First Grab Kitchen in Singapore opens

Grab has launched its first Grab Kitchen in Singapore, which takes its cloud kitchen network in Southeast Asia to 50.

Located at 63 Hillview Avenue, the shared kitchen is operated for 10 restaurants including PlayMade, Wolf Burgers and Thai Dynasty. Occupying a 6000sqft area, Grab Kitchen also has a dine-in area for small lunch groups.

“Together with our merchant partners, we hope to bridge cuisine demand and supply gaps, complement and expand the variety of food options at different price points in the area,” said Dilip Roussenaly, head of GrabFood Singapore, at the opening of the Grab Kitchen in Singapore.

As operations in cloud kitchens cost less than setting up physical outlets, the concept has become popular among food and beverage merchants.

“Partnering with GrabFood has enabled us to have an expanded reach to more consumers while minimizing the hassle for them to travel to a location for food,” said Ian Lin, founder of Thai Dynasty.

Grab’s food-delivery business has become a major pillar for growth as it expands beyond its taxi-hailing roots into other areas, including financial services. Grab’s food delivery business witnessed 5.2 times growth in gross merchandise value last year, and nearly tripled its number of active users.

Rivals Deliveroo and Foodpanda already operate their own shared kitchen spaces, also known as ghost or cloud kitchens, in Singapore. The firm’s regional rival Go-Jek has also been testing cloud kitchens in Indonesia.