In recent months, more and more YouTubers and influencers have launched their catering offerings. But behind these beautiful stories of enthusiasts, there are in reality dark kitchens, white marks and some failures.
“That’s it, it’s there. I’ve had this project in mind for a year,” says YouTuber Michou in his Instagram story. This major project is Mealy, the first fast food restaurant opened by the content creator to 9.7 million subscribers, this June 8 in Amiens.
On the program, a menu made up of 10 burgers and sandwiches with “flavors from the 4 corners of the world”, cookies, fries, sundaes… All certified made in France. On paper, the promise is a dream. However, the announcement of the restaurant’s opening heightened tensions on X, formerly Twitter.
“Gloves in the kitchen, no beard guards, the hoods with visible grease, the hob in a bad state even though the restaurant has just opened… It looks SO CATASTROPHIC in terms of hygiene”, writes an Internet user in a publication viewed 3.3 million times.
“It has become a trend to open burger restaurants, don’t I understand that?”, asks another. Because Michou is far from being an exception. More and more videographers are diversifying and offering catering services.
Thus, Amixem has been offering Starsmash in around fifty cities for a month and Valouzz launched its burger brand in September 2023. A few years ago Fast Good Cuisine, Mister V and even IbraTv also tried the adventure.
Nothing surprising for Bernard Boutboul, director of the Gira firm and specialist in the world of catering. “Gérard Depardieu, Carole Bouquet, etc. For years, show business stars have taken advantage of their notoriety and set up restaurants,” he analyzes. Influencers are therefore part of this continuity.
Dark kitchens, the recipe for success
From 2021, fans of street food and home delivery will surely have noticed on delivery applications the arrival of Pepe Chicken, the chicken brand from Charles Gilles-Compagnon, aka FastGoodCuisine.
If fried chicken is displayed on Uber Eats and Deliveroo in all its forms, from wraps to burgers including the essential tenders, it is a simple white and red storefront that awaits the curious, at 78 rue de la Croix Nivert ( 15th), address of the restaurant in question. Inside, not a table, not a customer, no flashy decor to lure the passerby.
And for good reason: the YouTuber FastGoodCuisine’s brand is a dark kitchen, a kitchen exclusively dedicated to home delivery. With a major advantage: the dark kitchen does not need a strategic location, simply a small room. On average, the investment is 6 to 10 times cheaper than that of a classic restaurant.
The content creator has partnered with Taster, European leader in virtual restaurant brands. The principle of the company is simple: centralize several franchises in a single dark kitchen. Here, employees are trained in a few days and apply the same production processes for all brands. Fries and other burger buns are therefore manufactured in the same place, and sold to the consumer under different logos and brands.
Striking similarities
“The thing with dark kitchens is that in fact there is a big supplier, who makes proposals and then you can develop your recipe a little. But I think it’s really obvious”, slice Louis, YouTuber followed by 388,000 subscribers. The content creator, who also opened his sushi restaurant, decided to test different influencer restaurants in a video from May 24.
In his journey, the young man decides to test Pepe Chicken, but also Starsmash, the burger restaurant in Amixem. And, during his tasting, a detail caught his attention. The waffle fries, the breads, but above all the packaging of the two brands, are as alike as two drops of water.
“It’s exactly the same packaging,” Louis reacts. “It’s the same bread, we can swap (between the two burgers from Starsmash and Pepe Chicken, editor’s note), there is no difference,” he is surprised.
Surprise that isn’t really a surprise: Amixem and FastGoodCuisine have both partnered with Taster to launch their restaurant. Hence the many similarities.
In addition to the similarities between the products which risk disappointing consumers looking for authenticity and homemade dishes, dark kitchens are also criticized for their “dehumanized” model. This system would also overshadow traditional restaurants and local traders.
“What we criticize about dark kitchens is first of all that they are not transparent, everything is done to deceive the customer and make them believe that they are dealing with a restaurant,” observes Xavier Vankerrebrouck, culinary blogger, in a DNA article.
“We also fear a standardization of tastes, because the same ingredients are found in all the brands of a company. Finally, it is a model (…) which confirms the exploitation of platform delivery people,” he continues. .
A controversial device, not always accepted by well-followed influencers. The latter prefer to remain vague on the functioning of the establishments or their links with Taster. They prefer to focus on storytelling.
In its Starsmash announcement video, Amixem is careful not to mention that its products are manufactured by Taster. The company itself does not mention the YouTuber’s restaurant on its site. The only Linkedin publication from the founder of taster confirms the collaboration. On the other hand, the emphasis is placed on his passion for space, which would have inspired the concept.
