How does the development of ghost/dark kitchens in the Middle East compare to other markets globally?
C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) has quickly become a leader in the foodtech realm, utilising recent technological advances to revolutionise the restaurant industry and providing increased profits and utility for restaurant kitchens and real estate space around the globe.
The recent Covid-19 pandemic has complimented C3’s efforts over the past few years with a rise in the need for contactless food delivery, while at the same time providing a unique dining experience with chef-led brands.
The UAE is a culinary destination, showcasing the best chef talent from around the world. It makes sense that the UAE leads as one of C3’s international markets as the UAE is at the forefront for online food ordering and delivery sector, thanks for its tech capabilities.
The food sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will grow more than 7 percent annually and UAE stands as the second-largest market for online food ordering and delivery after Saudi Arabia.
It means there is a lot of potential in this e-commerce niche. The recent reports suggest that in the Middle East and North Africa region, the UAE is the second-largest market for online food delivery with annual market size of $834m.
The virtual kitchen concept has become a new restaurant revolution and has been a great answer to the Covid strict travel restrictions the world faced since the start of the pandemic. The hospitality industry had to adapt to changing consumer behaviours and it has been evident for some years, and many predict that virtual kitchens such as C3 will only grow in popularity as they provide an added profit driver for restaurant owners, as well as an increase in variety and quality food offerings for customers.
Talk to us about the business outlook for the GCC. How does the ease of doing business here compare to elsewhere?
The F&B industry has made significant progress in the past few years and is poised with so much growth. Just in 2020, it has achieved 225 percent growth in comparison to 2019 for sales to reach $214m against $116m in 2019.
Today, Dubai is all about AI, blockchain, crypto, startups, fintech and other emerging technologies. These and more serve as great indicators for so many global brands to set up businesses here or even shift their HQ offices to Dubai.
The visionary leadership and commitment to technological advancement in the UAE, as well as continuous improvements of infrastructure, ease of doing business and services as well as the recent reforms like 100 percent ownership are also fuelling Dubai’s growth further.
Can you share with us your partnership with Kitopi in the UAE?
From the outset, international expansion has been a key component of our business strategy. When it came time to put that idea into action, we knew that Kitopi would provide the perfect partner to bring C3’s digital culinary markets to the UAE. Based on the initial success of the partnership with Kitopi we are planning to expand with even more culinary offerings to bring additional chef-led C3 brands to the region.
We have plans to launch 150 brand locations across the UAE this year itself and expand our existing footprint spanning across 800 locations and serving over 2.3 million orders. We are committed to expand our reach in the region by introducing some interesting brands and exceeding customer expectations as we always do.
How have customer expectations changed in regards to on-demand delivery following the pandemic?
We had C3’s infrastructure and established brands in the works prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic, greatly expedited our business model with an increase in the need for quality on-the-go restaurant offerings for delivery.
During the pandemic, recent technology advancements became the lifeline for many in the very traditional restaurant space, forcing entrepreneurs to adapt in order to survive and with food ordering becoming part of daily experience. We’ve found that with the reopening of dine-in restaurants that ordering is here to stay and we see C3’s brands as a compliment to dine-in culinary experiences.
What’s the next step for the digital food world?
Brands are heavily investing in their digital experiences to keep up with the consumer demand. It isn’t just delivery and service that need to be taken a notch higher. Email, social media, customer service and logistics tracking are areas that need to be heavily invested upon for a seamless customer experience.
Repositioning delivery and fulfilment services as a growth driver for customer experience is a crucial step for the digital food industry.
Consumer companies must act now to stay ahead of the game, including looking further forward into the future to enrich and integrate their offline-online experiences, for example, with the use of next-generation AR and VR technologies.
Which customer segments have seen the highest growth over the past two years?
At C3 we are being mindful of the growing power of millennials and Gen-Z as well as the ever-wielding power of the suburban mom. Recent advances have created a more sophisticated customer profile especially when it comes to dining. To meet our customer’s growing tastes, C3 prides itself on ‘bringing main street to every street,’ democratising the culinary experience and bringing the talents of world renowned chefs to suburban homes.