Consumer knowledge of and engagement with traditional takeaway and dark kitchen food outlets

Background

Dark kitchens – delivery-only food outlets operating through digital technology platforms – are a contemporary addition to the food environment. Some concerns have been raised the ability for local authorities to identify and regulate these businesses, with growing concern around the nutritional quality of foods, food safety practices and the impact on the local food environment. The present work explores consumer understanding of and engagement with dark kitchen establishments.

Methods

Healthy adults living in the United Kingdom completed an online survey comprising of questions measuring participant demographics, engagement with takeaways and dark kitchens, purchasing behaviours and decision making, and knowledge and understanding around dark kitchens. Questions were primarily closed-ended and quantitative. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results

In total, 2,023 participants (46.3 ± 16.7 years) completed the survey. Forty percent purchased a takeaway at least weekly, often through aggregator applications (e.g., Just Eat, Deliveroo). Food was mainly purchased as a treat (79.3%), for enjoyment of the food or taste (60.8%) and for convenience (58.2%). When ordering, consumers considered the taste (88.1%), quality (83.5%), value for money (77.8%), and familiarity with (68.1%) and reputation of the business (60.0%). Only 24.7% of participants had heard of dark kitchens and 9.1% had knowingly purchased from one. After reading a working definition, 54.9% of consumers said they would purchase from a dark kitchen but most would want to know explicitly that they were ordering from these businesses. A major concern was trust in the food safety and hygiene standards.

Conclusion

Consumers are unfamiliar with dark kitchens and are not aware of or confident in identifying these businesses. This confusion and concerns around food safety means dark kitchens are often viewed negatively. Consumers would prefer more transparency in where their foods are being prepared to allow for more informed decision-making.

This study used an online survey to ask people living in the UK about their use of takeaways and what information and understanding they had about a type of delivery-only takeaway called ‘dark kitchens’. This work is important because dark kitchens are very common in the UK and are a new type of food outlet which are less well-researched. This is the first study to ask people living in the UK what they know and think about dark kitchens. The study found that only one-quarter of people had heard of the term dark kitchens and that most people (91%) had never knowingly used one to purchase food. People were worried about the quality and safety of the food and whether the business was legal. People would like to know whether the food they buy comes from a dark kitchen or not so that they can use this information when deciding where to buy their food from.