The food sector continues to evolve — and so do we.
We’ve added “Dark Kitchen” as an option within our Food & Eateries product, making it easier for you to place delivery-only food risks quickly and accurately.
A dark kitchen (also known as a ghost kitchen or cloud kitchen) is a commercial kitchen that prepares food exclusively for delivery or takeaway.
There is no customer-facing dining area, no walk-in trade and no traditional restaurant frontage. Orders are placed online via platforms such as Deliveroo, Just Eat or Uber Eats and delivered directly to customers.
These kitchens may operate from industrial estates or shared kitchen hubs, run multiple virtual brands from one premises, or support established restaurants expanding into delivery-only areas. In short, they are food businesses built entirely around online ordering and app-based delivery.
There are now 750+ dark kitchens operating across the UK, with numbers continuing to rise as demand for delivery remains strong.
The model allows operators to reduce overheads, operate from flexible locations and expand or trial new concepts without the costs associated with dine-in premises. What was once considered niche is now an established and growing part of the UK food delivery sector.
Dark kitchens operate differently from traditional restaurants, cafés or takeaways. The absence of dine-in customers, reliance on third-party delivery platforms and overall operational setup can alter the risk profile.
By adding “Dark Kitchen” to our Food & Eateries product range, we’re making it easier for you to clearly identify the business model at quotation stage and ensure the risk is assessed appropriately.
If you have a dark-kitchen risk to place, get a food & eateries quote and select Restaurant as the type of risk then Dark Kitchen as the ‘category which best describes the business type’ on the dropdown.
If you’d prefer to discuss a case first or need help with the quotation, our underwriting team is always happy to help.
