Build Your Brand

Keeping brand identity throughout multiple business models and touchpoints is no simple task. Making sure your existing customer base knows what you do and what you offer will greatly increase business for your brand. Keeping the brand identity the same while operating in a new market can be difficult and may change people's perception of the brand. The consumer, once they find out they are getting food from a dark kitchen and not a physical restaurant with a dine-in option, may interpret this as the restaurant cutting costs which may change the quality of the food. Keeping the brand identity of the company will show consumers that they are still getting the quality food they are used to and will attract more business to the brand. With no dine-in option or brick-and-mortar store, marketing your brand the same way can be a challenge to get your business up and running. 

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Diversify Your Food Offering

There are plenty of opportunities to diversify what the business can do to sell your food to your customers. In the years of the pandemic, dark kitchens were crucial for people to receive food delivery efficiently and cost-effectively. But with lockdown now over and people returning to dine-in food places. While the increase in the need for dark kitchens has slowed, this market can expand in a variety of ways, including catering services, meal prep and corporate meal services. Some dark kitchen operators even run multiple food brands out of the same dark kitchens.

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We cover menu refinement, along with advice on pricing and general operations, in our guide on how to set up a dark kitchen. 

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Improving Customer Experience

The customer's experience while ordering their food from your kitchen should be seamless from the order they place to the delivery they get. Making sure the customer is satisfied is the best way to keep your kitchen running and profitable. 

The best way to keep customers happy and have them continue to eat your food are down to things like packaging, food presentation, sauces, little extras, etc.. It is beneficial to keep that customer experience at a high standard so they stay as a returning customer and spread the word about your food.

Branding & Social Media 

Branding your brand does not just come from the food you make. There are plenty of ways to make sure your brand can be seen outside the kitchen. Using social media effectively can provide a huge boost in customer engagement and attraction to your business. Using social media influencers to promote your brand can increase the flow of customers to order your food. They will help promote how easy it is to go through the process of ordering from you and show how the food quality and taste is of a high standard.

Services like Deliveroo and Just Eat can promote your food brand through their apps and social media which will also attract attention to your business. The delivery services you choose to use can also elevate the quality of your brand by showing you care about how the customer receives their food. They do this by ensuring the food is still fresh and warm on delivery and the packaging and plating is standard to how it would be in a dine-in or takeaway location. 

Still confused about what a dark kitchen is? Check our article defining what dark kitchens are to dive deep into the topic. See some success stories here.

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Final Thoughts

Some challenges come with running a kitchen without a storefront, but by marketing effectively and understanding that this is a different market space than a dine-in restaurant, you can make your kitchen a success story like many others before you. 

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Oya Kitchens are here to help you find your perfect fit, but it is up to you to make your brand a success. Check out this success story from Carousel.