Branding for Delivery Services and Ghost Kitchens

Delivery decisions are fast. Under two minutes, often less. The guest scrolls through Lieferando or Wolt, sees tile after tile, and taps whatever catches their eye. No storefront, no smell, no smile at the counter. For ghost kitchens and delivery-only concepts, that is the reality: the brand has to work in a 320-pixel square before anyone reads the price.

That is not a nice extra. It is the core of the business.

The platform grid and what actually counts there

On Lieferando, Wolt and Uber Eats, you are not competing with the restaurant two streets away. You are competing with everything within a two-kilometre delivery radius, which can be 80 or 100 tiles at once. What counts on that grid: a logo that stays readable at small sizes; a header format that does not look accidental; a product photo that makes someone hungry rather than looking like a 2018 phone snapshot.

Many delivery operations start with a self-assembled logo and a photo of the food on the counter. That works for a while. But it also explains why some kitchens consistently underperform despite decent food and solid ratings. The brand design becomes a price negotiation on the platform before the guest even taps the profile.

We work in the platform asset package from the start: tile logo (square, works on dark and light), header visual, product photography briefing, and when useful, on-set support during the shoot. Not an afterthought.

Packaging as the only physical touchpoint

No storefront, no interior, no atmosphere. What arrives at the guest's door is a delivery bag and whatever is inside it. That sounds obvious, but it means: the food packaging design is the only thing carrying that moment.

We do not think of packaging as a container with a logo on it. The first question is: what happens when the bag is opened? Does it smell good? Does the foodtainer hold? Is there anything personal in there? An insert with a short line, a QR sticker leading to your own ordering landing page (which saves the platform fee next time), a card asking for a review without being annoying.

That is packaging as a sales channel.

And because the food service industry is under growing pressure to make packaging more sustainable (the German packaging register makes licensing proof mandatory), we work with materials that can do both: look good and be GS1-DataMatrix compatible, accommodate multi-use systems like Vytal or Recup, and not sacrifice aroma and temperature protection to the price. More detail on sustainable packaging: Sustainable Packaging.

Ghost kitchen: when one kitchen becomes three brands

A virtual brand works differently from a second menu. It needs its own name, its own logo, its own category on the platform. And at the same time the kitchen has to stay operationally lean.

Many ghost kitchens build their second or third line improvised: different logo format, similar colour, nearly the same name. The problem is not how it looks. The problem is that the lines cannibalise each other because the guest does not understand the difference.

We build a brand architecture where each concept gets its own identity (logo, colour world, tone in menu design and take-away insert), but shares the same operational logic: packaging sizes, insert format, sticker system. The kitchen cooks. Not three separate communications departments.

If it is unclear whether two concepts can really coexist or whether one will eat the other, we work that out in a brand workshop rather than after launch.

Direct ordering and your own landing page

The commission model on the major platforms sits between 15 and 35 percent per order. That is well known. What comes up less often: a dedicated ordering landing page, consistently promoted via QR codes on the packaging, can reduce that share over repeat customers in the medium term.

We do not build complete ordering software solutions (Sumup, Lightspeed, Foodlogics and others have their own systems for that). But we design the landing page that brings the guest there. Visually consistent with the platform appearance, with a clear call to action, and built so that the brand logic does not get lost along the way.

For delivery operations serious about the move toward direct sales, the combination of an own ordering platform and an active discount system for direct orders is a widely recommended path. We make sure the design supports it.

What comes next

Gastronomy and delivery-only is not a single project. Anyone who starts, develops. New concept, seasonal menu, relaunch after six months of difficult reviews. We stay involved when that makes sense, either per project or on a retainer basis.

For an overview of the full gastronomy landscape: Gastronomy sector. For operations with a physical space, café branding and restaurant are worth a look. Food startups in the tech space fall under Tech Startups.