Cloud kitchen startup Ghost Kitchens India has raised $5 Mn (around INR 41 Cr) as a part of its Series A funding round led by GVFL (formerly Gujarat Venture Finance Ltd), with participation from NB Ventures, LetsVenture and Lead Angels.
Existing investors Yuj Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, and actor Rana Daggubati also took part in the round, which is a mix of both equity and debt infusion.
The startup will use the fresh capital to scale up its business operations and foray into retail stores of its existing and new brands. Besides, the proceeds will also be deployed to upgrade the partner program and increase the footprint of company owned and operated cloud kitchens and QSR stores.
Founded in 2019 by Karan Tanna, Ghost Kitchens is a platform which offers a virtual restaurant network for food businesses. The platform claims to help boost incremental sales and drive better margins with affordable, low-risk expansion opportunities. It also offers a free tech platform to monitor sales and operational metrics to organically grow orders.
The platform offers food under brands, including Wakka Makka, SpeakBurgers By Chef Vicky Ratnani, New York Waffles and Starboy Pizza.
It currently operates with over 15 self-owned and operated cloud kitchens in Mumbai and Ahmedabad and over 1,200 partner restaurants across 40 cities in India.
Founder and CEO Tanna told Inc42 that the food brands of the startup are available on food delivery apps Swiggy and Zomato.
With the focus of growing its both in-house and partnership footprint, the startup aims to achieve annualised revenue of around INR 200 Cr in the next two years.
Tanna said, “We have created 10X value for our earlier investors and we are sure to continue with this performance for new backers. We are excited for the coming years where we will focus on building iconic brands through customer loyalty and love for our food.”
In 2022, Ghost Kitchens India acquired a technology company WTF to build a proprietary technology for ease of operations. Leveraging this in-house SaaS built, the platform is aiming for profitability in the next 12-15 months by doubling down on its hero brands and new celebrity brand partnerships.
Last year, it acquired SpeakBurgers for an undisclosed amount. With the acquisition, the startup plans to grow the partnership through 25 offline retail stores in the next 18-24 months.