Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this activity cover?
It covers eating places preparing food primarily for take-out and delivery, including take-out kitchens, pickup outlets, cloud kitchens, dark kitchens, ghost kitchens, and pizza delivery.
Is this for take-out, cloud kitchens, or delivery-first outlets?
All three. The activity covers take-out kitchens, delivery-only cloud kitchens and dark kitchens, and pizza and specialty delivery-first outlets.
Who are the typical clients?
Office workers on pickup, residential dinner delivery, late-night delivery trade, tourist accommodation take-away, and Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem and Noon app-based orders, across the UAE.
Does this include cloud kitchens and multi-brand virtual concepts?
Yes. Delivery-only cloud kitchens, dark kitchens, and ghost kitchen operations running one or multiple virtual brands from a single kitchen are all part of this activity.
Does this include the concession operation of eating facilities?
No. The concession operation of eating facilities is a separate activity under classification 5629. This activity covers eating places preparing food primarily for take-out and delivery.
How to Start a Take-Out Eating Places Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem, Noon and Zomato have rewired how UAE eats. Delivery is now a habit, and it runs on an ecosystem of take-out kitchens and cloud kitchens built for one thing: getting food to a customer's door in under 45 minutes.
Deliveroo Editions runs cloud kitchen partnerships across Dubai. Kitopi is one of the largest cloud kitchen platforms globally, headquartered in the UAE. Talabat's own dark kitchens hit 112 active slots in 2024 with plans for 200 by end of 2025.
IMARC Group¹ values the UAE online food delivery market at USD 720.7 million in 2024, forecast to reach USD 1.8 billion by 2033 at 10.2% CAGR, driven by cloud kitchens, smartphone penetration and aggregator expansion.
Mordor Intelligence² reports UAE delivery is the fastest-growing food service channel at 18.65% CAGR through 2031, outpacing dine-in and drive-thru.
ResearchAndMarkets³ reports UAE operators are running over 400 cloud kitchen concepts across 80-plus locations, with many converting existing restaurant space into delivery-only kitchens.
The Report Cubes⁴ values the UAE online food delivery market at USD 10.86 billion in 2026, forecast to USD 22.19 billion by 2034 at 9.34% CAGR, with logistics-based models leading share as consumers demand sub-30-minute delivery.
Dubai Trade License from AED 12,500
Get Your LicenseThe Delivery Economy Behind a Dubai Take-Out KitchenA Dubai-licensed take-out or cloud kitchen plugs into a UAE online food delivery market forecast to grow from USD 720.7 million in 2024 to USD 1.8 billion by 2033, at 10.2 percent CAGR.
Sources: Research and Markets (2025), IMARC Group (2025), Mordor Intelligence (2026), Restroworks (2026)
Whether you are running a take-out kitchen serving delivery and pickup customers, a cloud kitchen operating multiple virtual brands from one location, a pizza delivery outlet or a delivery-first specialty food operation, this activity covers eating places that prepare food primarily for take-out and delivery rather than on-premises dining.
Who is this activity for?
- TAKE-OUT & PICKUP OPERATORS: You run a take-out kitchen or pickup-first food outlet serving customers who order in advance and collect. You work in high-density residential and commercial catchments with limited or no seating, and focus on quick meal turnaround for pickup trade and walk-in orders.
- CLOUD KITCHEN OPERATORS: You run a delivery-only cloud kitchen operating one or multiple virtual brands from a single kitchen. You work with Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem and Noon on delivery aggregation, and focus entirely on online order fulfilment without dine-in facilities.
- PIZZA & DELIVERY-SPECIALIST OPERATORS: You run a pizza delivery outlet, delivery-first specialty food business or a delivery-first ethnic cuisine kitchen. You focus on speed of preparation, packaging integrity, delivery radius and repeat customer app-based ordering to compete in the delivery segment.
5610.05 - Take-Out Eating Places
Under this activity, you can run a food service business preparing meals primarily for take-out and delivery. Product range covers take-out kitchens, pickup-focused food outlets, delivery-only cloud kitchens (dark kitchens), pizza delivery outlets, ghost kitchen operations serving multiple virtual brands and specialty delivery-first food concepts.
| Take-Out Kitchens | Cloud & Dark Kitchens | Delivery Specialists |
|---|---|---|
| Take-out kitchens and pickup-focused food outlets with limited or no seating serving walk-in and pre-order customers. | Delivery-only cloud kitchens and dark kitchens operating one or multiple virtual brands without dine-in facilities. | Pizza delivery outlets, delivery-first ethnic cuisine kitchens and specialty delivery concepts optimised for aggregators. |
| Office lunch pickup, residential dinner take-out, tourist accommodation take-away, quick meal collection and app-based pickup. | Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem and Noon fulfilment, multi-brand kitchen operations, cost-efficient food service expansion. | Residential dinner delivery, late-night delivery trade, event delivery, specialty cuisine online-only presence. |
| UAE CONTEXT | UAE CONTEXT | UAE CONTEXT |
| UAE online food delivery market at USD 720.7 million in 2024, forecast to USD 1.8 billion by 2033 at 10.2% CAGR. | UAE delivery is the fastest-growing service channel at 18.65% CAGR through 2031, per Mordor Intelligence. | UAE operators run 400-plus cloud kitchens across 80-plus locations, with Talabat targeting 200 dark kitchen slots by the end of 2025. |
This activity covers eating places that prepare food primarily for take-out and delivery. It does not cover the concession operation of eating facilities, which falls under separate activity classification 5629.
In short: if you are running a take-out kitchen, cloud kitchen or delivery-first food business, this is your activity.
Third-party approval: No third-party approval is required.
Anti-money laundering compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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¹ IMARC Group, "UAE Online Food Delivery Market Size & Share Report, 2033", 2025.
² Mordor Intelligence, "United Arab Emirates Foodservice Market Forecasts 2031", January 2026.
³ ResearchAndMarkets via GlobeNewswire, "United Arab Emirates Foodservice Market Trends and Forecast Report 2025-2033", November 2025, citing Delivery Hero SE company press release.
⁴ The Report Cubes, "UAE Online Food Delivery Market Report", 2026, citing UAE Ministry of Economy data.
