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Cloud kitchen feasibility study

Latest regulatory change: 2025 · reviewed 2026-10-10

A kitchen with no dining room, selling through delivery apps.

  • 124 millionDelivery orders in Q4 2025[4]
  • 60%Year-on-year growth in delivery orders[4]
  • 2025Cloud kitchens classified as a separate activity[3]

Latest regulatory and market changes

  1. 2022The Transport General Authority (TGA) required delivery apps to obtain licences, beginning the regulation of the sector that cloud kitchens depend on.[1]
  2. 2024The Transport General Authority (TGA) issued regulatory decisions for the delivery sector, including tying non-Saudi couriers to licensed transport companies.[2]
  3. 2025The restaurant requirements issued by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMAH) classified cloud kitchens as a separate activity, with specific requirements for the site and a courier waiting area.[3]

Why now

  • New delivery platforms entering the market, such as Keeta in Riyadh in 2024.[5]
  • In a sector survey, most operators reported that running a cloud kitchen costs less than a traditional restaurant.[6]

124 millionDelivery orders in Q4 2025, up 60% on the same quarter of the previous year, according to the Transport General Authority (TGA).[4]

The idea and business model

A kitchen dedicated to preparing food for delivery only, with no customer seating, which may run more than one brand from a single kitchen. Revenue comes from orders through delivery apps and its own digital channels.

Model: Delivery kitchen

Project economics

Revenue formula

Daily orders×Average order×Net share after commission

Sales channels

  • Delivery apps
  • Direct orders
  • Multiple brands

Largest cost items

  • App commissions and promotions
  • Ingredients and packaging
  • Salaries
  • In-app advertising

Decisive indicators we measure

  • Net order value after commission
  • Ingredient and packaging cost
  • Share of direct orders
  • Cost of acquiring an order

Relevant authorities

  • Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMAH): licence under the restaurant requirements
  • Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA): food safety
  • Civil Defence
  • Transport General Authority (TGA): regulation of delivery and couriers

What needs your attention

  • Dependence on delivery apps and their commissions.
  • Changes to courier regulations may raise costs or slow service.
  • Mandatory requirements for managing courier traffic and the hand-over area.

What a Cloud kitchen study calculates for you

  • What you actually receive from each order after commissions and promotions
  • Comparison of commissions across apps
  • Daily orders to break even
  • Viability of running several brands from one kitchen
  • Site requirements and the courier area

Every one of these figures appears in your study with its source and date, built on your location and capital, with a clear line between documented facts and assumptions.

Sources

Most sources are Saudi government and press pages in Arabic; titles are kept in their original language so you can find them.

  1. هيئة النقل تدعو تطبيقات توصيل الطلبات للحصول على ترخيصالاقتصادية · 2022-09
  2. النقل السعودية تصدر 6 قرارات تنظيمية لقطاع توصيل الطلباتالعربية · 2024-01
  3. اشتراطات المطاعموزارة البلديات والإسكان · 2025-04
  4. 124 مليون عملية لنشاط توصيل الطلبات خلال الربع الرابععكاظ (عن الهيئة العامة للنقل) · 2026-01
  5. كيتا يبدأ توصيل الطلبات رسمياً في الرياضالاقتصادية · 2024-10
  6. Appetite for cloud kitchens on the rise in Saudi food sectorConsultancy-me · 2023-11

Last reviewed: 4 November 2026. This page introduces the activity; detailed figures belong in the study.