In the economic slump caused by the health crisis, a restaurant branch is doing well.
The "
Dark Kitchen
" - these restaurants without a room and without servers whose dishes are distributed only via delivery platforms - are experiencing an unprecedented craze.
It is a microcosm in the world of catering since, of the 25,000 restaurants on Uber Eats in France, 1,500 virtual brands are listed by the application.
But that represents 500 more “
Dark Kitchen
” since March.
Read also: Containment: does the aid given to restaurateurs allow them to hold out?
The proliferation of 2.0 restaurants did not affect their results.
On the contrary, the players in the sector have seen their revenues soar in recent months.
The turnover of the five virtual restaurants (located in Paris, Nice and Bordeaux) of the “
Dark Kitchen
” company doubled in March.
If the "
boom
"
effect
of confinement fell in April, "
growth remains higher than the previous year
", explains Jean Valfort, founder of the company.
The same goes for "
Taster
", which claims to be the European leader in the sector.
The start-up, created in 2017, owns around fifteen restaurants, under 5 brands distributed in Paris, Rouen, London and Madrid.
And its turnover has multiplied by 2 since the start of the health crisis.
The Covid has saved the market 3 years
This growth is explained by the boom in deliveries.
Indeed, "
the activity of Uber Eats doubled between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020
", explains the platform in
Figaro
.
"
Containment has played an accelerating effect in the development of the catering delivered
", confirms Deliveroo.
"
The Covid has saved the market 3 years
", adds Anton Soulier, ex-executive of Deliveroo and founder of "
Taster
".
This boom is also enabled by the economic model of these establishments, which enjoy a low profitability threshold.
In fact, to create a “
Dark Kitchen
”, it suffices to install a kitchen and its cooks in a place with a high population density to be visible on the applications.
No need, therefore, to break the bank in a premises that has a storefront.
“
The investment is 6 to 10 times less expensive than that of a classic restaurant, depending on the equipment you choose.
In addition to the location, we save on the surface and decoration, not needing a room to welcome customers
”, explains Jean Valfort.
“
The investment
for
a traditional restaurant ranges from 100,000 to 1 million euros.
However, from 50,000 euros, it is possible to create a virtual brand,
”explains Anton Soulier.
These lower fixed costs are, however, blunted by the cost of deliveries.
“
The percentage donated to platforms can represent 20% to 35% of revenue,
” says the founder of “
Taster
”.
10 virtual restaurants in 6 weeks
Exponential, this phenomenon is not only Parisian.
"
60% of the virtual restaurants available on Uber Eats are in Paris, 30% in large cities, such as Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Toulouse or even Rennes and 10% in small towns
", indicates the platform in
Figaro
.
Quentin Lacointa owns five pizzerias in Toulouse - called "
La Manufacture
" - in which he had already developed, in 2019, three virtual brands dedicated to pizza and salads.
Digital restaurants can indeed be grafted onto existing establishments and thus take advantage of the infrastructure in place.
This diversification allowed "
a gain of 5% of turnover
", indicates the company manager.
The pandemic has precipitated its digitalization.
Over the past 6 weeks, the Toulousain has launched 10 virtual restaurants under 4 different brands.
A profitable strategy, since it achieved 80% of its usual turnover, even though its restaurants "
with dining
" were closed.
“
It saved us during the crisis,
” he explains.
He is already planning to develop other virtual brands in Lyon and Bordeaux, in particular.
A "
fundamental trend
"
However, the concept suffers from an image deficit, in particular that of “
junk food
”.
The flagship products of delivery platforms are indeed burgers, sushi and pizzas.
At "
Dark Kitchen
" and "
Taster
", the average baskets are respectively 20 and 25 euros.
Difficult to reach a high-end positioning.
For Jean Valfort, it is only a matter of time.
“
This positioning is a reality in the short term.
The market has not reached maturity.
Customers accustomed to consuming on platforms, often young, will maintain their habits over time.
The supply will then have to adapt to new demand,
”he predicts.
“
This occasional mode of consumption has become more common.
When we started, we achieved 50% of our turnover on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Today, it is much more spread out over the week,
”observes Anton Soulier.
The sector is also criticized for its “
dehumanized
”
model
which would overshadow traditional catering, which was very affected by the crisis.
“
When the restaurants reopened between the two lockdowns, we did not lose sales.
The consumer does not make a trade-off between the delivery of meals and the fact of going to the restaurant.
This trade-off is rather played out between delivery and purchase in supermarkets,
”says Anton Soulier.
Read also: Restaurant owners: the evaporated billions of home delivery
For the two specialists, confinement has certainly been a "
catalyst
" but the delivery of meals is "
a fundamental trend
" which has a bright future ahead of it.
Deliveroo is also betting on it.
For two years, the platform has been developing “
Editions
”
kitchens in France
, dedicated exclusively to delivery.
"
We host restaurateurs who just have to settle there to cook and manage the site and deliveries,
" explains the British company at
Le Figaro
.
In a way, “dark kitchen” shared.
Today two sites in Courbevoie and one in Saint-Ouen host 20 digital restaurants.
The platform plans to open “
half a dozen
” additional
“
Editions
”
sites
in 2021.
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