FoodLab

What FoodLab does

FoodLab is a French dark kitchen and food court network that rents equipped professional kitchen spaces (22-62m² 'Lab' privatifs) to independent restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs across 7 French cities: Lyon 9, Lyon 3, Clermont-Ferrand, Nancy, Villeurbanne, Rennes, and Grenoble. Founded in 2019 by three hospitality school friends, the company operates a hybrid model combining dark kitchen-only sites with physical food court venues featuring dine-in seating (50-150 seats), bars, and self-service ordering kiosks. The core technology stack includes a proprietary Marketplace platform enabling single-basket multi-restaurant ordering via web app or in-store kiosks, plus an industry-first Mutualized Delivery Service that consolidates orders from multiple restaurants into a single courier trip. Food'Lab positions itself as an incubator and 'label of street food,' supporting 100+ hosted restaurateurs since inception with services spanning supplier negotiations, waste valorization, delivery platform onboarding, and HACCP-compliant kitchen infrastructure.

The company monetizes through three primary revenue streams: (1) recurring monthly kitchen lab subscriptions at €750-€2,000/month depending on location and size, with 1-year minimum contracts; (2) food court on-site dining sales and marketplace commissions on aggregated orders; (3) negotiated supplier rebates leveraging collective purchasing power across the tenant network. Customer segments include independent restaurateurs seeking low-capex entry (~€20,000 startup vs. €100k-300k for traditional restaurants), multi-brand digital operators running 3-6 virtual brands from a single kitchen, and franchise aggregators (Not So Dark, Taster) deploying portfolios as plug-and-play tenants. The GTM motion combines content marketing (industry blog), direct sales via professional contact forms, organic social presence (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), and word-of-mouth within the French restaurateur community. In October 2022, the company raised approximately $5.8M from UI Investissement to fund national expansion, with the entity operating as SAS FOODLAB HOLDING (registered capital €37,900, RCS 890 597 107).

Name

FoodLab

Legal name

SAS FOODLAB HOLDING

Website

https://foodlab-france.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FoodLab is a French dark kitchen and food court network that rents equipped professional kitchen spaces (22-62m²) to independent restaurateurs across 7 French cities, combining dark kitchen operations with physical food court venues, a proprietary multi-restaurant marketplace, and consolidated delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Kitchen Rental & Food Court Services

NAICS

Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514), Food Service Contractors (72231)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

CPO (Central Production/Commissary) + Satellite Ghost Kitchens (THAFAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Meal Prep & Subscription Virtual Kitchens (THAFAJAI)

Keywords

• Dark kitchen rental
• Food court operator
• Restaurant incubation
• Food delivery marketplace
• Commercial kitchen space

Headquarters

HQ city

Roubaix

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Kitchen Laboratory Rental: Food'Lab rents private, equipped professional kitchen spaces (labs) to restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs. Rental contracts are annual (1-year minimum) and include utilities, internet, extraction systems, and shared common areas. Revenue is recurring and space-size dependent (22-62m² labs).
2. Food Court On-Site Dining: Food'Lab operates food courts with on-site dining (seated restaurants and bars) at select locations (Nancy, Lyon 9, Clermont Ferrand). Customers order via kiosks or web app, generating revenue through food and beverage sales.
3. Negotiated Supplier Pricing Commissions: Food'Lab leverages collective purchasing power across its restaurateur tenant network to negotiate preferential supplier rates, potentially generating rebates or margin contributions.
4. Delivery and Order Aggregation Platform: Food'Lab's proprietary marketplace aggregates orders from multiple restaurants into single deliveries. The platform reduces per-order commission costs compared to third-party delivery platforms, while potentially generating platform take rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FoodLab operates a network of shared commercial kitchens (dark kitchens) and food courts across French cities. Independent restaurateurs rent equipped kitchen space ("Lab' Privatif") to prepare food that is sold both on-site at FoodLab food courts and via delivery through the company's own marketplace and mutualized delivery platform. The model combines physical restaurant incubation space with an integrated digital ordering infrastructure.

