You may have heard of a dark kitchen or you may not have. Never the less these are now becoming very popular across the UK since the dramatic change in the way people choose to dine. 

As opposed to a restaurant or other catering facilities that serve food direct to the consumer a dark kitchen (also known as a ghost kitchen) is a business set up purely to provide takeaways with no eat in dining experience. 

Since the global pandemic that started back in 2020 restaurants have adapted and provided takeaway services in the form of “curb side pick up” and to start working  or work with some of the UK’s favourite delivery services like Deliveroo, Uber Eats & Just Eat just to name a few. 

Since the change in dining habits, the UK has seen a drop in customers eating out in restaurants and other facilities that and swapping the dine in restaurant for a takeaway in the comfort of your own home. 

In this article by magnet.co.uk “since the pandemic, in London alone, restaurants are selling an extra 900,000 meals a week via popular apps like Deliveroo”. This being said the rise of the takeaway is only going to become more popular with the cost of living crisis here in the UK. Restaurants are closing their doors due to inflation and are going dark.

Without a store front it becomes a challenge to market your food service if you don’t already have a large online presence. Where social media platforms can help gain a following there are other forms of marketing that can help reach customers while you operate behind closed doors. 

One of these key investments that can also be very cost effective and will help engage with customers over social media to drive your takeaway business is custom printed food packaging. 

According to a new study by Maru/Matchbox, 69 percent of millennials take a photo (or a video) of their food before eating. This right here is free adverting and will help build an online following by letting your customers do the work. 

Packgenie offer a wide range of packaging solutions and the best part about it is we specialise in takeaway food packaging. 

Wether you are starting out as a dark kitchen or making the switch from the store front, here are 5 products to get you started. 

 

Custom printed greaseproof paper 

Suitable for wrapping a variety of dishes. From burgers to wraps and even lining trays for desserts and burgers. Custom branded greaseproof paper comes in a variety of sheet sizes and custom sizing is available. This product is great for a start up business as it has a low MOQ of one thousand sheets and is one of the most versatile products we sell. All printed and delivered to your door in ten working days. 

 

Custom branded tamper evident stickers 

Stickers are the go to product when you don’t know where to start with custom branded packaging. A basic sticker with your logo can take your plain packaging to the next level. The best thing about stickers is that you can pretty much add them to any packaging. We have a variety of shapes, sizes and finishes on our site and there are no limitations on colours and branding. 

 

Add a large square sticker to your burger or pizza box or add a clear vinyl sticker to your PET milkshake cups. The best part about stickers are  that they can be used to seal your sweet or savoury treats in the form of a tamper evident sticker.

 

 

 

 

 

Takeaway bags 

There is no other feeling other than when you are notified that your Uber Eats driver is approaching your front door in the next minute and you spring from your sofa after pausing that Friday night movie you have picked to collect your carefully selected food. The handing over of the bag has got to be the best part (other than taking the first bite of the Mac and cheese ball from Poor Boys). Make that point count by branding your takeaway bag with a sticker or having them custom printed with your branding. Stand out from the crowd so that customer remembers you and knows where their burger has come from. 

 

Food boxes & trays

We offer self assemble and pre glued food trays and boxes that can be custom branded with your logo on. This is the top tier level of custom printed packaging and here at Packgenie we offer it all. 

Get in touch today to help promote your dark kitchen and let the customers market your businesses through you use of custom branded packaging. 

 

 

Tags; Dark kitchens, Ghost kitchens, catering facilities, custom branded packaging, food days, dessert trays