Kitopi, a managed cloud kitchen platform headquartered in Dubai, is opening its doors to F&B outlets and restaurants in Jeddah, starting this week. The tech company, which currently operates in the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah), Kuwait (Kuwait City), and Saudi Arabia, recently marked its three-year anniversary, and already has successful operations in Riyadh, working with more than 40 restaurant partners. 

The company partners with restaurants and cooks on their behalf, handling the end-to-end operations including sourcing of ingredients, customer experience and, working with third-party delivery apps to deliver the food fast and safely.

Now, Kitopi aims to make alliances with F&B partners and restaurants across the Red Sea hub, giving them the option to expand beyond borders in less than 14 days, with minimal capital expenditure and operational costs. 

Kitopi has seven kitchens in Riyadh and will look to open more than five kitchens in Jeddah before the end of Q3. 

“We are excited to expand our reach in Saudi Arabia, a key market for us. We look forward to partnering with restaurants in Jeddah, enabling them to scale beyond borders and giving customers a chance to experience exceptional food on their terms, quickly and safely,” said Mohamad Ballout, CEO and co-founder of Kitopi. 

The company works with more than 200 brands globally, operating over 60 kitchens and employing a staff of 1,200 “Kitopians.” Kitopi’s competitive advantage lies in its smart kitchen operating technology (SKOS), which powers all of its 60+ state-of-the-art kitchens regionally. SKOS is a cloud kitchen operating system that manages the end-to-end order experience with the aim of improving customer experience and operational efficiency. Thanks to SKOS, an order takes less than 35 minutes to be delivered, from the time an order is placed to when the customer receives it. Kitopi’s technology is supported by its tech hubs in Poland and the UAE, as well as a global customer support center, which operates in Dubai. 

Part of Kitopi’s expansion strategy in the Kingdom will be aimed at hiring more Saudis across its operations, with a focus on hiring more women. This investment in people will support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 while opening up new professions for Saudis to embark on.