India’s largest cloud kitchen chain, Rebel Foods is looking into expanding its kitchen infrastructure beyond its own cooked meal brands. The company operates brands like Fassos, Oven Story, Firangi Bake and Behrouz. The expansion is planned through venturing into ready to cook kits, meats, packaged snacks and investing in 12 brands this year.
Jaydeep Barman, CEO of Rebel Foods said, “(In India) I think there’ll be a natural tendency towards more at-home cooking and consumption…We are creating an umbrella under a program called Eat.Sure and giving this platform for other food entrepreneurs to come on board and build brands around ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, ready-to-use, and so on,”
Rebel Foods is growing at a rate of 10% per week in the country which is comparatively slower than other overseas market considering Indians have taken to cooking at home during Covid-19 as a precautionary measure. The company may take about 5 months to reach the numbers which it was clocking in pre-covid times.
The approach behind the new business idea is to reach consumer’s home and go beyond restaurants. The company plans to onboard brands that strictly follow the principles of great ingredients, no adulteration and preservatives and prioritize hygiene protocols.
Even though the demand of food delivery has increased worldwide, India has shown an opposite pattern which is most likely to go on for a few more months. This has led to the need to expand into other contemporary categories. The company will put its kitchens across 35 cities to use for its new products. Other companies have downsized their cloud kitchens during this time but Barman says that Rebel Foods managed to survive even though they recorded 50% less revenue generation. The startup also raised $50 million from its existing investor, Coatue Management in April.
The Food Company is planning to expand its business in international markets of Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Thailand by partnering with restaurants that already have a strong hold with consumers but struggle with online business. They have already received offers from such eateries. Rebel recently partnered with Kalanik owned cloud kitchens to start its business in London.