GrabFood opens its first central kitchen concept in a Makati City mall on Feb. 12, 2020. Jessica Fenol, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Grab on Wednesday launched the first single-kitchen concept of its food delivery service to give consumers more options while helping businessmen reach customers without a physical store.
Five of the 6 GrabKitchen merchants currently don't have a physical store in Makati City, said GrabFood head EJ Dela Vega. The kitchen itself is rent-free and Grab gets a cut from sales.
"When it comes to the tyranny of location when you want to be in a good enough place, you also have to pay a lot of capital expenditure, there’s a lot of investment that goes into it," Dela Vega said.
"No longer are they constrained by rent, no longer are they constrained by how much space they have, how many seats they can fill, through GrabFood and GrabKitchen they can expand with much more simplicity and ease and with minimal investment," he said.
GrabFood head EJ Dela Vega giving the media a tour of GrabKitchen in Makati City. Feb. 12, 2020. Jessica Fenol, ABS-CBN News
Manila-based 24 Chicken, which has 8 stores, saved almost 90 percent of capital when opening a new branch by joining GrabKitchen, its marketing head and co-owner Jefferson Uy told ABS-CBN News.
The chicken chain spent 5 to 10 percent of the "six digits" that it would have spent for a new branch when it joined GrabKitchen, the expense going to staff uniform and a few equipment.
"Makati usually is expensive, you invest a lot. This one is low investment at the same time you can try the area if its good or not, so far it’s good. It gave us more confidence," he said.
Inside 24 Chicken's kitchen within the GrabKitchen's location. The area is divided into 6 mini-kitchens, a dine-in area and a pick-up area for GrabFood riders. Jessica Fenol, ABS-CBN News
With savings from GrabKitchen, the 2-year old 24 Chicken is eyeing the opening of 2 new branches in the coming months, Uy said.
Up to 40 percent of their sales come from GrabFood delivery and now GrabKitchen, he said.
Consumers can "mix and match" their orders by choosing from all menus in the central kitchen in one transaction. By aggregating their orders from different stores, customers need to pay just one delivery fee, Dela Vega said.
A dine-in option is also available for the first GrabKitchen where customers can choose through a self-order kiosk available in-store.
A self-order kiosk is available for dine-in customers. ABS-CBN News
As of February, those in Makati can avail of the "mix and match" delivery through the GrabKitchen option on their Grab apps.
At least 4 more central kitchens will be opened in key cities in the next few months, Grab said.