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CloudKitchens

CloudKitchens is a real estate company that provides smart kitchens for delivery-only restaurants. They provide infrastructure and software that enables food operators to open delivery-only locations with minimal capital expenditure and time. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.

<div><p>CloudKitchens is a kitchen infrastructure company that caters to established restaurant chains interested in turnkey expansion solutions, local restaurateurs seeking delivery models to reach new markets, and food entrepreneurs looking to test new brands with minimal risk.</p></div>

Defining the future of the restaurant business.

Cloud Kitchens

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  <p>
    CloudKitchens is a kitchen infrastructure company that caters to established restaurant chains interested in turnkey expansion solutions, local restaurateurs seeking delivery models to reach new markets, and food entrepreneurs looking to test new brands with minimal risk. 
  </p>
  <p>
    The company has over 50 active locations across the US and has kitchen partnerships with major American food brands such as Chick-fil-A and Applebees. 
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  <p>
    CloudKitchens has also steadily expanded its global presence through acquisitions and partnerships. In July 2020, the company acquired NanoKitchens, a Mexico-based network of hubs for last-mile delivery in the food and retail segments for the B2B and B2C sectors. Earlier in April 2019, CloudKitchens acquired Foodstars, a UK-based startup with over 100 commercial kitchens to rent for food and beverage companies. The acquisition enables CloudKitchens to offer delivery-only kitchens in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. CloudKitchens delivery-only kitchens also operate in India, across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, under the KitchenPlus brand. 
    In June 2023, CloudKitchens entered a partnership with Starbucks to expand the latter&rsquo;s delivery footprint.
     
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  <p>
    CloudKitchens raised USD 850 million in a November 2021 circular that valued the startup at USD 15 billion. Prior to that, the company received USD 400 million in November 2019, backed by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. 
  </p>
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  <p>
    Amped Kitchens (formerly known as L.A. Prep) provides permit-ready, private commercial kitchen spaces for food manufacturers in the Chicago and Los Angeles markets. Each kitchen is rented to just one tenant, with options ranging from 150 square feet to 4,500 square feet. The offering includes commercial kitchens, commissary kitchens, CPG production kitchens, pilot production and test kitchens, gluten-free kitchens, and meal delivery kitchens.
  </p>
  <p>
    As of February 2022, Amped Kitchens had three fully-owned locations across Chicago, LA North, and LA South. The Chicago location is a former factory that has been converted into a multi-tenant food production space with 64 commercial kitchen units for rent. The LA North and LA South facilities each feature 62 food production spaces. The company’s tenants include 27 national, regional, and local food companies in consumer packaged goods and the retail and restaurant sector, including Beyond Meat, Halo Top, Applebee’s, and others.
    Amped Kitchens charges its tenants USD 1,850 per month for entry-level spaces, with costs growing based on the size of the space and in-room amenities.
  </p>
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Amped Kitchens

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  <p>
    Sweetheart Kitchen is a Dubai-based independent cloud kitchen that owns and operates its own brands. As of February 2022, the company offered 21 cuisine-specific, quick-service food brands across the UAE and Kuwait.
  </p>
  <p>
    The company does not partner with third-party restaurants looking to outsource their delivery volumes but has linked up with third-party aggregators in the region such as Talabat, Zomato, and Carriage for delivery. 
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  <p>
    In February 2021, the company launched a loyalty program to provide customers with immediate ‘data-based’ rewards with a view to incentivizing specific behaviors such as increasing Average Order Value and frequency of purchase.
  </p>
  <p>
    In October 2020, the company raised USD 17.7 million in a Series C funding round led by Sweetheart Kitchen CEO Peter Schatzberg, with plans to dedicate the funds to launching additional brands and expansion in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. To date, the company has received total funding of USD 42.2 million. The company has not revealed any plans to expand to the US or European markets.
  </p>
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Sweetheart Kitchen

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  <p>
    REEF Technology (formerly known as ParkJockey Global) is an operator of parking real estate and delivery kitchens in North America. The company transforms urban spaces into community hubs by setting up cloud kitchens, healthcare clinics, retail outlets, and other services in empty parking spaces.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    REEF kitchens is the company&rsquo;s turnkey expansion solution for restaurateurs. These are purpose-built commercial kitchens that prepare food ordered online for delivery and pick-up. Each kitchen prepares food for three to five restaurant brands, and REEF manages all operational requirements on behalf of restaurant owners including staffing and day-to-day kitchen management. REEF kitchens are connected to the neighborhood&rsquo;s most popular food delivery platforms and getREEF (the company&rsquo;s own delivery platform) via a proprietary delivery management technology. This enables each kitchen to organize and prepare orders for multiple brands. The kitchens operate under a license model as opposed to a flat fee.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    The company&rsquo;s brand portfolio includes food brands like Wow Bao, Wayback Burgers, Firenza, Saladworks, and Capriottis and is supplied by Collectiv Food and Crate to Plate. For delivery, the company has partnered with Grubhub, Deliveroo, Postmates, and UberEats.
  </p>
  <p>
    There were over 300 REEF kitchens across key markets in North America and Europe, including cities like Austin, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Portland, Toronto, Edmonton, and London. However, in January 2022, the company temporarily shut down a third of its locations (around 95 sites) due to underperformance and a number of operational challenges including labor shortages, high costs, incomplete permits, and difficulties connecting to utilities. In March 2023, Reef announced plans to discontinue operations of its unprofitable ghost kitchen facilities in a strategic move that focuses on profitability. The company instead planned to increase its focus on licensing its technology to venues such as airports and stadiums.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>Key customers and partnerships</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    In December 2021, REEF acquired 2ndKitchen, a US-based virtual kitchen for hotels, offices, buildings, and other hospitality companies. 2ndKitchen&rsquo;s existing business will be combined with REEF's brand and will operate under its hospitality division. In November 2021, the company announced the acquisition of iKcon Restaurant LLC, a Dubai-based cloud kitchen operator, marking its first major transaction in the MENA market.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    REEF also strengthens its reach and customer base through partnerships with other players in the broader cloud kitchen ecosystem including Creating Culinary Communities (C3) and JustKitchen. REEF currently carries C3 brands in its cloud kitchens, and has a partnership with JustKitchen to launch its &ldquo;Another Wing&rdquo; brand in South-East Asia. In July 2022 Reef partnered with HUBB Kitchens, a North Carolina-based cloud kitchen facility provider to open a virtual food hall in the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    In March 2022, the company announced a partnership with the fast-casual Mexican restaurant QDOBA to launch 25 pilot locations in Seattle, Austin, and Atlanta. In August 2021, the company partnered with the American fast food chain Wendy&rsquo;s to open 700 delivery Kitchens across the US, Canada, and the UK by 2025. In May 2023, the two companies announced plans to close down all Wendy&rsquo;s cloud kitchen locations in the US. In March 2022, the company launched its first fine-dining collaboration with The One Group for its upscale concepts STK, Kona Grill and Bao Yum.
  </p>
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REEF Technology

