The Kroger Co. is partnering with Kitchen United, a ghost kitchen company, to offer customers freshly prepared, on-demand restaurant food. Participating locations will feature up to six local, regional, or national restaurant brands powered by Kitchen United.
“Our customers’ appetite for fresh, on-demand meals continues to accelerate, and we remain focused on offering new and innovative products that provide anything, anytime, anywhere,” said Dan De La Rosa, Kroger’s group vice president of fresh merchandising, in a statement. “Our partnership with Kitchen United taps into restaurants’ growing use of off-premise kitchen space to increase customers’ access to their favorite foods.”
When placing an order using the Kitchen United website or app or on-site via ordering kiosks, customers can select items from each on-site restaurant to create a customized order on a single receipt. Restaurant staff will prepare the orders and delivery service fees will be determined by third-party providers.
“As we continue to define Kroger as a food destination, this collaboration creates another seamless way for our customers to order lunch or dinner for pick up while they shop for groceries or for delivery to their location of choice,” said Craig Gauden, Kroger’s director of partnership development, in a statement.
The first kitchen center is expected to open this fall at a Ralphs store in Los Angeles, with additional locations expected later this year.
“Kitchen United recognizes the significant value of Kroger as a strategic partner. Our work together provides participating restaurants access to millions of Kroger customers and the ability to better address off-premise demand in a convenient supermarket format – a frequent destination for most consumers,” said Michael Montagano, CEO of Kitchen United, in a statement. “We’ve worked collaboratively with the Kroger team to curate a mix of popular restaurant brands, and we see a great opportunity to introduce our partnership in cities across the country.”
