Deliveroo expects to grow its off-site delivery kitchen initiative RooBox to 20 sites by the end of the year, MCA has learnt.
The group, which secured £200m of investment last month, is also increasing the number of operators using its existing sites in Battersea and Dulwich.
The group’s expansion to 20 sites will be focussed on London, including a site in Canary Wharf, with nationwide expansion of the project expected next year.
Rohan Pradhan, head of strategic projects at Deliveroo, said the pilot phase had seen operators generating average sales of £7,000 to £8,000 a week from the incubator kitchens.
He told the Jeffreys Henry LLP Restaurant Directors Club this week that the project was aimed both at giving physical space to fledgling operators but also allowing more established brands the opportunity to scope out new areas.
He said that having completed the pilot phase with three operators the group was now bringing in four more groups to its existing kitchens in the coming weeks as well as reaching out to new partners.
He said the key to growing the concept was that to avoid cannibalisation between operators.
He said: “We have to be very careful about the mix but the good thing is that we have a lot of data. We have maps of London that show the hot spots for certain types of food and areas where certain cuisines are under-represented. Before, even if you had that data, you still had the challenge of finding a site. With RooBox it gives people the chance to get their food out into that area pretty much straight away.”
