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Cloud kitchen platform Hoi Foods raises pre-Series A funding

By Narinder Kapur

  • 26 May 2020
Cloud kitchen platform Hoi Foods raises pre-Series A funding
Credit: Reuters

Hoi Food Concepts Pvt. Ltd, which operates several cloud kitchens under the Hoi Foods brand, has raised $2 million (approximately Rs 15.13 crore at current exchange rates) in its pre-Series A funding round from a clutch of investment firms and angel backers.

The round has been led by the 1Crowd Fund, with participation from early-stage firm Sprout Venture Partners and AngelList, Hoi Foods said in a statement.

Angel backers in this round include Jugnu founder Samar Singla, Urban Company senior vice president Mukund Kulashekaran, and Jaideep Mehta, the CEO at Mosaic Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd, which operates VCCircle.

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The Gurugram-based company will use the funds to enhance its network, technological infrastructure, scale its growth operations, strengthen its supply chain and increase its presence in the country.

Hoi Food was founded by Indrajeet Roy and Pawan Raj Kumar in 2017. The company says its network currently includes over 150 cloud kitchens across the Bengaluru and Delhi-National Capital Region areas.

“We are building a very strong play in the cloud kitchens ecosystem and have been able to put together a decently large network in a very short duration,” Kumar said.

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Some of the brands currently operating under its umbrella include Deez Biryani Ketofy, Nirula’s, Misht, Smoodies and Cold Love. Its flagship brands include Hoi Foods, Jacky Ching and Hoi Café.

In November 2018, the company raised $500,000 (around Rs 3.6 crore) in a seed funding round that was led by 1Crowd and its investor community. Early-stage investment firms Gemba Capital and Prime Holdings also participated in that round.

The pre-Series A commitment to the firm is the latest example of investor attraction to the cloud kitchen space, which has steadily grown in India in the past few years owing to its low overheads and delivery-only model.

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Last month, the Poncho Hospitality Pvt. Ltd-operated Box8 raised nearly $3.9 million (around Rs 30 crore) as part of its ongoing Series C funding round. The US-based venture capital firm Mayfield and IIFL Seed Ventures Fund took part in the share and debentures allotment exercise.

Also in April, Rebel Foods Pvt. Ltd raised nearly $50 million (around Rs 382 crore at current exchange rates) in a fresh funding round from US-based hedge and investment fund Coatue Management. Rebel Foods operates brands such as Faasos and Behrouz Biryani.

Last month, Cross Border Kitchens Pvt. Ltd, which runs an internet-driven multi-brand food and beverage company, raised an undisclosed sum in angel funding led by Shreedhar Gupta.

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In September, regional cuisine-focussed Zesty Kitchen raised Rs 3 crore in angel funding from a clutch of investors including former Abbott India managing director Rehan Khan, ITC Ltd divisional chief executive agribusiness Sanjiv Rangrass, Cleanmax managing director Kuldeep Jain and Suhail Sameer, the chief executive officer at RP-SG FMCG.

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