Rebel Foods Receives Significant Investment Boost

MUMBAI: Rebel Foods, the company behind popular cloud kitchen brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Faasos, and Oven Story Pizza, has successfully raised $210 million in a funding round led by Singapore's sovereign fund, Temasek. This investment, which includes both primary and secondary transactions, maintains the company's valuation at $1.4 billion, the same as its previous funding round over three years ago.

The Mumbai-based startup, which achieved unicorn status in October 2021 after a $175 million investment at a $1.4 billion valuation, did not disclose the specifics of the deal. However, sources indicate that the majority of the investment consists of secondary transactions, providing partial exits for some of the firm's early investors.

Existing investor Evolvence also participated in the latest funding round. Rebel Foods plans to utilize the fresh capital to expand its footprint and introduce additional brands to its portfolio. The company, which counts Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Peak XV Partners, Lightbox, and Coatue among its investors, has already expanded into international markets such as the UK and UAE.

Jaydeep Burman, co-founder and CEO at Rebel Foods, stated that a portion of the funds will also be used to scale the brand's omnichannel presence. Although primarily an online brand, some of Rebel Foods' brands, like Wendy's (after acquiring master franchisee rights for Wendy's) and Oven Story, have a few physical stores, and the company also operates eight physical foodcourts branded as EatSure.

"The funding reflects the growing investor confidence in Rebel Foods' long-term strategy, underscoring its capability to disrupt the food service industry," the company said in a statement on Thursday. After a more than two-year slump, deal activity in startups has picked up pace, with sizable and big-sized funding rounds back on the table.