An influx of overseas workers has proven to be a boom for the food & beverages industry in Dubai. By 2030, the global online food delivery industry is expected to reach a staggering $365 billion.
Naturally, the UAE, and Dubai specifically, will have a sizable chunk of that market share as the region is constantly multiplying its workforce of highly-skilled workers. With a proficient workforce, comes an elevated consumer capacity for luxury expenditures like fine dining, entertainment & cinema. To cater to the ever-growing demand, an excellent business opportunity has presented itself for entrepreneurs pertaining to the restaurant industry.
While a delivery-only restaurant is the ideal business setup for people looking for a low-risk, low-investment, and medium-profit enterprise, a full-fledged restaurant requires significantly higher investment but also provides a chance for an abundance of wealth if done right.
So, if you’re wondering how to open a cloud kitchen in the UAE, here is the check-list you should keep in mind before starting a restaurant or a cloud kitchen in Dubai -
1. Location and Property
A major portion of the fixed costs in establishing a restaurant or a cloud kitchen is the rent paid for the venture. If you’re thinking, how to open a cloud kitchen in the UAE, you can strategically rent a relatively cheaper place close to a residential area to save on costs and be in the vicinity of more clients. Whereas, for a restaurant the location is key as a highly popular commercial district will bring in higher footfall.
2. Required Licenses
Achieving a cloud kitchen license in Dubai is essential for opening a restaurant and a cloud kitchen. The main license required to run a cloud kitchen or a restaurant is a Trade License and Food License. If you wish to set up your own cloud kitchen in Dubai as a business owner you have to make sure that the licensing is completely sorted before commencing operations.
3. Staff
For any venture in the food and beverage industry, the staff is a key pillar that defines the success of the business enterprise. Being an entrepreneur, if you ponder how to start cloud kitchen in Dubai, you should realise that recruiting a dedicated workforce that is ideal for the specific cuisine being sold at a restaurant is essential. A cloud kitchen can operate with fewer employees as there is no front-end workforce needed. Whereas, staffing needs to be a lot more meticulous for a full-fledged restaurant as the employees are the face of the enterprise.
4. Managing online orders
A cloud kitchen mainly relies on online orders for its business to operate, so it is of paramount importance that they choose the adequate online platform that provides the highest level of visibility to the enterprise. Hence, if you’re looking for an solution for how to open a cloud kitchen in the UAE, it is important to keep an eye on online aggregators that provide a higher percentage of revenue per order.
5. Social Media Marketing
There are multiple platforms where a business can promote its restaurant or cloud kitchen. Since there is a limited budget for every food & beverage enterprise, identifying your target audience and knowing which platform to highlight your business can be the major factor in driving sales and attracting new clients. Providing loyalty discounts to regular users, giving festive offers to promote consumption are key elements to keeping your restaurant relevant.
6. Technology requirements
To streamline and control the orderly flow of orders in any restaurant or cloud kitchen, highly sophisticated software is needed. Every restaurant or cloud kitchen needs to arm itself with state-of-the-art restaurant management technology such as an Integrated Kitchen Display System, Integrated Delivery System for food delivery, centralized ordering system (with a POS), and a Call Center panel.
