One Restaurant But 17 Different Names On Food Delivery Platforms?

Based on checks, all 17 shops share the same address.

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Food delivery services have become a huge part of our lives and a significant part of a restaurant’s operations today.

One of the reasons consumers prefer to get their food delivered, apart from saving time and being more convenient, is the fact that you are given plenty of choices to browse.

However, Twitter user Farah Harith yesterday pointed out how one restaurant allegedly appears 17 times on a food delivery platform, all under different names.

While the menu remains the same, the names vary from Warung Indo, Sambal Sambal to Restoran Mohd Lim.

Hi @GrabMY you really should not allow one restaurant to pretend they are a few different restaurants with separate listings of different names. One such culprit is @popmeals_my. 17 ni semua are just different names for 1 shop. 17. Not 2 or 3. Tujuh belaih. Seven frikkin teen. pic.twitter.com/8c2d09O4FT
— Farah Harith (@farahharith) May 1, 2024

In the tweet, Farah also shared all the 17 different names of the restaurant, and truth be told the person who came up with the names sure had a blast using their creativity.

The Twitter user also stated that she had tweeted about this seemingly unethical practice and tagged the restaurant in question last year, but there was no response.

“Tweeted about them last year but kriik kriik. Now it’s up to 17 different names when it only used to be 3 or 4 names last time,” she said.

Why does your menu appear under different restaurant names? @popmeals_my pic.twitter.com/oOl3JW59zj
— Farah Harith (@farahharith) March 2, 2023

Many people reacted to the tweet by saying that they also noticed the same thing happening in their areas.

Another netizen said it is frustrating as he needs to scroll endlessly of the same restaurant before he can find some interesting food choices.

Ya noticed quite a few in my area too.
— Nelson Fernandez (@nelfernz) May 1, 2024

Well said kak. Saya pun frust dengan kedai-kedai Popmeals dalam Grab ni.
— Jane (@cold_emotion_) May 2, 2024

yes its pretty annoying. i live near subang parade. when i choose sort nearest to get food fast, i have to scroll through endless popmeals first to find interesting food.
— Paul Tan 🚦 199 (@paultantk) May 1, 2024

Some also said that the restaurant could use the concept known as cloud kitchen or ghost kitchen.

Ghost kitchen
— 🍉Arif E.🍉 (@arfdy12) May 1, 2024

Another user shared that this was also happening on ShopeeFood.

Shopee food too
Pop meals banyak² kedai nama je lain
I am ok with Pop Meals menu tapi kalau dah scroll sampai 10 kedai semua referring to Pop Meals baik tak yah@ShopeeMY
— Tehah Ally (@tehahally) May 2, 2024

Shopee responded to the user saying they will escalate the concern to the relevant team.

@tehahally Hai. Maaf atas sebarang kesulitan. Kami berterima kasih atas maklum balas anda kerana kami sentiasa berusaha untuk memperbaiki servis kami. Kami pasti akan mengetengahkan perkara ini kepada pasukan yang berkenaan untuk meningkatkan Shopee secara keseluruhan 🧡

-AF-
— Shopee Malaysia (@ShopeeMY) May 2, 2024

Cloud Kitchen/ Ghost Kitchen

Ghost kitchens, also known as dark kitchens, are commercial kitchens designed for third-party food delivery services.

These kitchens are situated in areas with high demand and lack a physical storefront. The staff prepares dishes from their menus for delivery, functioning as a digital storefront.

However, cloud kitchens are usually different operators operating from a central kitchen but with each selling their own items.

In the case of this tweet, all 17 names offer the same items.

I can see that some people think this could be a 'cloud kitchen' concept but cloud kitchen maksud dia different operators guna satu kitchen. Yang ni menu semua sama. Ni contoh menu Pop Meals and House of Buttermilk di SB Mall. Same item and description, pics ja lain. pic.twitter.com/IsPpNHFDoX
— Farah Harith (@farahharith) May 2, 2024

It deserves a mention that ghost kitchens have different formats and one of it is multiple brands under one roof.

Eddy Burback, on YouTube made a video a year ago titled “The Deceptive World Of Ghost Kitchens”