PRESS RELEASE: How Australian Startup is using Big data to turn empty kitchens into virtual takeaway hubs & create the future cuisines.

Australian start-up Grabox Kitchens gives a lifeline to under-utilised restaurant kitchens nationwide as business owners rush to sign up

A selection of meals from Grabox Kitchens’ first virtual brand

SYDNEY, 08 April 2021: Australian-based food technology platform Grabox Kitchens today announced it has experienced a stampede of new businesses rushing to jump aboard its virtual delivery-only brand network, which has been offering a lifeline to underutilised kitchens across Australia since its launch in December 2020. Food delivery has increasingly become an important source of sales for struggling businesses who are battling with a change in consumer behaviour brought about by the pandemic.

Grabox Kitchens helps keep kitchens in traditional dine-in restaurants, hotels, pubs and clubs busy by creating virtual ‘delivery-only’ brands that are generated by using advanced analytics, AI and machine-learning. The premise is simple, but ingenious – customers can put in orders to these brands using online delivery platforms (i.e. UberEats, Deliveroo, Menulog and Doordash) and these are then fulfilled by local businesses using their spare kitchen capacity. These specialty brands currently include over 50 cuisines created with the big data gathered from food delivery platforms, and there are several more slated for release in the next few months.

Grabox Head of International Growth Dhruv Kohli said, “We knew from our previous work distributing product samples that there was real pain in the restaurant community. Many of these owners have put their whole lives into their business, only to watch their kitchens fall quiet last year. Now, they have the tough decision between staying open and true to their brand, or to make further cuts to simply break even. We wanted to offer them a third path – to stay open under the brand they built, but to also prosper by helping produce delivery-food under another brand. This way, they can rapidly build up a steady stream of supplemental income at no additional risk to their existing business.”

Sandeep Reddy is the owner of King of Kebabs in Lane Cove, Sydney, as well as two other restaurants in the surrounding suburbs. During the pandemic, Sandeep saw sales drop by up to 50% at the most challenging times, but in December 2020 things started to look up when he signed on with Grabox Kitchens.

Mr Reddy said: “2020 was a challenging year for us, but through partnering with Grabox Kitchens we’re doing better now than we were (even) before the pandemic began. Since signing on as a restaurant partner, we’ve seen a 40% increase in sales, or about 100 additional orders per week. This month we’ve even hired an extra cook to meet the demand of the orders. These sales more than cover our overhead costs – and that includes rent each month.”

“We had tried food delivery before, but didn’t see a huge amount of orders. The difference this time is having the virtual brand and its marketing team driving interest and customising the right items to add to the menu for each area. We actually had one customer figure out we’re the local source of the burgers and come into the King of Kebab store, and order one in person to skip the delivery!”

This dispersed distribution model has the potential to fundamentally change the booming food delivery market, and has already attracted the attention of global food service supplier Nestlé Professional.

“It’s super exciting to have the support and recognition of a global brand at such an early stage for Grabox Kitchens. Our virtual brands can help Nestlé’s HARVEST GOURMET® get the word out about their new plant-based product and give Australians the opportunity to try them cooked in a delicious burger, wrap or salad. For our restaurant partners, the partnership gives them the confidence and opportunity to expand their menus with plant-based meal options that we know there is demand for. It’s an exciting step for us and our restaurant partners,” concluded Mr Kohli.

Grabox Kitchens is part of Grabox, the international marketplace platform which works with leading international brands such as Coca-cola, Unilever, Red Bull and Nestlé to improve their marketing and sales. With the huge interest from international markets, Grabox Kitchens recently commenced its operations in UK & NZ as well.

-ENDS-

About Grabox Kitchens:
At Grabox Kitchens we help restaurants, hotel chains, and local bars increase their earning potential by maximising customer reach. We optimise under-utilised kitchen assets and human labour through our virtual, delivery-only brands. This creates additional revenue streams that are effective and dynamic, and that require no costs and no risk.

For media enquiries, including comment:
Grabox Media Team
Harsha Ravi
[email protected]
0450 401 542
www.graboxkitchens.com