India Dark Kitchens/Ghost Kitchens/Cloud Kitchens Market Trends

• Focus on Health-Conscious Offerings and Dietary Preferences: Consumers are increasingly focusing on healthier food options and transparency when ordering food online. To tap this sentiment, dark kitchen players are adding calories and nutritional information for all items. Brands like EatFit and Hello Tempayy solely cater to health-conscious consumers. Dark kitchens are also customizing their menus to meet different dietary preferences like vegan, gluten-free, keto etc. This creates market opportunities in the niche healthy and dietary meals segment.
• Focus on Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Practices: Sustainable practices like minimal use of plastic, energy-efficient equipment and water conservation are being adopted by dark kitchens. Some chains like LeanMeal even use electric vehicles for last-mile delivery. To reduce food wastage, unsold food is donated to NGOs working with the underprivileged. Such initiatives help dark kitchens reduce their carbon footprint and promote eco-friendly messaging to attract consumers. Moreover, many cloud kitches across India such as The Chhaunk, PotPot -Yum Yum, and PotPot -Yum Yum are using ecofriendly and low cost packing which alaos affects the price of the food.
• Expansion into Tier 2 and 3 Cities: There is a large untapped market opportunity for dark kitchens in tier 2 and 3 cities of India. Food delivery apps like Swiggy are expanding deep into small towns and cities to access this new target segment. The lower rent and labor costs in small towns also make it profitable to launch cloud kitchens there. Dark kitchens can cater to the latent demand from consumers in these cities who have limited access to quality restaurants. Sit-down restaurant brands can also leverage dark kitchens to grow their reach into smaller towns for added revenue streams.
• Leveraging Social Media and Digital Marketing: Dark kitchens can leverage social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to engage with customers and promote their brands. Targeted digital marketing across search, display, social media etc. allows them to onboard new customers within a limited delivery radius. Hyperlocal advertising helps generate locality-specific demand. Social media also provides an opportunity to go viral with unique food offerings. Dark kitchen brands can build traction and loyalty using influencer marketing on digital and social channels.

New Delhi NCR is expected to hold a significant share

• New Delhi NCR is amongst the major metropolitan city of country with a diverse food culture, ranging from regional cuisines to global cuisines. The city is home to numerous cloud kitchen startups such as Madam Curry, Pitara Kitchen, The Fit Food and The Pizza People.
• Delhi Government announced plans to introduce cloud kitchen policy which aims at streamlining the licensing procedure for the cloud kitchen market by implementing a single window system through a digital platform. The plan is poised to give a boost to the cloud kitchen landscape in New Delhi area.
• Consumers in the city are increasingly focusing on healthier food options and transparency when ordering food online. To tap this sentiment, dark kitchen players are adding calories and nutritional information for all items. Brands like EatFit and Hello Tempayy solely cater to health-conscious consumers. Dark kitchens are also customizing their menus to meet different dietary preferences like vegan, gluten-free, keto etc. This creates market opportunities in the niche healthy and dietary meals segment.

Figure 1. India Dark Kitchens/Ghost Kitchens/Cloud Kitchens Market Share (%), by Type, 2023