UAE-born cloud kitchen for virtual restaurants Kaykroo is planning on regional expansion as it grows its portfolio of brands through incubating international F&B concepts in its newly launched entrepreneur programme.
Husk Beirut, Lamb House, and Lahmajun from Lebanon and Nelipide from Turkey was the first batch of restaurants to join the one-month programme.
During that period, they were trained on how to adapt their menus to a delivery-only model, from sourcing the most suitable local suppliers to developing purpose-fit operational manuals that will ensure scalability. Once they complete the programme, the brands become part of Kaykroo’s portfolio outside of their home-country.
While Kaykroo usually develops its own concepts, growing its brand portfolio through the incubator programme is faster than spending months building the concept themselves, saving not only time but effort, explained Jihad El-Eit, Founder & CEO of Kaykroo.
Following the conclusion of the programme’s first round, Kaykroo is embarking on an aggressive expansion starting with Saudi Arabia by the end of April, moving to the GCC and then to the Levant, said El-Eit.
When selecting the brands for the inaugural incubator programme, the Kaykroo team spent almost a month in Lebanon and Turkey, identifying its small but successful brands and then looking at criteria such as volume of orders, customer-base, hygiene and unique tastes, El-Eit said.
“Our Entrepreneur Programme supports international brands that are passionate about food but are not finding the right opportunity to succeed internationally,” El-Eit said.
Jihad El-Eit, founder and CEO of Kaykroo
Following the dire economic situation in Lebanon, many of the country’s F&B brands sought regional expansion but found expansion through franchising or independently too costly and daunting, explained Ramzi El Far, founder & managing Partner of Husk Beirut.
“If I were to do it on my own, to be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to. I need someone that has more experience in the market and knows the ins and outs,” said El Far.
“Most importantly, through the incubator programme and the tech it brought with it, we were able to minimise human error and became more efficient in terms of production; I’ve doubled the number of burgers I can produce per day, for example,” he continued.
Technology is a central part of Kaykroo’s operations whereby algorithms and data analysis throughout the cloud kitchens guide the company’s operations-optimising decisions.
Ramzi El Far, founder and managing Partner of Husk Beirut
For example, algorithms identified that Kaykroo’s grill is under-utilised and Al Akiki hence sought burger brands for the incubator programme.
“Technology identifies the gap in cuisine and then it is our job to identify the brands that produce it well,” said El-Eit.
“But when I reach out to a brand, I know it has been optimised for my kitchen as well. I don’t want to bring a brand that does not add value to my kitchen and the touch points within it. For example, I will not get a mankoushe brand because we are 70 percent optimisation for dough-based food,” he explained.
Data analysis plays a role in determining which communities to deliver the brands to as well. An analysis of delivery orders indicated that areas like Dubai’s JVC and DSO have a high Arab population but are underserved in terms of Levantine restaurant brands, so Lebanese-cuisine restaurant Lamb House will serve those areas instead of the Marina, El-Eit said.
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