Rebel Foods turns unicorn with $175 mn funding
India clocked its 31st unicorn on Thursday. Rebel Foods, the world’s largest internet restaurant company, said it has raised $175 million in a Series F round led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, with participation from existing investors Coatue and Evolvence. This round catapults the company to a unicorn status with a valuation of $1.4 billion, up from about $800 million last year.
“While we are excited about becoming the unicorn, our focus continues to remain on improving customer experience the Rebel way,” said Piyush Kakkad, chief financial officer, Rebel Foods. “This round of funding will be reinvested in building our technology, increasing our global presence, and also acquiring new brands. Rebel Foods is working towards an IPO in the next 18-24 months.”
Rebel Foods is the first firm in India which has become a unicorn in the cloud kitchen space. A ‘cloud kitchen’ is one that does not offer a dine-in facility and accepts food orders only through an online ordering system. Globally, Rebel Foods competes with Taster in France, Keatz in Germany, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick’s start-up City Storage Systems, and Londonbased Karma Kitchen.
Food delivery firms themselves such as Doordash, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Swiggy had also entered the cloud kitchen space. In India, Rebel Foods also competes with Ola Foods, the food business arm of the Softbank-backed ridehailing firm Ola, which has expanded its network of technology-enabled kitchens. Ola was expanding its network of cloud kitchens to serve more customers.
Founded in 2011 by INSEAD alumni Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, Rebel Foods operates the largest number of internet restaurants worldwide and on this network. The Mumbaibased firm, known for brands like Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, has built over 45 brands (own plus partners) across 10 countries — India, Indonesia, UAE, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, The Philippines, and Bangladesh. It operates over 4,000 internet restaurants.
The company has disrupted a century-old industry of traditional restaurant business. It has done this by building a full-stack technology-enabled platform — Rebel Operating System, thereby catering to multiple food missions. With the influx of fresh funding, Rebel Foods will continue to focus on growing their international footprints, technology, and brand acquisitions.