T
he impacts of the pandemic- induced workforce turnover are still being felt across the global foodservice industry. Restaurants and foodservice operators continue to face labor challenges and a lack of skilled personnel, prompting greater reliance on dark kitchens — delivery-only
food preparation facilities without a dine-in storefront — to help meet demand. Today, dark kitchens are becoming more
prevalent across Europe as operators respond to labor shortages and rising demand for ready meals, particularly in urban areas where younger generations are entering the workforce. This shift is driving kitchens to adopt innovative technologies and partnerships as part of the solution. One such example is Lekos Group. Founded in Greece in 2015, Lekos Group quickly grew into a modern food production company specializing in ready meals. By investing in infrastructure, technology and people, it combines traditional food expertise with modern methods to deliver consistent quality and support sustainable growth. The company transformed a former Adidas
warehouse into a cook-and-chill facility to help restaurants address kitchen staff shortages. Today, Lekos Group operates a 7,000-square- meter production complex in Thessaloniki, supplying the local market with high-quality frozen dough products and ready meals. “The transformation of a former Adidas
warehouse into a modern production facility was a strategic investment,” says Vasilios Zacharias, F&B manager at Lekos Group. “The site was designed to support large- scale ready-meal production and reflects the company’s long-term vision for growth, efficiency and expansion in both the Greek and European markets,” he adds.
Consistency, efficiency and quality As production volumes increased, the main challenges became consistency, efficiency and production flow. It became clear that more advanced cooking technology was needed to maintain consistent product quality and support larger-scale production. Lekos Group chose Metos, a manufacturer of high-quality professional kitchen equipment, for its reliability, expertise and professional cooking solutions. “Their systems helped improve consistency,
efficiency and product quality, while also supporting better standardization across production,” says Zacharias. “Having a reliable technology partner like Metos is very important for the company’s future growth. As production expands, technology, reliability and support play a key role in maintaining quality and supporting new product development.” Having a longstanding reputation in the food
industry, Lekos Group has continued to identify opportunities in the market. As one of the first businesses in Greece’s ready-meal production landscape, it was already familiar with the challenge
“The site reflects the company’s long-term vision for growth, efficiency and expansion”
Vasilios Zacharias Lekos Group
of staff shortages. Metos Cooking Solutions provided the smart equipment needed to support that growth, installing four 200-liter kettles, two food pumps connected to the packaging line, and a sous vide tank for cooking meat. The company needed intuitive, intelligent equipment that did not rely on skilled chefs, only dedicated operators. “The cooking systems and the overall project design stood out, as they improved control, consistency and repeatability in production, contributing to a more efficient production environment,” says Zacharias. For Jan Jansen, export sales manager,
Europe, at Metos Cooking Solutions, this project — one of its first since the pandemic — was a perfect project on which to collaborate with Lekos Group. Metos Cooking Solutions designs products specifically for cook-and-chill production and freezing, providing an efficient way to produce large quantities of food while simplifying handling and transportation in a chilled state.
Metos Cooking Solutions designs products specifically for cook-and-chill production and freezing
Aliworld 57
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