The new service was first launched in Indonesia.
The ride-hailing giant’s newest service, GrabKitchen, is a network of delivery-only kitchens that have spaces for several merchants to cook under one roof. The food will then be picked up by Grab drivers for delivery. The service launched in Jakarta in September 2018 under GrabFood and has grown to include 10 kitchens, according to Tech in Asia.
Recently, Grab announced that it is opening GrabKitchen in both Vietnam and Thailand. Due to a high number of university students in the district, Grab chose Thu Duc in Saigon to be the first location of GrabKitchen. After a few weeks of trial runs, the kitchen officially began operations on October 8, BizHub reports.
“We see GrabKitchen as a new solution that empowers our merchants to expand and grow, and for consumers to enjoy greater access to a wide variety of food,” said Lim Kell Jay, head of GrabFood. Grab Vietnam CEO Jerry Lim said that they will focus on expanding the service in Saigon first before entering Hanoi, Da Nang and other provinces in 2020.
There are currently 12 restaurants operating their businesses in the space. These eateries are mostly local and medium-sized establishments, such as Otoke, Banh Mi Pew Pew, Moc Vi Quan, Bun Thit Nuong Anh Ba, Ga Nuong O O O, etc.
GrabKitchen stations will allow drivers to collect orders from one place and cut down the delivery time. Lim also said that the drivers will no longer have to pay for the food that is ordered.
[Photo: Inside a GrabKitchen in Bangkok/TechSauce]
