Google is Now Allowing Google Business Profiles for Virtual Food Brands

Google has updated its business profile guidelines to allow some delivery-only food brands.

Google has updated its Google Business profile guidelines page under the “guidelines for chains, departments & individual practitioners” to allow virtual food brands to be listed with “conditions.”

Updated guidelines. The updated guidelines now say “virtual food brands are permitted with conditions.” It goes on to write out those conditions:

  • Co-located food brands offering pick-up
  • Food brands that are co-located each must have permanent separate signage.
  • They should display their address only if they offer pick-up to all customers.
  • Delivery-only brands (no-pick up option) out of shared kitchens must hide their address and add service areas to that specific brand to avoid confusing their customers.
  • Delivery-only food brands
  • Delivery-only brands (i.e. those operating out of virtual kitchens) are permitted if they have distinct branded packaging and a distinct website.
  • Multiple virtual brands operating out of one location are permitted, but are subject to additional verification steps.
  • Delivery-only brands must add their service areas and hide the address on their business profile to avoid confusing their customers.
  • If there is a partnership where a food brand has authorized the virtual kitchen as a verified provider of the food, the virtual kitchen may manage each authorized brand’s business profile once the authorization is confirmed.
  • The facility that houses the delivery-only brands, i.e. Doordash Kitchens, is permitted to have its own separate business profile.
  • Only someone affiliated with the facility can claim and verify this profile.

Why You should care. Now Google is allowing virtual food brands to have listings in Google Business Profiles and thus Google Maps and local search results.

If you offer virtual food brands or you run your own, you can now technically show up in the local search results in Google Search and Google Maps. This is even when the address is technically not listed and there is no physical presence of that business outside of another business slapping on a new label on the product.

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