TikTok Tests Food Business, Menu From Viral Content On The Platform!
JAKARTA - TikTok is gearing up to launch a new service that will turn viral food videos on its platform into food that you can actually order and enjoy.
Dubbed TikTok Kitchens, the company teamed up with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) to launch a delivery-only service that will cook up some of the most trending recipes on the app.
The two will reportedly open about 300 locations across the United States initially, but plan to expand to 1,000 locations by the end of 2022. According to information circulating, TikTok Kitchens will operate out of existing restaurants, including those owned by the VDC co-founder. Robert Earl, like Buca di Beppo and Bertucci's.
It is known, VDC itself has previously successfully partnered with MrBeast Burger, a virtual kitchen that was first launched by the ultra-popular YouTuber MrBeast towards the end of 2020. MrBeast sold one million burgers in just three months, and now there are 1,500 kitchens worldwide, including US, Canada and UK.
TikTok Kitchens will leverage existing kitchen and restaurant employees from VDC, providing training, food packaging, and recipes sourced from TikTok.
In order not to be boring, the food menu will be changed every three months based on the viral content on the platform. For the initial menu, TikTok Kitchens will feature the viral baked feta pasta, this seems to be the most searched recipe on Google in 2021. Then there are fried corn chunks known as corn ribs, crispy cheese-covered pasta chips, and burgers.
However, here TikTok doesn't just steal the recipe, because in its official release, the platform says content creators who create recipes on the menu will receive a share of the proceeds.
"Creators will receive credit for dishes on the menu and will be featured prominently during promotions. To be clear, this is a campaign to bring TikTok food to fans, not venture into the restaurant business," said TikTok spokeswoman Elena Saavedra, as quoted by The Verge. , Monday, December 20.