu<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After obtaining the requirements for legalizing your ghost kitchen, you now need to focus on your food menu. As much as possible, aim for the quickest prep time for your food menu. Consistency, simplicity, and versatility in food offerings are the key.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also need to consider the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/18\/guide-food-packaging\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food packaging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and delivery time of the food. Depending on the type of food you offer, the temperature can be a huge issue. Hot foods should be kept on thermal packaging to be served hot upon delivery. While cold or frozen food should be insulated for the freshness to stay. If possible, offer food using the same ingredient and preparation. This can also help you lower the cost of your food offerings.<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"deliveryservice\"><strong>How to Choose a Food Delivery Service<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest consideration you need to make in a ghost kitchen is to choose the right partner for your food delivery. You can choose to have an in-house delivery team. But you need to allocate separate delivery drivers and an ordering team to handle it.\u00a0 This is in addition to expanding your insurance coverage to off-premises delivery. While fees for 3rd party online food delivery apps may be steep, you are not just hiring them as delivery partners. You are also hiring them to market your products online. These 3rd party apps provide reliable delivery. They also have a larger audience reach to market your ghost kitchen brand.<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"market\"><strong>How to Market Your Ghost Kitchen Business<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, successful ghost kitchens leverage the power of social media marketing like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/30\/facebook-marketing-strategies-food-truck\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Instagram, and Twitter. These pages have large numbers of followers that allow the discovery of your brand online. Posting stunning food photos and videos can also attract social media customers. Running promotions and specials during holidays can also help boost revenue for your ghost kitchen. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/18\/business-needs-website\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">business website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also important to the success of a ghost kitchen. Connect it with a Google My Business or Yelp account for free advertising. You can also send emails to your colleagues, contacts, families, and friends to spread the good news about your ghost kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to learn more on how to grow your food truck business? Check out the following articles:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/18\/expert-tips-food-truck-industry\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 Expert Tips to Crush Competitors in the Food Truck Industry<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/24\/taglines-slogans-food-truck-business\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catchy Taglines and Slogan Ideas for Your Food Truck Business<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/11\/most-profitable-food-truck-items\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Most Profitable Food Truck Items<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if you are looking for a new food truck unit, be sure to check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UsedVending<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the largest selection of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/used-mobile-food-trucks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mobile food trucks for sale<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in America.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2020, takeout and delivery restaurants are suddenly everywhere. Most food trucks and restaurants have transformed. They are no longer merely enjoying food while relaxing and sitting. Instead, they transformed into ghost kitchens offering a wide array of food menus for delivery.\u00a0 Ghost kitchens are not new. They have been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":1789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13,620,621,622],"class_list":["post-1775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-trucks","tag-food-trucks","tag-ghost-kitchens","tag-ghost-kitchens-advantages","tag-what-are-ghost-kitchens"],"modified_by":"Titus Asher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1775"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2032,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions\/2032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}