Malls survives on eateries. But not for long!

[syed putra]

Start-ups
Grab expands its network of GrabKitchens into Thailand, Vietnam

• Singapore-based Grab plans to operate more than 50 GrabKitchens in five markets across Southeast Asia by the end of this year

KrASIA
Published: 6:00am, 9 Oct, 2019


27

A GrabFood driver delivers an order in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Bloomberg
The food delivery business of ride-hailing firm Grab, Southeast Asia’s most valuable tech unicorn, is expanding its network of so-called GrabKitchens into Thailand and Vietnam.
The first GrabKitchens outside Indonesia will be launched in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, which will be followed by new openings in the Philippines, Singapore and other markets in the region, according to a GrabFood statement on Tuesday.
GrabKitchens are set up similar to food courts, except that vendors prepare their dishes only for pickup and delivery.
“We see GrabKitchen as a new solution that empowers our merchants to expand and grow, and for consumers to enjoy greater access to a wide variety of food,” said GrabFood head Lim Kell Jay in the statement. “Taking learning from our success in Indonesia, GrabFood is looking to scale the GrabKitchen network rapidly across the region in the coming months.”

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A screenshot of Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab’s super app. Photo: Handout

The expansion initiative will see more than 50 GrabKitchens in operation across five markets in Southeast Asia by the end of this year, according to GrabFood.
GrabKitchen, which was established to provide orders for the eateries through Grab’s super app platform, represents the Singapore-based company’s strategy to nurture an ecosystem of start-ups across the region.
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Building a well-rounded ecosystem of services allows companies like Grab to obtain troves of valuable user data that can be used for targeted advertising or understanding customers’ needs, to offer better services. Providing a variety of services that are part of everyday life also makes the platform more sticky, ensuring that users remain active while also serving as a higher barrier of entry for potential competitors.



Food delivery service has become a vital business for ride-hailing companies in Southeast Asia. Queries for online food delivery brands on Google have grown more than 13 times in Indonesia, nine times in the Philippines and eight times in Thailand over the past four years, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2019 report.
Southeast Asian ride hailing giant Grab to invest US$2 billion in Indonesia using SoftBank funds

GrabFood, which operates in 221 cities across six countries, grew its gross merchandise volume 900 per cent in the 12 months to June, with delivery volume growing seven times during the same period across six markets, according to the company.
It estimated that the GrabKitchen network showed a 25 per cent increased in gross merchandise volume since the first such facility was launched in April this year.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Not a new idea. Many food places in ozland have already done it.

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Delivery apps opening 'dark kitchens' to create meals exclusively for online orders market
BY THE BUSINESS REPORTER DANIEL ZIFFERUPDATED FRI 13 APR 2018, 9:55 AM AEST
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PHOTO
So-called 'dark kitchens' are providing meals for delivery apps instead of sit-in customers.
ABC NEWS: DANIEL ZIFFER
Restaurants pumping out hundreds of meals without tables, chairs or waiters are a new development in the future of food.
So-called 'dark kitchens' are creating meals exclusively for the booming online delivery market.
One is operating off a laneway in inner-city Melbourne. It houses six restaurants, an ice-cream parlour and a bottle shop — in a space less than half the size of a tennis court.
Two of the restaurants have their home base in Footscray, across town. Two more normally exist in the nearby suburb of Richmond, just a few kilometres away.
The final two are virtual: they only exist through an app.
Levi Aron, the general manager of Deliveroo Australia, said data told exactly what customers wanted. The delivery company is now matching demand with supply.
"We're building kitchens around Australia, around the globe," he said.
"[We] use our data to find where those gaps are — whether that's a cuisine gap, a pricing gap — get a property and build kitchens fit for delivery."

PHOTO Levi Aron says Deliveroo wants people to use the app three times a day.
ABC NEWS: DANIEL ZIFFER
Powered by apps on smartphones, delivery services racked up $1.5 billion worth of orders in Australian last year.
That appetite is set to more than double to $4.2 billion by 2025, according to a report from Morgan Stanley.
The kitchens are streamlined for delivery. The menus are shorter than the dine-in restaurant up the road, the food and containers are optimised so that menu items travel better.
The restaurants pay for staff and produce, but the space is provided for free by the app.
Deliveroo then takes a higher percentage of the meal costs — potentially up to 35 per cent. Normally it's between 20 and 30 per cent.
Restaurants 'getting burned' by online delivery apps
More of these kitchens are being built in capital cities by Deliveroo and restaurant conglomerates like George Calombaris' Made Establishment Group.
Others can be found in the backyards or next-door neighbours of established restaurants.

PHOTO Deliveroo uses customer data to capitalise on gaps in the take-away food market.
ABC NEWS: DANIEL ZIFFER
But the development has exposed some of the tensions between restaurants and the apps.
Hospitality expert Wendy Hargreaves of FiveOfTheBest.com said the extra revenue on offer was a huge drawcard for restauranteurs trying to increase turnover.
"But I've seen a lot of restaurants get burned by online apps," she said.

"They all jumped on thinking it was a great new revenue stream but … didn't consider the massive costs of bringing staff in, technology and the pure space to deal with all these extra orders."

The sentiment is echoed by restaurateurs. They said the delivery apps promised to help increase business during quiet periods, but simply added to pressure at times of peak demand.
Caleb Griffiths, business manager of fish restaurant Richmond Oysters has cut ties with one of the app groups, and is cautious about his relationship with another.
When the delivery does not arrive, is late, or mangles the food, it is the restaurant, not the app, which wears the damage to their reputations.

"There's been plenty of times where I've personally driven, or, if I've not been here I've authorised staff to get in a taxi to make sure the customer gets their food," he added.

"Or, ironically, get in an Uber."
Meanwhile, cashed-up success stories are remodelling kitchens and building separate exits and entrances to avoid interrupting the flow of their own orders.
"It's ridiculous money that didn't exist just a few years ago … But you have to spend money to make money," Ms Hargreaves said.
Delivery companies dining out on data
Deliveroo's ambition, according to Mr Aron, is clear: for people to eat with them three times a day.
"People — when they're thinking of food — instead of reaching for the pantry or going down to the supermarket, they might think of getting great food with [us]," he said.

PHOTO Companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo are changing the way people eat.
REUTERS: NEIL HALL
To do that, they are using the reams of data they harvest on what people want, when, where, and what they are willing to pay.
The restaurants in this initial experiment, for example, cover cuisines that are not saturated in the nearby area.
The Deliveroo boss said the data exchange was not one-way, and that restaurateurs benefit from knowing more about their customers.

"That data encapsulates what we do. It helps restaurants go to the next level," he said.

Overseas, some restaurant brands have jumped country borders and opened internationally using the new model. Something Mr Aron hoped would happen with an Australian favourite one day.
For Ms Hargreaves, the apps have taught diners a new way to eat. And there is no turning back.
"There's a whole generation of young diners who think that's how you should eat, so it means the industry has to move with it," she said.
"If they don't they can stay their little local restaurant and do very well — if they choose to ride the wave, then they're going to have to really deliver."
POSTED FRI 13 APR 2018, 6:10 AM AEST
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[winnipegjets]

Restaurants have to pay 30 percent to Grab, how can these restaurants survive?