Supermarket Perimeter - September 2021 - 65

INSIDER
SPOTLIGHT
Donuts
OPERATIONS
Equipment maintenance
GHOST KITCHENS
by Emily Park
THE KROGER CO. AND GHOST
KITCHEN INDUSTRY LEADER
KITCHEN UNITED have
announced a partnership to offer
customers freshly prepared, ondemand
restaurant food.
" Our customers' appetite
for fresh, on-demand meals
continues to accelerate, and
we remain focused on offering
new and innovative products
that provide anything, anytime,
anywhere, " said Dan De La Rosa,
Kroger's group vice president
of fresh merchandising. " Our
partnership with Kitchen United
taps into restaurants' growing
use of off-premise kitchen space
to increase customers' access to
their favorite foods. "
The off-premise restaurant
kitchen powered by Kitchen
United at participating Kroger
locations will feature up to
six local, regional or national
restaurant brands. When placing
an order using the Kitchen United
website or app or on-site via
ordering kiosks, customers can
select items from each on-site
restaurant to create a customized
order on a single receipt.
Restaurant staff will prepare the
orders and delivery service fees
will be determined by third-party
providers.
" As we continue to define
Kroger as a food destination, this
collaboration creates another
seamless way for our customers
to order lunch or dinner for pick
up while they shop for groceries
or for delivery to their location
of choice, " said Craig Gauden,
Kroger's director of partnership
development.
The first kitchen center is
expected to open this fall at a
Ralphs store in Los Angeles, with
additional locations expected
later this year.
Kitchen United, known for its
concept that houses multiple
restaurant brands under one roof
for delivery and pickup orders,
has diversified its offerings
through the expansion of its
proprietary MIX platform.
" We are proud to have
launched a number of successful
supermarketperimeter.com
SEPTEMBER 2021 - 65
ghost kitchen centers across
the country, and now we
are applying our experience
and taking steps to expand in
non-traditional ghost kitchen
formats such as retail shopping
centers and food halls like our
newest kitchen center location
in Chicago alongside our efforts
with Kroger, " said Atul Sood, chief
business officer of Kitchen United.
" Our team has built a powerful
tech stack and developed an
infrastructure that optimizes any
kitchen setting for streamlined
and profitable off-premise
business. Kroger is the perfect
partner as we grow our reach
and variety of business verticals
in addition to our well-known
ghost kitchen facility model. "
Other openings
The news follows Kroger's 2020
opening of ghost kitchens in
Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.
Developed in partnership
with ClusterTruck, a technology
start-up that operates deliveryonly
restaurants, the kitchens
provide a variety of freshly
prepared meals on-demand with
no service or delivery fees.
The new concept is
repurposing approximately 1,000
square feet at each participating
store to create a culinary space
for ClusterTruck staff.
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - September 2021
