CRG joins food delivery craze

CRG joins food delivery craze

Amid Covid-19, online food delivery in Thailand grew 42% year-on-year in 2020, according to a report by Google Temasek. Arnun Chonmahatrakool
Amid Covid-19, online food delivery in Thailand grew 42% year-on-year in 2020, according to a report by Google Temasek. Arnun Chonmahatrakool

Central Restaurants Group (CRG), a major restaurant chain under Central Group, has partnered with GrabFood in the cloud kitchen business to ride the wave of rising online food delivery business due to the pandemic.

The joint venture will come under the name GrabKitchen by Every Foood and select popular restaurants offering a range of items. Cloud kitchens are venues where food vendors share cooking spaces and prepare food only for delivery.

Five cloud kitchen branches under this venture are now in operation in Thong Lor, Lat Phrao, Pin Klao, Sathon and Nakniwat while new outlets are being planned, according to CRG. The programme is expected to be rolled out to most major cities in the second quarter.

"Consumers' behaviour has changed with ordering food on an app becoming popular, making food delivery an inseparable part of modern life," said Nath Vongphanich, president of CRG, which has over 1,200 restaurant outlets.

"Using a variety of platforms to order has been accelerated by the pandemic leading to food delivery becoming a cornerstone of the industry."

Mr Nath said cooperation in the cloud kitchen space would be a new alternative for restaurant chains aiming to expand but wanting to control costs.

Customers also have the convenience to be able to order food from many restaurants in a single order, he said.

Thailand was the second largest food delivery market in Asean in 2020 with US$2.8 billion (88 billion baht) gross merchandise value (GMV), behind Indonesia at $3.7 billion. Singapore was the third largest at $2.4 billion, according to consultancy Momentum Works.

Online food deliveries in Thailand grew 42% year-on-year in 2020 based on a report by Google Temasek.

Alejandro Osorio, country head of Grab Thailand, said consumer behaviour is moving towards digital on demand services.

"GrabKitchen is presenting an opportunity for entrepreneurs and merchant-partners to capture the potential of the food delivery business by helping them rapidly expand to new locations and access new consumers with minimal upfront cost," said Mr Osorio.

Through its partnership with CRG, the company will allow for growth by leveraging both GrabFood's strength in food delivery and CRG's strength in restaurant business management.

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