𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A food tech firm that helps restaurants expand delivery nationwide without the need for bricks and mortar sites has revealed plans to reach more than £100 million in sales as it taps into surging demand in the under-pressure sector.

Growth Kitchen, set up by founders Mate Kun and Tom Gatz, allows brands to enter new food delivery areas by sharing kitchen space with established restaurants and hospitality firms.

Mr Gatz told the Press Association their business offers firms a way to reach a raft of new customers across the UK without the heavy investment needed for physical sites, which comes at a time when the sector is facing significant cost pressures.

He said the concept was like the “Airbnb of professional kitchens”.

Growth Kitchen recently signed up national chains Tortilla, Coco di Mama and Little Dessert Shop to add to existing brands it works with – The Athenian, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Coqfighter and Beer & Burger.

It has now grown its network of host kitchen partners to 150, processing more than one million orders between them a year.

Having more than doubled turnover last year, it is on track for around £30 million in sales this year and is setting its sights on £100 million in annual sales in three to five years’ time with plans to add more restaurant brands and double the number of host kitchen sites it works with to 300.

Restaurant brands provide their recipes, menus and operational standards, while Growth Kitchen manages their delivery launch, from sourcing and training professional host kitchens, through to launching menus across Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat.

It then uses its artificial intelligence-driven platform to help restaurants get the best performance from their delivery offerings.

For host kitchens, the service – which the firm claims is unique to the UK – unlocks unused space, while also providing a new revenue stream.

Restaurant brands do not pay rent, instead kitchen operations take a share of the order takings.

Mr Gatz said the concept was driven by the growth of food delivery, but added the tough conditions for restaurants have helped drive demand.

He told PA: “Restaurant brands see the opportunity, regardless of the current climate.

“They see this as a long-term opportunity to scale with food delivery operations.

“But (current trading conditions) are perhaps accelerating the adoption of this model, because brands are looking for ways to grow, looking for new ways to make profits and looking for new ways to expand awareness of their brands across the UK.”

He added: “There’s some real issues in terms of wage costs at the moment with hospitality and restaurant firms, and energy and obviously, now some of the food costs that are rising because of the Iran war.

“But for them, employment and people, it’s just so costly because of some of the changes that have been made over here.

“So this is something that is going to help them, because it means they’re not having to take on as many teams.”

Mr Gatz called on the Government to lower VAT on food and drink to be more in line with other European countries and help ease the hospitality sector’s financial pressures.

He said: “Compared to a lot of our European peers, in the UK the VAT on food is still much higher, and that’s a simple measure that has a cost.”

He said lowering VAT would “enable the sector to be more competitive and to get back to a better profitability and be able to hire more people”.

The group is focusing on expansion in the UK, but is hoping to take its concept to other countries in future years, with either the Americas or Europe in its sights.