Percepção dos consumidores sobre consumo, funcionamento e aspectos de qualidade de dark kitchens em Fortaleza-CE

Abstract

Dark Kitchen is a segment of food services that does not have a physical space for consumption, that is, there is no room for the customer to have a meal in the place where it is produced, operating exclusively via delivery. It showed growth during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social isolation. In this sense, it is important to understand how these kitchens work and what people's knowledge is regarding the existence of this segment and whether this factor affects consumption. Thus, this study set out to evaluate, through consumer perception, the quality and consumption aspects of meals produced in dark kitchens and sold via delivery in the city of Fortaleza-CE, as well as to outline the consumption profile and relevant points that lead the consumer to opt for this service. Based on this theme, an online questionnaire prepared on the Google Forms platform was applied, consisting of 3 compartments and 24 questions in total, with dissemination via social networks. Through the application of the survey, 300 responses were obtained, of which 67.7% were from women, 49.3% were aged between 18 and 25 years old, mostly single (64.7%), around 70.3% requested meals and you don't need to travel to the location. A total of 95.7% of respondents consumed or have already consumed delivery, so the survey was extended with a total of 287 responses, as it is aimed at the delivery audience. A total of 55.1% of respondents were not familiar with the term dark kitchen, of which 81.5% reported having no interest or not taking into account the establishment being a dark kitchen when requesting a meal. In general, it was possible to observe that even with the end of isolation, dark kitchens continue to gain space and grow due to their economic advantages and changes in social habits. In short, there is still a lack of knowledge among the population about dark kitchens. It is necessary to develop new research that encompasses this topic.