Middle East’s largest cloud kitchen platform for virtual restaurants fuels regional expansion with a fully-fledged team in Riyadh.
kaykroo, the region’s largest cloud kitchen platform for virtual restaurants, today announced the establishment of its new offices in Saudi Arabia to drive expansion efforts across the wider GCC. On a mission to deliver great food experiences, kaykroo has started serving customers in Riyadh with the launch of its first cloud kitchen in the Kingdom, which will be its 20th facility in the region.
kaykroo’s operations in the Kingdom will be spearheaded by co-founder and CEO of Saudi Arabia, Fawaz Al Otaibi. A serial entrepreneur and long-term investor, Al Otaibi brings over a decade of in-depth experience in the Saudi market and is well placed to steer the company’s ambitious expansion plans in the country, which will see 15 additional branches open across the nation in the next 18 months. Within this period, kaykroo aims to deliver over 1 million meals in the Kingdom and create over 500 new jobs through their national kitchens.
Al Otaibi said, “I’m incredibly excited to be a part of such a dynamic and passionate team of individuals, who not only have a clear vision and ambition for what they want to build but genuinely love great food. Their success has been proven in the UAE and this is exactly the authentic experience that we want to bring to communities across Saudi Arabia. We are committed to offering all the kaykroo brands the UAE has grown to love, with a Saudi twist, and creating new concepts that cater specifically to local tastes. Rest assured, nothing will come out of our kitchens that haven’t been rigorously tested and tailored to our customers’ flavor palettes.”
Jihad El-Eit, Founder and CEO of kaykroo said, “We’ve spent the last year and a half growing kaykroo’s operations in the UAE, which now cover five different emirates. The next step in our evolution was always going to be Saudi Arabia, with the food delivery sector witnessing a monthly average demand of $266.6 million in the first quarter of 2021. In particular, cloud kitchen platforms have shown significant growth potential in the Kingdom, with a market value of $215 million in 2020 that is projected to reach $515 million by 2029. But we knew it wasn’t as simple as opening new branches – kaykroo is about listening to what people want and creating experiences that exceed their expectations. Given the importance of the Saudi market for us, building a dedicated local office, with a team that really understands the community, was the only way to truly deliver on our promise.”
Incorporated into its Riyadh office is kaykroo’s second innovation center, which will be used to conceptualize and test new menu items for its local customer base. The innovation center, and all regional kitchens, will integrate kaykroo’s proprietary technology, which has been built to increase efficiency, optimize resource utilization and significantly reduce wastage, contributing to more sustainable operational practices.
As of today, customers in Riyadh can order their favorite meals from across the company’s existing brand portfolio, which includes the hugely popular Man’oushe Street, Fern El Balad, El Bakery, The Good Bowl, Hummus Brothers, Wrapped, Pick ‘n Pair, Lahmajun, Susuru, and The Vegan Table. The development of kaykroo’s first Saudi brand is underway and will be launched by the end of the year.