Product overview

Food'Lab is a French dark kitchen network and multi-restaurant food court operator, founded in 2019 by three hospitality school friends. The company operates a hybrid model combining private professional kitchen rentals ('Lab' privatifs') with physical food court venues across 7 French cities. The core offering consists of secured kitchen spaces (22-62 m²) rented to restaurateurs for delivery, takeaway, and dine-in operations. These kitchens are aggregated within Food'Lab locations featuring the Marketplace platform, enabling customers to place unified orders from multiple restaurants via kiosks or webapp, with a mutualized multi-restaurant delivery service. The company positions itself as a 'label of street food' and startup incubator for restaurateurs, offering business support services including preferential supplier rates, performance tracking, and delivery platform connections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dark Kitchen Rental (Lab' Privatif)

Quantifiable outcome

• Multi-restaurant mutualized delivery reduces per-order delivery costs and commissions compared to Uber Eats/Deliveroo/Just Eat, while reducing courier trips and carbon footprint
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Les AchimistescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Achimistes is Food'Lab's waste valorization partner at its Lyon location, transforming food waste (biodéchets) into compost. This partnership supports Food'Lab's eco-responsibility commitments and environmental sustainability goals.
• Les AchimistescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized waste management company that collects used cooking oil, cardboard, plastics, and polystyrene from Food'Lab sites, then recycles and valorizes these materials. Food waste is composted through this partnership.
• Supplier Network (various food and equipment vendors)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood'Lab has established a network of preferred suppliers who offer negotiated pricing to its restaurateur tenants. These partnerships enable collective purchasing power advantages and preferential tariff rates for hosted restaurateurs.
• Not So DarkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrench dark kitchen franchise company that deploys its multi-brand portfolio within Food'Lab kitchen spaces. Restaurateurs can exploit Not So Dark's established brand portfolio as a 'plug and play' solution within Food'Lab facilities.
• TasterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDark kitchen franchise operator that deploys established food brand portfolios within Food'Lab's network of dark kitchens, providing a ready-made brand portfolio for restaurateurs to operate within Food'Lab facilities.
• Delivery Platforms (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood'Lab maintains privileged relationships with major food delivery platforms (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat) facilitating rapid onboarding for its restaurateur tenants. Food'Lab describes this as a key service: 'mise en relation privilégiée avec les plateformes de livraison.'

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Taster: Taster operates a portfolio of multi-brand virtual restaurants (Mission Couscous, O Tacos, etc.) across France and Europe, directly competing with FoodLab's kitchen-rental-plus-multi-brand-marketplace model.
• Not So Dark: Not So Dark is a French dark kitchen franchise that deploys multi-brand portfolios within partner kitchen facilities. As both a FoodLab channel partner and direct French competitor, it offers the closest like-for-like comparison.
• Deliveroo Editions: Deliveroo Editions is Deliveroo's proprietary dark kitchen network across Europe, offering shared kitchen infrastructure to restaurateurs with delivery baked in - a directly comparable model to FoodLab's kitchen rental with on-site dining.
• Foodles: Foodles is a French operator of smart connected fridges and corporate canteen dark kitchens, sharing FoodLab's model of providing food service infrastructure to multiple operators in a single physical space.

Broad incumbents

• Kitchen United: Kitchen United is an established US-based ghost kitchen and food hall operator with multi-city footprint, offering shared kitchen centers for delivery and takeout - a scaled, mature analog of FoodLab's model.
• CloudKitchens: CloudKitchens (Travis Kalanick-backed) operates a global network of delivery-only kitchen facilities with technology, supply chain, and last-mile services - the largest scaled player in the category FoodLab competes in.
• Ghost Kitchen Brands: Ghost Kitchen Brands operates multi-brand virtual restaurant food halls across Canada, combining several digital restaurant brands under one roof with on-site ordering - directly comparable to FoodLab's food court + dark kitchen hybrid.
• Reef Technology: Reef Technology transforms urban parking infrastructure into neighborhood kitchens and logistics hubs, providing multi-restaurant dark kitchen facilities across major US cities - a scaled analog of FoodLab's model.

Emerging players

• Keatz: Keatz is a Berlin-based delivery-only dark kitchen startup offering on-demand kitchen space to restaurateurs across Germany, sharing FoodLab's subscription-based rental model for meal prep and delivery.
• Streaters: Streaters is a French dark kitchen startup providing equipped kitchen spaces to food entrepreneurs for delivery operations, directly comparable to FoodLab's dark kitchen rental product in the French market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FOODLAB.FRANCE
• Instagraminstagram.com/foodlab.france
• TikToktiktok.com/@foodlab.france

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FoodLab