Delivery platforms and restaurant food ordering are becoming increasingly common. A few years ago, it was uncommon to order food at home because restaurants needed to maintain a wide network of delivery drivers, as was the case with Domino’s Pizza before the advent of large delivery applications. Today, it is relatively easy to open a restaurant without worrying about logistics. You just need to activate a platform, wait for the orders to arrive, and focus on preparing the food.
In my experience as co-founder of Wing It, I have observed that this market is attractive for three main reasons. First, opening a dark kitchen requires minimal capital—you can start with a very small investment and begin operations. Second, it doesn’t require a large staff. Lastly, cash flow is a significant advantage; platforms pay weekly, ensuring consistent cash flow if sales are strong and well-managed. However, the market is also quite complex and highly competitive.
I founded Wing It in 2020, during the pandemic. Wing It, located in Mexico City, is an American fast-food dark kitchen known for its excellent wings and sauces.
During the pandemic, there was a boom in dark kitchens and digital platforms. To give you an idea, Uber Eats globally handled $3.1 billion worth of orders in 2017, and by 2023, that figure had risen to $64 billion—an exponential growth. No one anticipated that these platforms and restaurants would grow so significantly.
Our story begins when we were initially offered an opportunity to invest in a restaurant, but we would have no say in its operation. After analyzing the opportunity, we concluded that it would be better to open something entirely our own. After conducting an extensive market analysis, we decided to open a wings restaurant in a specified area, and that’s how it all began.
One aspect less known to customers is the struggle of dark kitchens. A high percentage, or even 100%, of their income comes from delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and Rappi. Commissions are extremely high, and many dark kitchens cannot sustain themselves on 30% commissions on sales. It’s astonishing to think that platform commissions can be a bigger expense than rent, payroll, or other operating costs. It is the most significant expense we have, and I’m sure most dark kitchens face the same challenge.
One of the advantages that allowed us to grow was focusing 100% on delivery and ensuring that our product always arrives in perfect condition to our customers. Although mistakes can happen and many factors are beyond the restaurant’s control, such as the delivery time and the care taken by the driver during transportation, we do our best to prepare our products considering these factors.
If an order arrives in poor condition or anything goes wrong, the sole responsibility lies with the restaurant, regardless of who is at fault. People, usually hungry and impatient, expect everything to be perfect. In delivery, you only get one chance; if something goes wrong, you lose that customer, and they will likely never order from you again.
Dark kitchens represent a significant evolution in the restaurant sector, offering an innovative solution for both traditional restaurants and new brands looking to expand into the delivery market. In these kitchens, we find everything from restaurants that want to handle home deliveries from their own premises to companies that operate exclusively through delivery platforms. This model allows brands to grow under the umbrella of home delivery service, although it’s important to consider that exclusivity comes at a cost.
The restaurant sector is currently facing a challenging time, with a clear division between physical locations, affected by various restrictions, and delivery companies, dealing with rider hiring policies, as well as legal and union issues. The emergence of dark kitchens could increase the turnover of delivery companies, but it could also heighten the concerns of traditional restaurants.
It will be very interesting to see what happens in the coming years with these new trends. Is there room for another delivery platform? Will people miss the restaurant experience? Or is it worth paying solely for the quality of the food without the high costs associated with dining at physical locations, which are reflected in the high prices of dishes?
In my opinion and experience, I believe that traditional restaurants will continue to exist, attracting customers who seek the full restaurant experience. Meanwhile, many dark kitchens will emerge, but not all will survive or succeed. Those that do will have perfect cost management and won’t solely rely on sales through Uber, Rappi, or other platforms with such high rates. At some point, they will need to pivot.
