Cloud kitchen unit economics: making money after commissions
A cloud kitchen can be 'busy' and still lose money on every order. The maths is unforgiving.
6 min read · Updated June 16, 2026
Cloud kitchen profit per order = order value − food cost − packaging − aggregator commission − allocated overhead. Aggregators (Zomato/Swiggy) often take 20–30%, so a dish with 30% food cost and 25% commission leaves little before rent and labour. The levers are food cost, packaging cost, menu pricing, and running multiple brands from one kitchen to spread fixed costs.
Where the order value goes
Start with the order value the customer pays. Subtract food cost (typically 25–35%), packaging (easy to underestimate), and the aggregator commission (often 20–30%). What's left has to cover rent, labour and utilities before any profit. Many 'busy' cloud kitchens discover their best-selling dish barely breaks even after the cut.
This is why gross order count is a vanity metric. Profit per order, after commission, is the number that matters.
The levers that make it work
Tighten food cost with recipe costing, control packaging, and price menus for the commission reality (some operators price delivery menus differently from dine-in). The biggest structural lever is running multiple virtual brands from one kitchen, spreading rent and labour across more revenue.
You need software that nets commissions into the P&L and costs recipes per dish — otherwise you're flying on order count and hoping. Vaansa is built for exactly this: multi-brand operation with profit shown after the aggregator cut.
FAQ
- How much do delivery aggregators take?
- Commissions are commonly 20–30% of order value, which is why profit per order after commission — not order count — is the metric that matters.
- How do cloud kitchens improve margins?
- Tighten food and packaging cost, price for the commission, and run multiple brands from one kitchen to spread fixed costs.