Virtual kitchens and digital dining concepts are on the rise

One interesting development in the hospitality world during COVID and one that seems poised to continue post-COVID are virtual kitchens and digital dining concepts. According to the National Restaurant Association, 2020 was the worst year on record for the industry. So it’s worth noting what emergent technologies and trends are currently picking up traction in terms of both popularity and profitability.

Virtual kitchens certainly represent this trend. They’re the latest trend this year where entrepreneurs can create new restaurant brands (or sub-brands) without having to build out a brick-and-mortar location. They shop out the actual cooking to existing kitchens and use technology to tie together ordering, delivery, and general operations. As such, a restaurant concept can be launched with exponentially less initial investment than was needed previously.

At a larger scale, the success of virtual kitchens represents what we would traditionally call a disruptor technology or segment, though some today call this kind of business model an Exponential Organization, or ExO. The concept is that certain technologies and organizational structures can be leveraged together to create outsize results that catapult the business beyond their competition and even their entire vertical. Think Uber or Airbnb for easy examples.

To read up more on the concept in the F&B world and how it could apply to your business, I recommend taking a look at this article: https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/virtual-kitchens-digital-concepts-fb