A shared kitchen in Chongqing  Photo via People's Daily

How hard is it to start a takeaway food restaurant? The answer: simpler and simpler, at least in China, as shared kitchens spread across the nation, serving catering businesses with unified venues and supply chains.

Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu province in northwest China, has recently welcomed its first shared kitchen. The “kitchen” is actually several independent ones with a shared sorting area, take-out port, and ingredient area. The operator of the shared kitchen also purchases traceable ingredients to help prevent the risk of bacterial infections. Even the food packaging has been made with degradable materials and only the cooks in the booths can prepare orders for their respective booth.

Such is the common scene for shared kitchens in China, which has are quickly spreading across Chinese cities, feeding on the enormous and growing takeaway food market.

The shared kitchens help deal with the difficulties faced by the traditional catering industry. For instance, operating costs and rents remain expensive, making it hard for business operators to make profits.

For consumers, the standardized management of this new business mode can also further reduce food safety risks in the catering industry. Panda Selected, a popular shared kitchen brand in China, not only installs 24-hour CCTV for its kitchens, but it also provides relevant certifications and insurance for all meals.

The data shows that the Chinese take-away market has grown by more than 33% in the past two years, reaching about 200 billion yuan, thanks to the roughly 256 million Chinese citizens who use online ordering services.