Kroger Expands In-Store Restaurant Presence With ClusterTruck

Grocery chain Kroger Co KR expanded its restaurant presence by launching two new on-premise kitchens for take-out and delivery orders.

What Happened: Kroger launched two on-premise kitchens in Metro Indianapolis, Indiana, and Metro Columbus, Ohio, as part of an ongoing partnership with ClusterTruck, a pioneer in the ghost kitchen category.

Each new off-premise only restaurant will take over 1,000 square feet at each Kroger store and ClusterTruck staff will prepare sit-down restaurant-quality meals with the "personality of street food."

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Why It's Important: Kroger's relationship with ClusterTruck is consistent with the grocer's strategy of gaining market share in prepared fresh food options.

Kroger is also capitalizing on the growth of online food delivery. ClusterTruck's proprietary software system and advanced algorithms are specifically designed for take-out and delivery orders.

Specifically, orders are sent out for delivery within seven months of preparation and arrive at the final destination within 30 minutes of ordering.

"The new on-premise kitchen, in partnership with ClusterTruck, is an innovation that streamlines ordering, preparation and delivery, supporting Kroger as we meet the sustained customer demand for quick, fresh restaurant-quality meals, especially as we navigate an unprecedented health crisis that has affected every aspect of our lives, including mealtime," Dan De La Rosa, Kroger's group vice president of fresh merchandising said in the press release.

What's Next: The combination of ClusterTruck's technology and exposure within Kroger's stores "has the potential to create a new and more sustainable model," the company said.