JustKitchen, Taiwan’s first cloud kitchen, takes on Grab amidst plans of expansion to Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, in coming months.
Pioneering cloud-kitchen operator based in Taiwan, JustKitchen, has expressed its desire to be listed as the top selection on the menu of Southeast Asian (SEA) food delivery contenders. Alongside announcing its intent to extend further into the Singapore market, JustKitchen is setting its sights on expansion into Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, closing in on Grab in the cloud kitchen race.
This announcement came shortly after the operator’s recent venture of two facilities in Singapore, securing expansion goals to eight locations city-wide within a six-month period. In addition to its cloud kitchen services, JustKitchen aims to launch its mobile app across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well.
An escalation in food delivery services and cloud kitchen trends in ASEAN amidst the pandemic has ushered in a new market. Amid the rise of technological adoption in the industry, the leading operator considers the development of the mobile delivery app essential to its business model, maintaining its relevancy and popularity in the digital age.
The co-founder and CEO of JustKitchen, Jason Chen, stated, “The quickest growth in hot food delivery globally is actually [in] Southeast Asia, I’ve been looking and studying the ghost-kitchen model because I’ve seen delivery pickup since 2014. It’s been growing at close to double-digit year-over-year growth.”
The commercial cloud kitchen currently operates under a delivery-only restaurant model, working with its in-house food brands to develop their signature menu items, with delivery partners that transport the food to respective locations. This offers customers affordable meals by lowering overhead costs, while they strive to reduce food wastage in these ventures.
Furthermore, Chen expressed an urge to venture into the fastest-growing markets, which may place his startup in a direct race with one of the prominent tech-innovative delivery services Grab in the region, commenting, “If we see a cuisine gap that’s being underserved, we’ll come in and we’ll create something”.
The entrepreneur however played down their rivalry with Grab, alongside other cloud-kitchen operators in the region, stating, “The delivery partners are great, they’re fast, they’re fairly seamless, but there are certain situations when it rains or certain weather patterns. Certain things happen [so] that their availability may be limited.”
Although their current focus remains strongly on the expansion of their delivery service to the ASEAN market, he concluded, “We are to make sure we really fulfil the needs of all our customers – I think eventually we’re going to have our own fleet, it’s definitely a part of the future.”
Featured banner image: JustKitchen
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