Peak XV-backed cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods aims to serve 120 cities in the next two years. The company currently has over 450 cloud kitchens across India, MENA (middle east and north America), Indonesia, UK, including 75 cities in India. It serves 5 to 20 brands per kitchen.
“We are planning to double down on Tier 2 cities. With mobile penetration and digital awareness, we see cities like Patna, Banaras, and Amritsar doing very well. While Tier 1 is obviously a growing market, due to habit changes, in terms of food consumption, Tier 2 is also doing really well,” Ankush Grover, co-founder and CEO, India and MENA, Rebel Foods told Fe.
He added that there’s still a lot of untapped markets in India. “And again, we are not a brand. We are a platform that hosts multiple brands. So we can expand different brands to different locations,” he added. Rebel Foods owns brands including Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story Pizza, Lunch Box, The Good Bowl, Sweet Tooth and Firangi Bake.
“What has happened with social media is that the physical boundaries have really blurred and people staying in these cities have the same set of aspirations and awareness about various brands and cuisines. So, we see our brands take off from day one,” Sagar Kochhar, co-founder and CEO, EatSure, Rebel Foods said. Rebel Foods launched EatSure in 2020 to offer foodcourt-on-an-app experience to customers. Through this app, they can receive food from multiple restaurants delivered in a single order.
The Jaydeep Barman-led company has been scaling up its offline presence through food courts (EatSure), company-owned single-brand outlets and single-brand outlets under the franchise model. “All of that put together helps us to pursue the overall intent to reach the consumer directly. With that as an intent, we will end up reaching and serving our consumers directly using our ecosystem,” added Kochhar.
The company currently has 8 Wendy’s restaurants, 1 Oven Story restaurant and 7 EatSure food courts.
Talking about why an omnichannel strategy is important to the brand, Kochhar said, “We fundamentally believe that with what we have built in the last decade, we can solve many problems in the offline world. For instance, from a consumer standpoint, there is a need to have a smart foodcourt ecosystem. Also, an omnichannel play helps you to build your equity as consumers get to see and experience different brands”.
The company currently serves around 315 neighbourhoods or catchments. By 2025, it aims to serve 550-600 catchments, through EatSure, single brand outlets and cloud kitchens. According to a report by Reports and Data, the cloud kitchen market in India was valued at more than $160 million in 2022 and is forecast to grow at 18% until 2026.
Last year, Rebel Foods partnered with quick service restaurant (QSR) chain The Wendy’s to launch cloud kitchens and offline restaurants in India. Currently, it is in talks with a few more global brands. “The talks are in the early stage. But the way we have executed Wendy’s in India has led to a lot of interest,” Grover said.
The startup is also meeting new brands to partner under its Rebel Launcher vertical, through which it helps brands scale fast by providing them with supply chain and full-stack technology. It has so far partnered with over 20 brands under the programme including Naturals, Bakingo, Anand Sweets, Mad Over Donuts, Narula’s, Daryaganj, Chaipoint, Big Wong and MOPP.
The foodtech unicorn last raised $13.2 million in debt from Alteria and InnoVen Capital. This is the fifth debt funding for the company after its last Series F equity round in 2021, led by Qatar Investment Authority in October 2021.
Rebel Foodsoperating revenue surged to ₹1,258 crore in FY23 from ₹ 856 crore in FY22. We have been growing at around 30-40% CAGR. We will continue to grow at the same pace, Kochhar said. The company is also planning for an initial public offering (IPO) by 2025.
From: financialexpress
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