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Lookup NU author(s): Scott LloydORCiD, Emeritus Professor Tim Townshend
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© Royal Society for Public Health 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).Background: ‘Dark kitchens’ are an innovative and potentially disruptive addition to the global food environment with potential implications for policy, practice and public health. In the UK, dark kitchens currently represent approximately 15% of all food retailers across the three major online food delivery platforms in England (e.g. Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats), contributing significantly to the digital food environment. To date, dark kitchens have been poorly defined, under-researched and their wider impact poorly understood. Aim: Therefore, the aim of this work was to coproduce a consensus definition of dark kitchens to be used across multiple disciplines. Methods: A series of consultations took place with stakeholders including consumers, local authority representatives, academics, dark kitchen employees, and national governing bodies to understand knowledge and currently used definitions of dark kitchens. Mixed-method approaches were used involving questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and workshops. Results: The stakeholder consultation process provided a robust methodology through which a consensus definition of dark kitchens was agreed. Each project group provided a definition which was scribed and annotated to understand the key components of importance within the definitions, while additional and unique components were discussed and debated by the expert working group before being accepted or rejected. In addition, short- and long-term benefits of such a definition were outlined for all stakeholder groups. Following peer-review from local authority, industry and governing body stakeholders, a final definition was produced. Conclusion: The adoption of a consensus definition of dark kitchens is pivotal to the cross-sectoral work and understanding of many stakeholder groups. The definition allows for transparency and improved communication between dark kitchen stakeholders and provides the opportunity to drive public health agendas at multiple points within the food system.
Author(s): Nield L, Burgoine T, Lake AA, Moore HJ, Soon-Sinclair J, Adams J, Bishop TRP, Bowles S, Boyland E, Bradford C, Chang M, Cummins S, Duffy J, Ferris I, Harness D, Huang Y, Laheri Z, Lloyd S, Martin H, O'Malley C, Pearce J, Rinaldi C, Rundle R, Shaw N, Tindall E, Townshend T, Wall C, Beaumont JD
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Perspectives in Public Health
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 23/09/2025
Acceptance date: 02/04/2018
Date deposited: 16/12/2025
ISSN (print): 1757-9139
ISSN (electronic): 1757-9147
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/17579139251371997
DOI: 10.1177/17579139251371997
PubMed id: 40988326
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