Covid-19 pressure cooks Indonesia’s foodtech and cloud kitchens

With many restaurants shutting down, cloud kitchens and food-delivery apps are ideally positioned to realise the foodtech opportunity that the pandemic has created. However, keeping up with a surge in demand for online food delivery isn’t as straightforward as it sounds

Indonesia is yet to order a complete lockdown, but many eateries—big and small—have already temporarily shut down

Grab and Gojek both reported a surge in demand for food deliveries in Jakarta, but not all restaurants can instantly switch to delivery-only

This is an opportunity for cloud kitchens, which are optimised for delivery-only, but even they will face a stress test with rising demand

With more people working from home and a limited number of restaurants functional, delivery drivers also have to adapt their strategies while taking care of their health

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has seen a wave of shopping mall and restaurant closures in the last three weeks in reaction to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The first well-known food-and-beverage (F&B) outlet in the city to feel the brutal impact of the crisis was Amigos, an independent Mexican restaurant.

Indonesia’s first two confirmed Covid-19 cases on 2 March 2 March The Guardian First coronavirus cases confirmed in Indonesia amid fears nation is ill-prepared for outbreak Read more were tenuously linked to the 40-year-old restaurant.

AUTHOR

Nadine Freischlad

Nadine is based in Jakarta. She likes stories that capture the impact of digital transformation in Indonesia, with a special fondness for "clicks and bricks" businesses and platform economics. Previous stints with Tech In Asia, KrASIA, bylines in VICE, SCMP, CNN.

View Full Profile

I look forward fervently to my daily long reads from The Ken featuring Yangon and Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Saigon.

The Ken has changed the way insiders and outsiders alike learn about the Indian tech ecosystem. Considering the posse they gathered to cover Southeast Asia, I would expect nothing less from them for the new region - and this happens not a moment too soon.

Dmitry Levit / Founder and General Partner / Cento Ventures

It is this kind of reporting that will contribute to the maturation and vibrancy of the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem.

A lot of the tech news in our region is headline-driven. This makes it a race to break news and make things sound spicy, which in turn generates a lot of noise. I find The Ken's approach of releasing one well-researched article a day both relevant and refreshing.

Paul Santos / Managing Partner / Wavemaker Partners