Foodtech, between urban problems and practicality

The mission of foodtech is to bring together innovative entrepreneurial initiatives related to the food sector. It covers the entire sector from fork to fork. Thus, it intervenes in four major areas. They represent the links in the food value chain.

In the first place there is production. It includes precision agriculture, urban agriculture, biotechnology, animal and plant genetics and the development of alternative proteins. Secondly, there is product processing, packaging or food safety. Following there is distribution with marketplaces, short circuits and catering. Finally, there is consumption with subjects such as personalized nutrition or smart cooking. In 2019, foodtech accounted for €2.4 billion invested in Europe. In addition, there is a growing interest in the territory. Indeed, in 2020 about 800 startups have emerged in the sector.

In 2018, investments in French FoodTech startups increased in 2018. Indeed, the latter increased from €136M in 2017 to €227M. Today, the French FoodTech ecosystem is entering a mature phase. This trend puts France at the top of the European rankings. Indeed, foodtech is a sector where French companies have the ability to generate very good results. France brings together quality food products as well as agri-food giants. In addition, it has recognized know-how and investors and entrepreneurs ready to take up the challenge.

foodtech meal delivery restaurants fantomes
The trend of ghost restaurants is confirmed

Ghost restaurants, a trend confirmed in Foodtech

Innovative companies in the food sector are increasingly numerous. They are raising higher and higher sums. Between 2013 and 2016, the number of start-ups in the foodtech sector increased threefold. However, not all foodtech sectors have the same growth prospects. These focus mainly on AgTech. In other words, it is about the agriculture of the future. The FoodService which reinvents catering and Retail & Delivery which concerns food e-commerce. Among the new trends in FoodService are ghost restaurants.

This concept comes from across the Atlantic. It bases its business model on the absence of a physical presence. In this type of restaurant it is only possible to place an order on an online meal platform such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo. These ghost restaurants respond to a new demand from customers. Indeed she now wants to eat well at home. The proposed map exists only online. Thus, ghost restaurants can adapt more quickly to market trends. They can renew their dishes according to the desires. Inventory management is also facilitated.

Yet the market has a high failure rate of companies. Take Eat Easy and Tok Tok Tok to name a few, the viability of new food services is not always easy to demonstrate.

Dark Kitchen continues to expand in Bordeaux

Dark Kitchen, is a young start-up, it is one of the new players in foodtech. It specializes in the preparation of meals delivered to your home. She recently partnered with Ubereats to ensure the delivery of her meals. Dark Kitchen continues its development in the Southwest. This development is possible thanks to a fundraising of nearly 1 million euros. It will open two new virtual restaurants, one of which will be in Bordeaux, rue Mouneyra, in August.

The idea of Jean Valfort and Rémi Chabanas, is to make the restoration more flexible. For this they want to create quality dishes specially designed to be delivered. They are both experts in restoration. On the one hand Jean Valfort with the Farago group, a contemporary Parisian tapas concept, on the other Rémi Chabanas with Uber Eats. Their added value lies in the concept of a “ghost restaurant”. The recipe of a quality restaurant is always present. However, logistics and distribution are entrusted to a platform such as UberEats. Many savings are made on fixed costs, thanks to the lack of space, especially in the major metropolises, where the price of land continues to rise.


Dark Kitchen brings together in this sense all the assets of foodtech since to promote its regional development, Dark Kitchen relies on an algorithm that identifies geolocated consumption habits to meet the precise expectations of the territory. Dark Kitchen also favours a comprehensive approach to the catering menu offered to customers since it has several brands: one dedicated to the rotisserie, another to tacos, and others to foreign food notably Italian and Thai. This approach is relevant because the market for ghost restaurants is before a competition of brands, understood in the sense of culinary brands.

This competition is therefore based above all on the exclusivity of this or that restaurant, the products offered, and the gastronomic influencers who will impose the new food trends. By displaying this strategy, ghost restaurants become much more than just intermediaries between restaurants and consumers. As foodtech players, they embody culinary landmarks, trend-set-ups, and even vectors of well-being. So the delivery role, that is, logistics, comes to the fore. It simply requires a standardization of the concept by ensuring a short delivery time, 10 minutes in the case of Dark Kitchen.

The trend of ghost restaurants alone meets the expectations of a new clientele younger and less attached to the institution embodied by the physical restaurant. This clientele wants a delivery of dishes from any quality culinary horizon. A big asset, these foodtech start-ups offer concepts that are easily deployable, whereas restaurants and food are not business models that can be easily declined. It’s enough to portend a disruptive world… without a kitchen.

Justine ANGIBAUD

Sources:

DigitalFood Lab study

Dark Kitch Press File

Foodtech

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