talabat launches its first Cloud Kitchen in UAE

Food & Beverage

December 13, 2020, 12:01 pm

talabat, the leading Middle Eastern food and grocery delivery platform has officially opened its very first Cloud Kitchen in Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa City. By working closely  with Delivery Hero’s Cloud Kitchen team – talabat’s parent company based in Germany – the new kitchen is set to create amazing opportunities in regard to expansion and development for a wide variety of brands in talabat’s operating markets.

 

“The Cloud Kitchen concept helps restaurants reduce the cost of expansion and reduces the amount of time it takes to fulfill orders – leading to a larger volume of orders being completed and successfully delivered to the customer. “

 

The recently launched kitchen, which opened its doors earlier this month, is already housing a number of popular international brands and customer favorites such as Dunkin, Din Tai Fung, Wing Stop, Galito’s & Baskin Robbins as well as local favorites like Malak Al Tawook, Firefly Burgers and Freez, among others.

Joe Frem, VP of Cloud Kitchens and Concepts at talabat, said: “We are thrilled to have opened our first Cloud Kitchen in the region and believe this is a great chance for our restaurant partners to develop their operations in a cost-friendly manner. At talabat, we care immensely about the progress of our restaurant partners and now, with the launch of the first talabat Cloud Kitchen in the UAE, they have access to fully equipped spaces with the advanced resources they require to perform more efficiently. By providing them with state of the art tech systems to fully optimise functions throughout their operations, we are able to further support them and create more opportunities for growth.”

The Cloud Kitchen concept is a delivery-only venture, with no dine-in facility, which helps restaurants reduce the cost of expansion and reduces the amount of time it takes to fulfill orders – leading to a larger volume of orders being completed and successfully delivered to the customer. Also known as ‘dark kitchens’, these tech-enabled facilities help restaurants reduce overall operation costs usually tied to traditional brick and mortar establishments as well as delivery time, allowing customers to receive their order in 30 minutes or less.

In addition to increased performance levels, sustainability sits at the core of Cloud Kitchen operations. Frem says, “Circular economy is on the rise with the UAE strategically positioning itself to be a leader on this front. We at talabat are no different. In our Cloud Kitchen, we have put in place a business model that reinforces the reduction of food waste amongst our restaurant partners. This is just the start, and we are eager to leverage our global best practices from Delivery Hero and incorporate them locally.”

The use of high-tech energy management systems helps reduce overall energy consumption by up to 30%. talabat is also collaborating with a number of waste management companies with the aim to recycle 100% of the utilized resources such as used cooking oil, paper cartons and plastics. Furthermore, all paper bags, cups and garbage bags provided by the Cloud Kitchens are biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Enhancing talabat’s sustainability measures starts with measuring waste. The Cloud Kitchen currently uses a tracking system that allows talabat to track, control, and ultimately reduce the overall waste on-site.

When it comes to COVID-19 safety measures, talabat has been leading the market by ensuring its customers experience a certain level of normalcy through their platform during the pandemic. Customers were able to receive their favorite meals and groceries safely, and conveniently from the comfort of their home, as talabat was the first to introduce key measures during the first months of COVID-19 such as contactless deliveries and temperature cards.

“Safety is our greatest priority at talabat.” Frem added. “We have stringent measures in place throughout every step of the journey: from the moment the order is placed, right up until it is prepared, packaged and delivered to customers. We have implemented highly advanced technology such as facial recognition instead of finger scanners, temperature monitoring devices for operating staff, and data loggers to prevent the transmission of COVID.”

This new facility provides talabat with a brilliant opportunity to further expand into the delivery market, as well as continuing to care for its restaurant partners, and offering them more opportunities in terms of growth and development. talabat will be launching more facilities in 2021, to help partners grow further, and faster.