Deliveroo Expands Its Shared Kitchen Program

Cooking is often about community. That ancient idea has found new — and revenue-enhancing — life this week in the news that Deliveroo, an on-demand delivery service for restaurant food, is opening more shared kitchens, this time in Paris.

Doing so represents a strategy for growth. Deliveroo provides cooking space for eateries that, due to various factors, cannot afford to expand their already overtaxed food prep areas to meet demand for their dishes. Deliveroo makes in the initial payment for the shared kitchen space, with participating eateries then paying Deliveroo rent.

In this case, Deliveroo reportedly has space for 12 kitchens in a warehouse in “Saint-Ouen, right next to the north-western part of Paris,” according to the report, which said that so far, eight restaurants have agreed to participate. Deliveroo charges about $3 for delivery in Paris, though it was not immediately clear if or how that cut changes if restaurants are cooking in that shared kitchen space in Paris.

Still, it saves participating restaurants the expense of building new space, although they do have to hire workers to man those kitchens. Those restaurants can also pull back more easily if demand does not support that shared kitchen space instead of being stuck with square footage they cannot get rid of.

Deliveroo had previously brought the shared kitchen concept to the U.K.

Food deliveries, of course, are an ever-expanding — and competitive — part of digital retail, and not only for restaurant fare. A recent example comes from Amazon, which in late June announced that Prime Now Grocery is expanding to Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and San Antonio.