New Delhi, Apr 27(PTI) Delhi government think-tank DDC on Wednesday mooted the idea of setting up cloud kitchen clusters in industrial areas providing them various operational benefits, said an official statement.
Addressing a stakeholders’ meet, Dialogue and Development Commission(DDC) Vice Chairman Jasmine Shah said the Delhi government is very hopeful about the growth potential of the concept of cloud kitchens as an industry.
Cloud kitchens are delivery-only restaurant models without any dine-in facility or walk-in customers.
Shah said its model is low-risk, cost-effective and scalable, allowing for high profit margins even for players with less capex.
“The stakeholder consultations emphasized the importance of earmarking shared cloud kitchen spaces in industrial areas in a way that they offer infrastructure and water and electricity linkages at minimum costs and are at a feasible distance from the residential areas,” said Industries Department Secretary Niharika Rai.
Cloud kitchen clusters can provide the whole segment with adequate space to expand within existing industrial areas with access to industrial power tariff, which is lower than the commercial rates, and possible exemption from dine-in regulations. As the setting up of such clusters would not require change of land use, they may be exempt from conversion charges as well, the statement said.
Further, such clusters can significantly ease the process of setting up the cloud kitchens with the allocated spaces being equipped with several plug-and-play features like power connection, PNG connection, effluent treatment and common facilities like shared cold storage, parking space.
The stakeholders, including players in the cloud kitchen segment, welcomed the idea, with the suggestion to identify such industrial areas that have regular power supply and are not very far away ( preferably less than 7km) from residential clusters so as to reduce delivery time and costs, it said.
“The Delhi government has proposed to help establish more cloud kitchens to generate employment, as a 200 sq feet cloud kitchen directly employs 10 people on an average as well as creates a significant number of indirect jobs,” Rai said.
The proposal to boost cloud kitchens was first unveiled recently as part of the Kejriwal government’s employment-focused ‘Rozgar Budget’ 2022-23 which plans to create 20 lakh jobs in Delhi in five years.
Prince Dhawan, special commissioner, GST, said the Delhi government is committed to removing all obstacles within its purview that restrict the growth of the cloud kitchen segment.
“We want to treat cloud kitchens as a sector in its own right – separate from restaurants and takeaways – to ease regulations and provide plug-and-play spaces to operate out of,” he said.
The consultation attended by representatives of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Zomato, Rebel Foods, Enoki Hospitality, Rolling Plate, NYC Pie among others was aimed at understanding the various pressing challenges faced by Delhi’s cloud kitchen operators.
Some Cloud kitchen operators raised the issue of licences from various agencies including police to open these kitchens.
Sandeep Kumar Shah, associate vice president, Rebel Foods said, “The requirement to procure a license from the police was laid down for running an ‘eating house’. But as cloud kitchens do not have customers walking in, public nuisance and the subsequent role of police is not a relevant issue for our establishments.” Over 20,000 cloud kitchens are operating in the city. The yearly growth of cloud kitchens in the city is over 20 per cent, the statement said. PTI VIT CK
