Kroger To Open Ghost Kitchens Inside Grocery Stores

Kroger is partnering with ghost kitchen startup, Kitchen United, to open ghost kitchens inside its store locations as it looks for ways to adapt to consumers’ changing consumption habits.

The partnership between the two companies will likely prove to be mutually beneficial. The two companies saw a surge in demand over the course of the pandemic, but now with consumers returning to restaurants, they are expected to spend less on grocery shopping and delivery services in the coming months.

The first ghost kitchen inside a Kroger store is set to be open in Los Angeles this fall, followed by the opening of more such locations in the rest of the year. The kitchens will feature a mix of six local, regional and national restaurants, where customers will be able to order food and for take out or deliver, CNBC reported.

“Our work together provides participating restaurants access to millions of Kroger customers and the ability to better address off-premise demand in a convenient supermarket format — a frequent destination for most consumers,” Kitchen United CEO Michael Montagano said. Kitchen United, a four-year-old company, currently operates six ghost kitchens across the country and has plans to open its first location in New York City in the coming months.

Kroger is not the only company that is turning to ghost kitchens to diversify its revenue stream. Mall operators such as Simon Property Group and Accor have also teamed up with other ghost kitchen companies within the past year.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on August 6, 2021.