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  <p>
    Combo Kitchen is a Miami-based cloud kitchen partner that connects restaurant brands to franchisees, enabling food entrepreneurs to select and prepare established delivery-only food brands. Combo Kitchen was founded by Hossein Kasmai, the CEO and founder of Franchise Creator Inc., a Miami-based franchise consulting firm.
  </p>
  <p>
    Restaurant owners are invited to join the Combo Kitchen network of concepts, with the intention of expanding their footprint in new markets, growing brand awareness, and increasing foot traffic to key locations. As of February 2022, Combo Kitchen’s network included 28 restaurant brands, including Saladworks, Memphis Wings, Ramen Lab, and Poke Sushi Bowl. With restaurant partners, Combo Kitchen acts as a support team, freeing restaurateurs to only focus on training franchisees in menu preparation. 
  </p>
  <p>
    For franchisees (often independent restaurants, bakeries, and cafes with their own kitchen spaces), Combo Kitchen provides support with location scouting, kitchen design and construction, advertising, and POS integrations. By incorporating multiple brands, franchisees are able to grow revenues while leveraging the same kitchen infrastructure. In turn, franchisees submit a one-time entrance fee to join the Combo Kitchen network and pay royalties to Combo Kitchen and the owners of the concepts in exchange for the rights to operate multiple brands in one kitchen. 
  </p>
  <p>
    The company has partnered with major third-party food delivery providers such as UberEats, GrubHub, and DoorDash. 
  </p>
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Combo Kitchen

<div>
  <p>
    Crave Hospitality Group is an independent cloud kitchen operator that provides delivery-only restaurant brands. The company&rsquo;s virtual brands include The Flying Rooster, Madre's Flatbread, Big Reds Burgers &amp; Grill, Brownstone Pizza, The Red Crane, and The Twisted Cactus. &nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    The company was initially known for its food delivery company (&ldquo;Crave Delivery&rdquo;) before it decided to change its business model by launching into cloud kitchens (&ldquo;Crave Collective&rdquo;) in November 2020. As of September 2023, the company operates 4 kitchen locations.&nbsp;
  </p>
  <p>
    The company&rsquo;s business is powered by its own proprietary software (&ldquo;Crave Technology&rdquo;) for multi-brand management, restaurant point-of-sale, kiosk and mobile ordering as well as operational support, driver logistics, and analytics. Crave Technology can also be licensed by national and regional restaurant groups looking for an opportunity to scale.
  </p>
  <p>
    Unlike other cloud operations, Crave does not partner with third-party delivery companies and instead employs its own staff to undertake delivery. The company also employs a large crew of mobile servers to engage with customers during pick-up, as well as customer service reps who answer phone calls. Crave conducts regular surveys on menu preferences and pricing, adjusting recipes and approaches in line with customer insights.
  </p>
  <p>
    In July 2021, the company estimated that its Boise location was generating USD 500,000 in monthly revenues.
  </p>
  <p>
    Since 2019, the company has received 4 rounds of funding amounting to USD 16.5 million. The latest round was in July 2021 when the company raised USD 3.3 million in seed funding. Prior to that, in March 2021, the company raised USD 4.9 million in a seed round led by early-stage investment fund StageDotO Ventures. Crave has leveraged these infusions for the expansion of its cloud kitchen operations and its licensing initiative for Crave Technology.
  </p>
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Crave Hospitality Group

Some companies provide B2B SaaS solutions for restaurants to manage their cloud kitchen orders

Kitchen infrastructure companies that offer restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs purpose-built commercial kitchens (both private and shared spaces) as a turnkey expansion solution.

CloudKitchens

Cloud Kitchens

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Recent Updates

CloudKitchens lays off 30 recruiters; aims profitability in 2023

Monthly News Summary (June 2023)

CloudKitchens partners with multi-brand restaurant company Inspire Brands

CloudKitchens partners with Capital Tacos across five US cities

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