Knowledge
What is a virtual brand? The terms explained simply
Virtual brand, ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen, dark kitchen — the terms are often used interchangeably in articles and conversations, but they mean different things. Anyone who wants to understand whether one of these models suits their own business first needs to know what is actually being discussed.
The short answer: a virtual brand is a delivery restaurant that only appears online — with its own name, its own menu and its own platform listing, but without its own dining room. Cooking usually happens in an existing kitchen. Ghost kitchen and cloud kitchen, on the other hand, describe the physical place of production, not the brand identity.
Virtual brand: the identity facing the guest
A virtual brand consists of what the guest sees: name, logo, photos, menu and ratings on the delivery platform. It has no entrance and no address that guests could walk into — orders are placed exclusively through the app. Behind the identity, in most cases, is a perfectly ordinary business: a restaurant, a takeaway, a pizzeria that runs one or more virtual brands alongside its own business. How this works legally and practically is described in detail elsewhere.
Ghost kitchen and cloud kitchen: the place of production
A ghost kitchen — sometimes also called a dark kitchen or cloud kitchen — is a kitchen without a dining room that produces exclusively for delivery. There is no counter, no seating, no walk-in trade. Such kitchens are either run by a single business or rented out as space to several businesses that share the premises and sometimes the equipment.
The important difference: a ghost kitchen describes a property and an operating model. A virtual brand describes a brand identity. The two can coincide — a ghost kitchen can produce several virtual brands — but they don't have to. Most virtual brands in Germany do not run in specially rented ghost kitchens but in existing restaurant kitchens that are already in use for the business's own operation.
Which model suits whom?
Existing business with spare capacity
A restaurant, a takeaway or a pizzeria with kitchen, equipment and staff that are sometimes underused is the classic case for an additional virtual brand. Hardly any new fixed costs arise because the infrastructure already exists.
Pure delivery business without a storefront
Anyone starting fresh who doesn't want their own dining room can rent into a ghost kitchen directly or lease a suitable space. This pays off mainly when there is enough revenue potential for the additional fixed costs of your own rent.
Business without spare kitchen capacity
If the kitchen and staff are already fully utilised during main business hours, a second brand achieves little — the capacity is missing, no matter how good the concept is. Here it is worth looking at off-peak hours or at expanding the existing kitchen instead.
In practice the terms are not always used precisely — some platforms and media call every virtual brand a ghost kitchen. For your own decision, the label matters less than the question: is new floor space needed, or does the existing kitchen suffice?
The key differences at a glance
- Virtual brand — the brand identity facing the guest, without its own dining room, usually produced in an existing kitchen.
- Ghost kitchen / dark kitchen / cloud kitchen — the physical place of production without a dining room, often occupied by several brands or several tenants.
- Second brand — a virtual brand additionally run out of a kitchen that already operates under its own name.
- Multi-brand kitchen — a kitchen, whether owned or rented, from which several virtual brands are served in parallel.
And what does somaFood have to do with it?
somaFood develops virtual brands such as Koku Chickn or Angry Buns and awards them to existing hospitality businesses — only once per territory. The business brings kitchen, equipment and staff, somaFood brings brand, menu, recipes, photos and ongoing maintenance of the platform presence. So no new ghost kitchen is being built; rather, an existing kitchen is extended with an additional category. What this means in terms of costs and terms and which concepts are currently available can be clarified without obligation.
On request we will tell you which concept would work in your kitchen.
- No obligation — your message commits you to nothing.
- A personal reply from our team.
- We check right away whether your area is still available.
Is a virtual brand the same as a ghost kitchen?
No. The virtual brand is the identity facing the guest, the ghost kitchen is the physical place of production. A virtual brand can run in a normal restaurant kitchen without any specially rented ghost kitchen existing anywhere.
Do I need my own kitchen to run a virtual brand?
You need access to a kitchen that meets food law requirements — owned or rented. Most virtual brands run out of kitchens that are already used for an existing restaurant.
What is the difference between a cloud kitchen and a dark kitchen?
Both terms are mostly used synonymously for a kitchen without a dining room that produces exclusively for delivery. There is no uniform, binding distinction.
Is a virtual brand worthwhile without an existing business?
It is possible, but then the rent, equipment and staff of your own kitchen have to be calculated completely from scratch. This only pays off with sufficient revenue potential. With an existing business behind you, the additional costs are usually significantly lower.
How many virtual brands can one kitchen run at the same time?
This depends on kitchen size, equipment and team. Two brands usually run alongside each other without difficulty in practice; more requires clear routines and organisation.