How a cake order busted China’s ‘ghost kitchens’ scandal - Firstpost

Michele's take

The China ghost kitchen scandal is a stark reminder that brand integrity in shared or concealed kitchen environments is only as strong as your last transaction — and regulators know it. For franchise networks expanding into asset-light models, this is a signal to build traceability protocols that go beyond self-reporting, because a single order — like that cake — can unravel an entire operational structure. Investors and operators betting on ghost kitchen scalability need to price in compliance infrastructure as a non-negotiable cost, not an afterthought.