AWJ Investments has announced today the launch of its new Dark Kitchen concept, DKitchen, in Dubai Silicon Oasis, hosting a number of brand-new virtual brands.

The company behind famous F&B brands such as Operation: Falafel, Catch22 and Awani is recognised as the biggest homegrown success story in the UAE’s culinary sector and is now expanding its offering by entering the Dark Kitchen space.

DKitchen provides AWJ Investments the opportunity to manage each step of the process – from concept creation to delivery to the customer at their doorstep– and which the group have full capability to operate and manage independently, including the delivery through its own fleet.

The group has curated brand-new F&B concepts as well as positioning existing brands, such as Awani, perfectly into the Dark Kitchen space.

Starting off with four new concepts ranging from fusion sushi, Middle Eastern tabkha and a highly competitive succulent fried chicken brand, AWJ Investments are expanding their portfolio through a central component in its non-traditional franchising growth strategy.DKitchenwill host up to 12 concepts which are in final development, within this single facility.

AWJ Investments has invested heavily in automating its operations, using the latest global technologies to support the most safe and efficient dark kitchen operation in the UAE market. The state-of-the-art smart solution automatically captures orders and distributes them to their dedicated screen stations within the kitchen, streamlining kitchen operations in real-time for maximum efficiency.

To optimise health, safety and hygiene, AWJ Investments has introduced a unique automated contactless dispatching model, which places orders in dedicated boxes with a locked code. The driver then collects the order after receiving a text message with the code.

The fully digital experience and tracking system allows the customer to track their order and the driver, to ensure their order is delivered within the required timeline.

Multiple concepts are in the pipeline including cuisines such as Lebanese street food, Italian, Pan Asian, fresh salads and American fusion to name a few.

“Since the inception of AWJ Investments, our goal has been to build a solid homegrown brand and then take it to the next level.In line with the trajectory of the F&B scene in the region, we are championing recreation lures by entering the Dark Kitchen space with a world class model not yet active in this market and expanding our offerings throughout the UAE.

“We look forward to sharing our new range of F&B concepts with the UAE community and will continue to diversify our brands, ensuring we cater to everyone’s needs and provide more opportunities for people to create new memories over great food,” says Manhal Naser, Group CEO of AWJ Investments.