A lot goes into the food that you order from an app or through a phone call. From the logistics of raw materials and ingredients to ensuring just the right amount of delivered ingredients to minimize spoilage to the actual preparation, packaging, and delivery.

The F&B sector can definitely benefit from optimizations in data and logistics. This is just what JustKitchen is accomplishing through its network of ghost kitchens that use the hub-and-spoke model.

TechNode Global had several conversations with Kent Wu, Chief Operating Officer at JustKitchen, to learn more about how the company is reimagining the business model of restaurant production and delivery.

Essentially, JustKitchen’s operations can be described as a parallel for cloud kitchens or kitchen-as-a-service. It carries both licensed and own-brand food products, and ingredients are delivered across its network of suppliers and kitchens on a just-in-time basis. This ensures freshness and quality, as well as optimized operations in each kitchen that can service the demand in its particular locality.

The concept was an offshoot of Wu’s experience in e-commerce. Born and raised in the US and with two decades of experience in various e-commerce verticals, he had a semi-retirement from this industry in 2016 and focused on perishable grocery deliveries. It was during this time when he realized the limitations of the existing marketplace model. “It was a two-sided marketplace: farmers and food producers to end consumers. The business piggy-backed on the backend of our own food logistics delivery system…”