If you are searching for how to get orders for cloud kitchen openings, the useful answer is a sequence rather than a single trick. The first 30 days work in four stages: build a list before you open, soft launch to people who already know you, go live on the apps and Google for strangers, then pull the repeat orders onto a channel you own. Kitchens that skip the first stage spend the first month cooking for nobody and paying for sponsored listings to fix it.
This plan assumes a single kitchen, a short menu and a modest budget. It gives you a target for each week, the actions that get you there, and the numbers to check so you know whether it is working.
Before you open: days 14 to 0
Your first 50 customers should be people you can name before the burners are on. Make a list of 100 phone numbers: friends, family, colleagues, the gym, the society, the old office. Message each one personally, tell them what you are launching and when, and ask whether they would like a message on opening day. Record who said yes. That is your first opt-in list.
Set up the ordering channel now, not on launch morning. A WhatsApp number with a working menu and checkout, a store page, UPI payments and a delivery charge by distance, all tested with five dummy orders. Set up your Google Business Profile with the category, hours, photos and an order link; it takes a few days to verify, so do it early. The guide on adding a WhatsApp order button to your Google listing walks through that part.
Print 500 small cards with your WhatsApp QR code and a first-order coupon. Every bag that leaves the kitchen carries one from day one, including app orders. Finally, cook the full menu for ten people in boxes, let the boxes sit for 30 minutes, and eat. Fix whatever went soggy before a paying customer sees it.
Week 1: soft launch to people who know you
Target: 10 to 20 orders a day, all from your list and their referrals. Send one opening message to everyone who opted in, with the menu link and the launch coupon. Ask the first 30 customers for honest feedback on WhatsApp the next morning, and fix two things a day. The point of this week is to find your packaging, timing and portion problems while the audience is forgiving.
Do not list on Zomato or Swiggy yet. Your first app ratings are the ones that stick, and a 3.6 from a messy opening week follows you for months. Use the week to get your delivery timing and your kitchen rhythm right at low volume.
Week 2: go live for strangers
Target: 25 to 40 orders a day. List on the aggregators with good photos, a short menu and no deep discounts. Open at full price with one modest launch offer rather than a 50 percent banner that attracts deal hunters who never return. Ask every happy week-1 customer for a Google review and, if they ordered on an app, an app rating.
Join or get added to the WhatsApp groups of three societies within 2 km. Offer the committee a tasting box and ask to post your menu on the days vendors are allowed. Post your first three Instagram reels: the kitchen, the packing table, the rider leaving. The bag card goes into every app order so the second order can come direct.
Week 3: the first direct campaign
Target: 40 to 60 orders a day, with at least 15 percent coming through your own channel. Send your first weekly broadcast to everyone who has opted in, on a weekday at around 6 pm, with one offer and a direct order link. Launch a first-direct-order coupon worth about the commission you would have paid: ₹50 on a ₹300 order is a good start.
If budget allows, run Click-to-WhatsApp ads at ₹300 to 500 a day targeted to a 5 km radius with one real dish photo. Measure cost per first order, not clicks. The 21 cloud kitchen marketing ideas post has the full menu of options if the first ones do not land.
Week 4: repeat and referral
Target: 60 to 80 orders a day, 20 percent or more direct, and a visible second-order rate. Message week-1 and week-2 customers who have not ordered again with a one-time nudge. Add a referral code: both the referrer and the new customer get ₹50 off. Review your orders by item and drop anything in the bottom quarter that does not share ingredients with a top seller.
Look at the week's numbers on Sunday. If direct share is under 10 percent, the bag card or the coupon is not working and needs a rewrite. If app orders are strong but ratings are slipping, slow down and fix timing before you spend on growth. Whether to lean harder on the apps or on your own channel is covered in cloud kitchen without Zomato or Swiggy.
