Don’t Call it a Food Truck: Mobile Kitchens May Be the Next Big Thing for Food Service Brands

No store? No problem. We’ve all heard of ghost kitchens at this point, but what about mobile kitchens? Restaurants are increasingly using technology to streamline daily operations, improving customer experience and delivery options. Now, many brands throughout the QSR and fast casual dining space have been developing ways to bring their offering out to the people through mobile kitchen technology.

Most recently, &pizza, a 36-unit fast casual chain based in Washington, D.C., has partnered with the tech company Zume to roll out mobile kitchens. Through the use of the tech company's Forward Mobile Kitchens, the on-the-go technology will help the chain test new products and create a streamlined brand experience across the restaurant's different formats. 

Zume's mobile kitchens can be customizable for the brand, using predictive analytics to figure out the ideal locations for the trucks and allowing customers to order for delivery. As brands continue to utilize new technology such as GPS-tracking to appeal to the growing demand for fast delivery, mobile kitchens are becoming more common.

Last year, Auntie Anne’s rolled out over two dozen mobile kitchen food trucks in nine different cities. Earlier this year, Shake Shack also began accelerating its food truck growth to compete with the booming food truck trend in cities like Atlanta and New Jersey. In-N-Out also veered into the mobile kitchen territory with its "cookout trailer."

The food truck industry lacks a clear leader, according to a 2017 IBISWorld Report, with annual revenues nearing $1 billion spread across more than 4,000 businesses for an average of $250,000 per truck. Moving forward, the mobile kitchen industry is wide open for established QSR and fast casual chains to build their brand, especially as customers come to expect faster delivery and take out.