Kitchen United Is Bringing UK-Based Camile Thai To The U.S. As It Looks To Triple Its Footprint This Year
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A Kitchen United Mix location in Austin, Texas. Kitchen United has plans to grow from the current six … [+]
Kitchen united
Kitchen United announced today that UK-based Camile Thai is joining its growing portfolio of restaurant brands. With an exclusive license agreement, Camile Thai will make its US debut in the newly opened Chicago The Loop Ghost Kitchen location by Kitchen United Mix.
Ordinarily, this news wouldn’t make big headlines. Finally, Kitchen United’s list of restaurant partners includes heavyweights like Wendy’s, White Castle, Dog Haus, and Grimaldi’s Pizza. Camile Thai has 40 locations across Ireland and the UK.
But the concept is intriguing for a number of reasons, including being a tech-savvy early adopter of a hot food home delivery model that relies on healthy offerings. The concept may sound familiar as it is the first of its kind to enable the delivery of hot meals with drones in Europe in collaboration with the Irish drone delivery startup Manna.
According to Atul Sood, Kitchen United’s chief business officer, there are currently no plans for the delivery of drones in the works with this U.S. entry. The Thai concept could, however, position Kitchen United favorably for the near future, as the drone delivery in the USA is not a question of if, but of when. For example, Amazon Prime’s drone delivery fleet recently received FAA approval, and a handful of drone companies are piloting deliveries across the states.
However, Camile Thai’s appeal goes well beyond its experience in delivering drones in Europe. The concept is completely future-oriented, with automated woks in the kitchen, compostable delivery packaging and a robust digital marketing presence. This digital competency is a big reason why Sood is optimistic that the concept will work well in the domestic market, although some international concepts – like Leon and Le Pain Quotidien – struggle with it.
“An international brand’s ability to get into the States is enhanced when it has excellent digital marketing skills. If you are battling for real estate in delivery apps and consumer exchanges, being able to target your market hyperlocally is extremely important. Camile Thai built these chops, ”Sood said in a recent interview. “Brands that have tried and struggled have not been so successful with this digital marketing piece.”
Camile Thai also leans heavily on “underrepresented Thai cuisine,” as Sood calls it, as well as vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and omnivorous diets with certified nutritional information and a focus on sustainability. These trends are especially important now as the pandemic continues and consumers are more health conscious.
“An important part of this brand is that it meets a wide range of nutritional needs of consumers, from plant-based and vegan to healthy proteins and various levels of spice,” said Sood. “The food is also very well received, which is an important part of this initiative.”
However, Camile Thai food will not only be available via delivery service. The loop location also includes pickup and ordering for food. In fact, nearly 50% of Kitchen United’s orders come from pick-up or walk-in customers, and kiosks and seating will be ordered in multiple locations in the future.
“We paid attention to an omnichannel presence right from the start. One strategy we are now implementing is to combine access to delivery and takeaway with some aspects of eating, including [Chicago] Loop location. We don’t have table service, but we have order kiosks and some seating, ”said Sood. “This ability to cope with midday traffic is an important function for us.”
The ghost kitchen company currently has six locations and plans to reach 20 in markets like Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Texas by the end of the year. Camile Thai will grow with you and will soon open in Chicago River North and then Austin, Pasadena and Los Angeles.
“I am very happy about our growth. It reinforces this new opportunity for restaurants to expand in ways that are poor in capital and labor, ”said Sood. “Now consumers are being trained to shop outside of the store and they also know they can get high quality food from emerging brands that they have never tried or heard of before. I really believe that the next great brands like Camile Thai are just emerging and growing and will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. ”
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