Saudi Arabia has welcomed a novel neighbourhood-focused cloud kitchen concept with the launch of Matbakhi, a Riyadh-headquartered food technology company, which aims to meet the Kingdom’s rising demand for online food ordering.
Using a two-pronged approach, Matbakhi catalyzes collaboration within culinary ecosystems by helping hotels optimize their underutilized kitchens, while simultaneously helping local young chefs incubate their incredible menus into soulful brands. Through this approach, Matbakhi enhances the customer experience for both hotel visitors as well as online food delivery customers while boosting the Kingdom’s hospitality sector and creating opportunities for talented local chefs.
Speaking about the launch of the firm, Matbakhi’s co-founder and CEO, Joe Frem, said: “The way food is conceptualized, sourced, cooked, delivered, and consumed is evolving by the minute in line with the preferences of highly aware and increasingly knowledgeable consumers. Keeping these customers at the heart of everything we do, Matbakhi aims to make food you want accessible in your neighbourhood, make it convenient to order, and ensure that it is delivered to your doorstep in minutes, while you’re still looking forward to that taste and experience.
“We are erasing the physical distance between consumers and restaurants, reimagining the restaurant experience, and allowing consumers to enjoy high-quality food from the comfort and convenience of their homes or hotel rooms. Soon, we will also feature a diverse set of concepts to stay in step with the changing trends and demands of the Saudi culinary landscape.”
In addition to bringing the consumers’ favourite cuisines to their neighbourhoods, Matbakhi also offers a stellar business proposition. For hotels, the possibility of repurposing their underutilised kitchen spaces – through cloud kitchens – directly corresponds to improving their revenue streams and increasing their profits.
The company’s co-founder and COO, Rodolph Njeim, said: “Matbakhi’s priority is to focus on invigorating the culinary landscape. While on one hand, we will democratize good food and enhance what’s being delivered to online customers, on the other hand, we will also support the formation and development of chef-driven brands by leveraging the cloud kitchen concept.”
To address this, Matbakhi created a brand incubator to act as a platform for local chefs to create recognizable brands and operate them at scale.
Joe Frem added: “People will remain at the heart of everything we do. Matbakhi will focus on chefs and customers, and in turn raise the value proposition of the Kingdom’s hospitality sector. On the consumer side, in many countries in the region, average delivery times are still reaching one hour during peak hours. This not only reduces the quality of the food, but also directly affects the customer experience. On the hotel side, the F&B vertical is still causing a lot of challenges to hotel owners and GMs, forcing them to make tight decisions that impact customer experience. Matbakhi addresses these challenges.
“The company partners with hotels by offering full F&B services from procurement to staffing and operations, thus elevating the culinary experience by offering exciting local chef-led brands that not only result in passionate and better food, but also results in faster delivery within hotels through cutting-edge room ordering technology, which feeds into a better customer experience.
Following its launch, Matbakhi will embark on an expansive and holistic approach that will enhance food delivery penetration into the Kingdom.
The timing is exquisite because Saudi Arabia’s online food delivery, which has been valued at $4.71 billion in 2022, is expected to expand at a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.98% over a six-year period and is projected to reach $8.8 billion by 2028, according to Innovius Research’s 2022 market report.
The company’s novel approach also creates a unique opportunity within Saudi Arabia’s booming hospitality sector, which in line with Vision 2030 aims to make the Kingdom one of the Top 10 global tourism destinations by the end of the decade. Matbakhi’s novel solution could revolutionize the hotel F&B sector and help meet the ever-increasing demands of international visitors staying in Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Saudi Arabia is a future-forward economy, offering untapped potential and creating an environment that unlocks unique business opportunities. Matbakhi will leverage Riyadh’s prime location and potential, attracting the best talent, and increasing regional investment as it encourages FDI and entrepreneurship within the sector.
Joe Frem explains: “Matbakhi’s curated approach preserves the hotel’s identity, while boosting its customer experience. Food is like language; it’s extremely relevant to the local culture. Therefore, our brand incubator collaborates with young and up-and-coming Saudi chefs to not only reinvent existing cuisines, but also to create new ones based on their understanding of the local taste. These chefs bring experience and stories, which we help them incubate into soulful brands.”
Thus, with this launch, Matbakhi will help hotels in the region leverage their existing kitchens to create their own advantages in highly competitive markets while also helping local chefs create brands and build them to profitability through incubation.
