Dark Kitchen and Marketplaces in the Oven: Paths and Challenges to Growth for Palatos/Dark Kitchen e Marketplaces no Forno: Caminhos e Desafios para o Crescimento da Palatos

Palatos, a small chain of bakeries located in the southern region of Rio de Janeiro, is the fruit of Flavio's entrepreneurial dream, and is a regional benchmark in the bakery sector, with three units and thousands of customers served every day. In its growth challenges, one dilemma stands out, the continued growth of its delivery operation, also based on decisions that may or may not involve its entry into the Dark Kitchen model and the adoption of marketplaces. The students are then invited to put themselves in Flavio's position and his team and make a strategic decision for Palatos. The information on this teaching case was obtained from private documents, interviews and secondary market data. The case contributes by encouraging reflection on current topics that are relevant to the out-of-home food sector and applicable to other sectors and organizational types. The aim is to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by businesses in gaining competitiveness, based on business strategy concepts and tools, such as the VRIO model and the GUT matrix.