“Restaurants are only delivery. (…) This makes it easier to open restaurants in cities and then, with covid, it is difficult to open physical restaurants,” FastGoodCuisine defends itself. In a video at the end of 2021. Again, no mention of Taster. Rather a nice story, in homage to the grandfather of the content creator.
In June 2023, the YouTuber returned to the concept of dark kitchen. “The dark kitchens model represents a solution to my objective of having my cuisine tasted by as many people as possible. We also wanted to allow subscribers to continue the digital experience and give them the opportunity to have a Pepe Chicken menu delivered in 20 minutes after viewing my videos”, reacted Charles Gilles-Compagnon in an interview with emarketing.
Mission accomplished. According to Anton Soulier, former CEO of Taster, Pepe Chicken is distributed in nearly 70 points of sale in France and Belgium. “In less than two years, Pepe Chicken has become one of the most ordered brands on delivery platforms,” he says.
Despite the promises of cost savings and the undeniable success of Pepe Chicken, dark kitchens remain a risky bet for Bernard Boutboul. “Delivery only represents 9% of the catering offer in France, it has not yet taken off,” underlines the expert. “As a result, dark kitchens are closing one after the other. This is not a viable model,” he insists. The president of Gira therefore advises influencers to focus on physical catering.
Physical restaurants are popular
A lesson that the influencer IbraTV, known for his hidden cameras and combat videos, seems to follow. One of the pioneers of the adventure of “made in influencer” restaurants, the videographer launched Black and White Burger in 2018, a burger chain, therefore.
Since then, the establishment has grown significantly and has been exported to France and abroad via franchises, a model which allows entrepreneurs to launch themselves with the support of a network and the notoriety of a brand. The results are there. Around thirty establishments in France and Belgium, more than 200 employees on French soil alone, a turnover which exceeds 12 million euros in 2021… Figures from Black Cheddar, the restaurant company from IbraTV are dizzying.
A success story that has motivated more than one to launch their establishment. Last September, YouTuber Vallouz set up his burger kitchen in Paris, boulevard de la Bastille. More recently, in February, content creator Zack Nani opened Kazdalerie, a sandwich shop in the capital’s 10th arrondissement.
Mister V white label
Another content creator who can boast of dazzling success is Mister V. Two years ago, in partnership with Universal Music, the videographer’s record label, the distributors marketed two pizza models on their shelves frozen food from the Delamama brand, inspired by a sketch by the comedian video maker.
According to figures from the Nielsen IQ panelist, the “Delamama pizza” has made its entry into ranking of the best product launches consumer products of 2022. The range generated a turnover of 1.4 million euros in the first three months following its release. The craze is such that the Grenoble jack-of-all-trades was approached by KFC. Until June 15, fried chicken aficionados can find three recipes, including one vegetarian, “Delamama Burgers”.
However, one detail in this French success is intriguing. Two years before the launch of Delamama pizzas, another musician also released Margherita and other 4 cheeses. In fact, in 2020, Capital Bra, a German rapper of Russian origin who is a hit across the Rhine, launched into the frozen food market with Gangstarella pizzas.
The design of the rapper’s pizza boxes closely resembles that of Mister V’s products. The face of the product is drawn in the center of the box, in a similar graphic style, the colors are the same, and the borders, composed of a multitude of colored squares, too.
Delamama pizzas like those of Gangstarella are therefore in reality under a white label by the German company Freiberger, established in 30 countries. The common point of the two pizzas being the contract with Universal Music.
But apart from the good results of FastGoodCuisine, MisterV and IbraTV, it is difficult to measure the success of these new establishments, which have barely emerged. Bernard Boutboul, for his part, remains skeptical about the future of these restaurants.
“Notoriety and glitter are not enough,” insists the expert. “If influence helps launch an establishment, customers do not come back if it is poorly served, there is a lack of hygiene or the dishes are not good.”
The proof is that the majority of restaurants opened by stars of the small and big screen ended up sinking. And influencer restaurants seem to be following a similar trajectory. In 2017, Julien Tanti (8 million subscribers on Instagram) is tackling the restaurant business with Pizza des Fratés in Marseille. On Tripadvisor, the opinions are unanimous.
“I have never tasted such a disgusting pizza… rubbery appearance… and the price is what we’re talking about!!! I strongly advise against it”, writes a consumer.
Three years later, the pizza boxes bearing the influencer’s image disappeared, due to lack of success with gourmets in the Phocaean city.
