What Are Virtual Food Brands? How Do Online-Only Restaurants Work?
The rise of virtual food brands has transformed the way we order food online. So, it’s probably best that we start by defining what a virtual food brand is. These are online-only restaurants that operate exclusively for online ordering.
Most orders come through on third-party delivery platforms such as DoorDash, UberEats, and Grubhub. They offer a unique food style that aligns with existing ingredients and appeals to local customers. In this article, we'll explore virtual brands, how they work, and the benefits they offer to kitchen operators.
How Do Virtual Brands Work?
To launch a virtual brand, you need to decide on the type of food to create. This could be classic American burgers, stone-baked pizzas, or even vegan and gluten-free options. The most important part is to choose a food style that aligns with your current ingredients and appeals to your target audience.
Maybe you are a pizza restaurant with one burger on your menu. A great virtual brand would utilize your pizza ingredients to make a whole new menu of different burger offerings.
Once you have your food style, you can create an online menu that complements your existing restaurant operations.
Benefits of Virtual Brands
Virtual brands offer several benefits to kitchen operators:
Keep Your Ingredients In Rotation: Finding more ways to go through your ingredients ensures you have fresh food and less waste. By creating a virtual brand, you can reduce food waste by using ingredients that might otherwise not be used before its expiration.
Maximized Capacity: Virtual brands allow you to maximize your kitchen capacity by operating at full capacity without the need for additional seating. Maximizing your capacity can come from getting more productivity out of your team or getting more use out of equipment that might otherwise not be used.
Increased Revenue: Virtual brands can increase revenue by leveraging existing ingredients and cooking techniques, reducing food costs, and increasing order volume. These orders can be customers who never were going to order or consider your brick and mortar restaurant to begin with.
The virtual food brand trend is expected to continue growing, driven by the increasing demand for online food delivery. It has proven to be a strategy that has low costs and low risk but immediate upside.
Conclusion
Virtual food brands are one of the many ways restaurants are revolutionizing the way we order food online. By understanding how they work and the benefits they offer, you can stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on this growing trend. Whether you're an existing restaurant looking to expand your online presence or a new venture seeking to establish yourself in the market, virtual brands offer a unique opportunity to grow your business and reach a wider audience.
By working with Catapult, a proven and reputable virtual brand provider, you will have a trusted expert on your team managing all of the important tactics detailed in this post. Catapult takes on the responsibility of integrating with leading delivery platforms, curating craveable delivery-only menus, while leveraging best in class software to make data driven decisions.
Reach out to Catapult today to start growing your online food sales.