HOW DO YOU START A GHOST KITCHEN?

You have a great idea for a restaurant, you have optimized and tested out your menu offerings on your nearest and dearest with raging success, and now you are ready to start your own ghost kitchen. First, you might need to understand the ghost kitchen business plan a little better. Once you have your head around that you may want to start thinking about the next steps to actually opening.

Step 1: Identify and Secure A Good Location

The most important thing is to find a location that will easily service your desired target area. You don’t need the foot traffic, so that expands your options a bunch. Next is to secure a location that will give you and your team the space needed to run your kitchen from. Are you running more than one virtual brand? Consider how much room you will need per brand.

Step 2: Purchase The Equipment You Will Need

Key to an efficient delivery only kitchen is organization. Make a list of the tools you will need to prepare your menu offerings, and then plan out your kitchen space to accommodate your equipment effectively. It is also easy to get carried away with kitchen equipment, so set a budget and stick to it as best as you can – if you’re serving taco’s do you really need the commercial stand mixer?

Step 3: Create a Solid Marketing Plan

Since you are a virtual brand with no walk-in traffic to snag, your marketing plan is going to be critical. Develop a website, consider the ordering process, hit up social media and secure your handles and pages. What is the voice of your brand?

Step 4: Build A Delivery System

There are a few options to go with when it comes to delivery. You can go the third-party delivery app route, but be aware that there are some hefty fees associated with this and you don’t have control over how your brand is represented or what happens to your customer data. You could also go with native delivery – a better option if you care about your brand reputation, higher revenue, and how your valuable customer data is being used.

Starting your own business is not an easy task, but will be an incredible adventure and potentially extremely rewarding. Choosing someone skilled in business incubation is a great asset to consider. A business incubator will provide you with the guidance, support, mentorship, and tech stack to build a solid business and brand foundation.