New Delhi Internet restaurant company Rebel Foods is planning to invest in more home food service brands to expand its network of delivery kitchens across the country.
Raghav Joshi, the company’s co-founder, who runs cloud-kitchen brands such as Faasos, Behroj Biryani, OvenStory Pizza, Mandarin Oak and Slay Coffee, said he plans to invest in a brand specializing in North Indian cuisine.
“Our investment thesis is that there are certain categories where we are strong; For example, biryani is a category where behrooz and biryani are blues. Then there are some categories where we don’t exist. We know the ranges that are large; For example, North Indian is a category in which we do not exist. We are not present in South Indian or Indian sweets. We have to be present in all the major categories from where customers order,” Joshi said in a virtual interview.
Earlier this year, the startup, which counts Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital India and Qatar Investment Authority among its backers, announced plans to invest $150 million to acquire and scale food brands in India and abroad. .
Joshi said the company is in no hurry to spend $150 million and make prudent investments in brands that help fill gaps in its portfolio. He added that investment will also be guided by the brand’s capability and desire to scale. Apart from North and South Indian cuisines, Rebel Foods is exploring categories like sandwiches and ice cream. “The investment is a result of various things, including customer experience, scalability, promoter vision, fit with Rebel OS,” Joshi said. “Now that may be the need of the hour because all these boxes have to be ticked. We are in no hurry in terms of utilizing the entire $150 million within this year,” Joshi said.
In April, Rebel Foods took a majority stake in Smoor, a luxury chocolate brand. It also bought a minority stake in quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand Biryani Blues in October. The following month, it took a minority stake in Hyderabad-based QSR chain Zomos. It has also invested in coffee startup Slay Coffee.
Cloud kitchen operators got consumers to order more food online because of the pandemic. Rebel Foods also accelerated expansion, opening cloud kitchens in 80 cities over the past two years, up from 35 cities before the pandemic. This helped people move back to their home towns from major metros, leading to the popularity and use of food delivery platforms in Tier-II markets.
Joshi, however, said that the company will focus on expanding its base in the existing 80 cities rather than entering new markets at present.
catch all corporate news And updates on Live Mint. download mint news app to receive daily market update & Live business News,