Why Ghost Kitchens Are Shaping Up To Be The Future For Quick Service Restaurant (QSRs) Operators

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PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The boom in off-premises business has some restaurants considering the virtual kitchen model. As counter-service brands grapple with rising rents and shrinking margins amid a crush of off-premises demand, some are ditching the dining room altogether and buying into the virtual kitchen model. A recent report from industry insider, QSR Magazine, said this about quick service restaurant operators (QSRs): "You can see the appeal. Virtual—also called cloud or ghost—kitchens are stripped-down commercial cooking spaces with no dine-in option. Functioning as hubs for online delivery and catering orders, they circumvent the need for costly buildouts in premium locations. Less prime real estate also means more space to accommodate delivery and catering vehicles that would otherwise jockey with customers for parking space. It's an ever-more-appealing prospect as the $17 billion U.S. online food delivery market climbs toward a projected $24 billion by 2023, according to data portal Statista." Active companies in the markets this week include ShiftPixy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIXY), Slack Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: WORK), Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER), Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT), Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND).

An article in Restaurant Dive discussed a recent report from Euromonitor which said that ghost kitchens could be a $1T global market by 2030: "Ghost kitchens, or cooking facilities that produce food only for delivery with no dine-in or customer facing areas, could create a $1 trillion global opportunity by 2030, according to a Euromonitor virtual webinar presented by Euromonitor's Global Food and Beverage Lead Michael Schaefer. The firm predicts cheaper, faster and more reliable delivery could help this segment capture 50% of drive-thru service ($75 billion), 50% of takeaway foodservice ($250 billion), 35% of ready meals ($40 billion), 30% of packaged cooking ingredients ($100 billion), 25% of dine-in foodservice ($450 billion), and 15% of packaged snacks ($125 billion). "

ShiftPixy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIXY) BREAKING NEWS: ShiftPixy Labs to Support the Rapid Rise of Ghost Kitchens – ShiftPixy, a California-based gig engagement platform provider, today added additional commentary around last week's groundbreaking launch of ShiftPixy Labs, a new suite of marketing and support services for quick service restaurant operators (QSRs). The COVID-19 pandemic has proven a game-changer for QSRs, which are now embracing ghost kitchens in response to social distancing mandates. New ghost kitchens have already raised more than $500 million in capital and are spreading quickly nationwide. Euromonitor expects a $1 trillion market globally by 2030, which could replace up to half of all dine-in volume as early as 2022. ShiftPixy aims to provide sophisticated technology to assist with all aspects of establishing and operating a successful ghost kitchen, and with the launch of ShiftPixy Labs last week, is inviting budding and established restaurant entrepreneurs alike to partner with ShiftPixy to drive their future success.