The Philippines sees its first step into the future of dining with Kra-Verse Food Hall

The future is here. The Philippines has shown that we are in no way lagging behind in terms of innovations and food.

The country’s fastest-growing cloud kitchen company, Kraver’s Group, taps into the endless possibilities of the metaverse, what is perceived as the next big thing on the internet, with Kra-Verse Food Hall.

All it took was the collective efforts of Christopher Po of Century Pacific & Shakey’s, Lance Gokongwei of the Robinsons Group and Cebu Pacific, George Pua of Rico’s Lechon, Brian Cu of Grab, and Paulo Campos of Zalora to create Kra-Verse, a virtual food hall that disrupts the food delivery scene.

After two years of painstaking development, this new platform brings the entire dine-out experience to a whole new level, presenting added value to food delivery via the country’s first-ever interactive digital food court.

“We thought of one line that would sum up everything we wanted to do with Kra-Verse Food Hall. I said, let’s add thoughtfulness,” explains co-founder Eric Dee. “Today, some consumers are getting the short end of the stick because everything is delivered for the same, if not higher, amount, but they don’t get to enjoy the ambiance and service from a restaurant. We want to bring more value to every order.”

With deliveries being the new lifeblood of food businesses in this Covid period, the COO of Foodee Global concept understood that F&B players would need to level up their delivery game and stand out. Enter Kra-Verse, Kraver’s highly immersive metaverse experience, where foodies can expect new ways to enjoy food service.

Debuting with the online food hall are Kraver’s six new food brands. The team has sourced top-of-the-line packaging materials with special self-heating packets and designed the most thoughtful way “to physicalize the cloud kitchen,” making the experience complete. The unique packaging allows the customers to experience the food piping hot that one would think it was served straight from a brick-and-mortar kitchen. All six brands are purely for delivery only.

CharSilog

New age silog served in stackable containers designed for ease of transport and consumption. It puts a modern spin on the classic Filipino staple with inventive proteins and a unique sinangag base. Order the Garlic-Ginger-Scallion Fried Rice and a choice among pork belly, ribs, or chicken.

Krave

Kraver’s team believes that “everything you crave is not in your fridge.” This food concept addresses this. Krave has seasonal offers based on current food trends, so it’s constantly mixing things up. The restaurant caters to both solo diners and big groups. They serve platters that are good for sharing such as the signature group meal Tomato Rice with BBQ Pork Belly, Lechon Baka, and Roasted Chicken served with Gravy, Sesame Slaw, and Atchara. Also available is the Sushi Bake To-Go, a single-serve sushi bake with all the flavors of full-sized sushi rice crammed into a hand-held treat.

I Love U Stew

Inspired by one of Eric’s favorite Korean restaurants in Los Angeles, this Korean joint only serves one perfect thing in two variations—Galbi Jim and Spicy Galbi Jjim. Each order comes as a set with nine different banchan and two servings of furikake rice. It’s freshly cooked stew that comes in a self-heating container, so you won’t have to go through the hassle of reheating it at home.

Jok Time Lugaw

Here’s where comedy and timeless comfort food meet. The name comes from the Korean Juk, Thai Jok, and Chinese Jook, which all mean rice porridge. Aside from serving bubbling hot lugaw, the team also adds their favorite “Jokes of the Month,” which comes with every order of the hearty Filipino staple.

The beauty of having an online virtual food hall is its endless possibilities. Kra-Verse could have an infinite number of online restaurants to satisfy every craving consumers could have and ride every food trend that comes along.

Gravy’d

This is designed for diners who miss the unmistakable sizzle and smoke of the food court. Served in self-heating containers, sizzling food slathered with luscious gravy can be enjoyed at home without the potential dangers of an actual sizzling plate. One can enjoy lechon baka in sizzling gravy over a bed of garlic rice and caramelized onions or salmon with sizzling Ponzu sauce anywhere.

D. Wade Burgers

Kra-Verse Food Hall drafts NBA legend Dwyane Wade to be part of its starting lineup. “Each burger was created, tasted, and perfected in collaboration with Wade’s longtime friend and personal chef, Richard Ingraham.” Diners can order D. Wade’s signature burgers, including the Classic, the basketball superstar’s personal favorite, the Unreal, in partnership with UnMeat, LA, Miami, and Chicago. There’s also a special dish for Filipino fans, the Philippine-exclusive Manila Burger, a smash burger topped with a hefty slice of Kravers’ original LGL lechon baka.

“That’s where we will stand out. That’s where people will say, ‘Oh that’s Kraver’s. Their packaging is so well-thought of,’” says Eric. “We also want to make the packaging presentable enough so you don’t have to put it in a new plate. It’s something you’ll be proud to serve as is right then and there.”

Eric adds that the beauty of having an online virtual food hall is in its endless possibilities. They could have an infinite number of online restaurants to satisfy every craving consumers could have and ride every food trend that comes along. With its current network of 10 kitchens in Metro Manila and counting, the Kra-Verse Food Hall could serve as the most cost-effective incubator space that will enable brands to go online and test new market areas.

“We are brand builders. We believe in our brands and it’s about building loyal customers for each brand,” says co-founder Victor Lim.

The future looks bright with some of the best Filipino-American chefs who want to “have a footprint in their homeland” after making it big with Pinoy food in the US. Several plans are already in the pipeline, some of which will be debuting this year. Moreover, to expand its reach, Kra-Verse Food Hall is currently building more kitchens to serve more foodies both here and abroad. www.kra-verse.com | @kraversefoodhall