The 30-day plan on one page
| Stage | Daily order target | Main actions | What to measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 14 to 0 | Dummy orders only | 100-number list, ordering channel live, Google profile, QR cards, box test | Opt-ins collected, test orders completed |
| Week 1 | 10 to 20 | Opening message, feedback from first 30, fix packaging and timing | On-time rate, complaints per 10 orders |
| Week 2 | 25 to 40 | App listing, society groups, first reels, reviews, bag card in every order | App rating, Google reviews, orders per source |
| Week 3 | 40 to 60 | Weekly broadcast, first-direct-order coupon, small Click-to-WhatsApp test | Direct share, cost per first order |
| Week 4 | 60 to 80 | Second-order nudge, referral code, menu pruning | Repeat rate, direct share, items sold |
The targets are for a kitchen in a dense urban area with a popular cuisine. Halve them for a niche cuisine or a quieter suburb; the sequence stays the same. The cloud kitchen starter guide covers everything that comes before day 14.
Five numbers that tell you whether it is working
Orders per day by source, so you know what each channel contributes. Direct-order share, because every point it rises cuts commission. Second-order rate within 14 days, which predicts whether the kitchen will survive month three. Average rating on the apps and on Google, checked daily during the first month. And cost per first order on any paid spend, compared with the commission you would have paid for the same order through an app.
If you only have time for one, track the second-order rate. New customers are expensive however they arrive. A kitchen where one in three first-time customers orders again within two weeks will grow on its own; a kitchen where one in ten does will spend forever buying new ones.
What this looks like on Tezzu
The plan above needs an ordering channel that works from day 14 without staff typing orders into a notebook. On Tezzu, customers order on your own WhatsApp number or your free store page at tezzu.in/store/your-name, pay by UPI or card through Razorpay or choose cash on delivery, and the order appears in your live dashboard and the staff app with a new-order alert. Setup takes about 30 minutes, including the WhatsApp Business API connection through Meta's embedded signup, and you keep your existing number.
The launch coupon and the first-direct-order code are coupons that can auto-apply at checkout. The opening message in week 1 and the weekly broadcast in week 3 are WhatsApp campaigns sent from the dashboard to customers who opted in, paid from a prepaid wallet. Delivery zones with distance-based charges stop you from accepting orders you cannot deliver on time, and the dashboard shows orders, revenue and customer insights by day so the Sunday review takes ten minutes. On the Growth plan you can run Click-to-WhatsApp ads from the same place. Pricing is a monthly plan from ₹999 plus a flat ₹10 per order, with no commission and a 7-day free trial. The post on setting up WhatsApp ordering with Tezzu shows each step.
Have the channel ready before day one
The setup playbook takes a new kitchen from a blank account to live WhatsApp and store-page orders, with payments and delivery zones, in about 30 minutes.
Read the setup playbookFrequently asked questions
How do I get my first orders for a new cloud kitchen?
From people you can name. Build a list of 100 contacts before opening, ask them to opt in to a launch message, and open to them first with a small coupon. Their orders test your packaging and timing, their reviews seed your Google and app listings, and their referrals bring the first strangers. List on the apps in the second week, once the kitchen rhythm is right.
How long does a new cloud kitchen take to get orders on Zomato?
Orders usually begin within days of the listing going live, but volume depends on your ranking, which depends on ratings, acceptance rate and delivery time in the first weeks. Good photos, a short menu and fast, accurate preparation matter more than discounts. Treat the first 20 app orders as rating-building orders and over-deliver on them.
Should a new cloud kitchen offer big discounts to get orders?
A modest launch offer helps; a 50 percent banner usually does not. Deep discounts attract customers who only order on discount and set a price anchor you have to walk back later. Use a single clear launch offer for the first two weeks, then switch to a first-direct-order coupon that moves repeat customers to your own channel where you pay no commission.
How many orders a day should a cloud kitchen do in the first month?
For a popular cuisine in a dense area, 10 to 20 a day in week one rising to 60 to 80 by week four is a reasonable plan. Niche cuisines and quieter areas should expect about half that. The number to watch is the trend and the second-order rate rather than the absolute figure, because a kitchen with steady growth and repeat customers will pass a kitchen that spiked on discounts.