talabat UAE has launched a new initiative to support homegrown restaurants by providing 100 cloud kitchen spaces rent-free until September 2026. The programme aims to help homegrown brands built in the UAE continue reaching customers, serving their communities, and focusing on growth.
The initiative, designed to support the very businesses that are a part of everyday life in the UAE, makes up the fabric of talabat’s ecosystem. The delivery platform launched the initiative as a timely response to current challenges homegrown restaurants are facing to stay afloat. Therefore, the rent-free initiative is a practical display of how talabat is leveraging its positioning at the centre of restaurants, riders, and customers to genuinely support the community it serves.
“In moments like this, there’s a clear need for businesses to go beyond operating as usual and step in where they can make a tangible difference,” says Chama Moumile, Regional Director of Communications, talabat.
She tells Campaign Middle East exclusively that while timing matters, what’s more important is relevance.
“This initiative reflects how we operate at talabat: close to our ecosystem, attentive to the realities our partners face, and focused on providing practical support when it’s needed most,” she says.
Moumile further explains that talabat’s strategically integrated organisational structure is how the company managed to get the initiative across the line in a timely manner. The initiative was a collaborative effort across communications, brand and business teams – bringing the initiative from idea to execution as a shared effort and not a handover.
“We operate as a highly integrated ecosystem, not in silos,” she says. “This allows us to move quickly and ensure the initiative is brought to life consistently across all touchpoints, in a way that feels true to how we show up as a platform.”
Furthermore, the talabat kitchens initiative authentically feeds into the company’s overall brand strategy and positioning, in a genuine effort to help the company scale responsibly.
By reducing key cost barriers and providing access to scalable infrastructure, the initiative empowers restaurant partners to grow sustainably, enhance customer experience, and reach new audiences across the UAE. At a broader level, it supports job continuity, reinforces local supply chains, and helps preserve the diversity that defines the UAE’s food scene.
“Supporting local businesses is not an add-on – it’s fundamental to how talabat operates,” says Moumile. She also recognises how the restaurant’s themselves have a strong growth potential, “which means the impact of the initiative can be both immediate and scalable.”
Launching this initiative aims to reflect who talabat is as a brand, “locally embedded, operationally reliable, and committed to growing the ecosystem we depend on,” she says.
Since the intiative aims to directly engage with partners and homegrown restaurants, talabat has gone beyond traditional channels on communications and is working closely with restaurants through dedicated channels and account management to ensure clarity and access.
The initiative has been embedded within the platform itself, giving participating partners visibility and allowing customers to experience it directly.
To qualify, participating brands must be first-founded in the UAE, have been in operation for at least 24 months, demonstrate at least 12 months of delivery activity on any platform, and operate a minimum of one physical location across the country. Those interested can apply to the initiative here.
