Grab to launch 'central kitchen' exclusive for deliveries

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Grab on Wednesday said it would launch its single central kitchen concept in the Philippines this year, where food establishments are gathered in one location to reduce delivery time for orders.

GrabKitchen was launched in Jakarta last September 2018. Since then delivery time in areas covered has been reduced by 20 percent, said Rizal Andi Kartiwa, F&B operations manager for GrabFood Indonesia.

Similar to a food park, there are different food brands in GrabKitchen locations. It will allow users to order food from different sellers in a single transaction since orders are picked up from one address, he said.

"Customers can order at the same time from different merchants, different types of food from separate merchants so you can save on delivery fee," he said.

GrabKitchen locations are exclusive for order pickup and not for dine-in customers.

Food and restaurant merchants to occupy the spaces are chosen by Grab based on popularity, among other factors, Kartiwa said.

The concept can help owners grow their business since Grab shoulders rental fee for slots in GrabKitchen, he said.

"We cover all the rental fee for them even from outside Jakarta they don't have to pay for space to rent especially to SMEs merchant to help them grow the business," he said.

GrabKitchen will rollout in the Philippines as early as third quarter this year, the company said.