The way we eat during this pandemic plays a significant role in our diet and lifestyle. Due to the lack of physical restaurants, we are forced to eat inside our homes. But cooking can cause serious inconveniences for us, primarily while we work at home. This is one of the main reasons why virtual restaurants are becoming a big deal in the US.
The virtual restaurant market is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030. This is insane growth and one of the fastest growth rates seen by the industry. But what are virtual restaurants?
Virtual Restaurants
Virtual restaurants, also known as ghost kitchens, are technically restaurants without a physical presence. They are mainly a kitchen that cooks and deliver meals to people all over the US. These kinds of restaurants are found in food apps such as UberEats, and it feeds on the need to feed people in the comfort of their own homes.
Virtual restaurants have been rising in popularity since 2018, but it’s only ballooned quite recently due to the pandemic. Experts believe that it was inevitable that these restaurants would grow this big. However, the pandemic has only given them a push.
There are many reasons for the growth of virtual restaurants, one of them being attributed to the pandemic.
A Pandemic Food Choice
The pandemic has gotten you stuck in your home with no end in sight. Sure, you might have thought in the beginning that you can cook your own food and that you’ll be much healthier. But you didn’t consider the hours you’ll have to spend working or studying at home. So you’ve decided with a guilty heart to order take-out instead. But then you discovered that virtual restaurants offer a healthy choice.
A Healthy Choice
There are so many choices in food apps, and each virtual restaurant also has its own set of meals. Experts think that when it comes to food choice, the virtual restaurant market has so much more when compared to the physical market. But what does this mean for you, the consumers?
Well, for starters, this means that you can choose meals that would fit your lifestyle. It can be one that can fit right on top of your calorie count. So if you’re into a lifestyle with healthy foods, there are so many choices out there in the virtual restaurant market. You can even schedule your deliveries so you can stay inside your diet plan. Next up is that you’ll never get bored.
Thousands of ghost kitchens are being set up every day, each catering to different food choices in the US. This means that you’ll get access to all sorts of dishes worldwide, without needing to buy a ticket to another country.
The versatility of food choices in virtual restaurants is one of the leading reasons it’s such a big market. People enjoy choice, and they can find it without even leaving their homes.
Cheaper and Affordable Prices
We all like food, but we also tend to gravitate towards value meals and cheaper meals, as long as it satisfies our cravings and makes us full. This is why the fast-food industry dominates the food sector today. However, its virtual restaurants are giving fast-food businesses a run for their money.
As stated earlier, virtual restaurants are a much healthier option. This is because they make the food fresh, and they use the right ingredients for them. However, virtual restaurants are also known for being notoriously cheap. But this shouldn’t dissuade you from buying, simply because the business model for these restaurants relies on selling the bulk of their meals in a day. This means that much like the fast-food industry, this market depends on quantity and tons of it.
In addition, many ghost kitchens also purchase their fresh ingredients in bulk, which means they can save a ton of money, given that they can use all of the ingredients before their expiry period.
As a consumer, you know that you’ll get cheaper food choices in virtual restaurants. Furthermore, the coupons and discounts you can get from food apps can reduce the price immensely, giving you a much affordable and healthy choice when compared to the fast-food industry.
Convenience
Lastly, we can’t complain about virtual restaurants because they fit right into our lifestyle today, and that lifestyle is centered on convenience. Eating out seems to be a faraway dream now, which is reserved for a more gratifying experience. It’s just not worth it anymore to visit a restaurant unless they are willing to give you an experience, so this is why virtual restaurants feed into our needs of today.
Our lifestyle during this pandemic has led us to virtual restaurants, and because it fits so well into our lifestyle, cravings, and diets, it only makes sense that it will become a trillion-dollar market by 2030.
