Rebel Foods — which runs Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, and Faasos — is now worth over a billion dollars

• Rebel Foods has hit $1.4 billion valuation after raising $175 million in a round led by Qatar Investment Authority.
• The company is now setting the table for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 18-24 months.
• The company currently operates 450 cloud kitchens across 10 countries — Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

Rebel Foods — which operates multiple cloud kitchen brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Mandarin Oak Ovenstory Pizza, and Faasos — is the latest startup to be valued over a billion dollars. The company is now setting the table for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 18-24 months.

The company has hit $1.4 billion valuation after raising $175 million in a round led by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority. Coatue and Evolvence also participated in Rebel Food’s series F funding round.

Rebel Foods was founded by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee a decade ago. The company started its journey as Fasoos, which is a chain of quick-service restaurants (QSR) that offered kebab rolls and had enabled online ordering.

The company moved to a cloud kitchen model in 2016. A cloud kitchen, also known as ghost kitchens, is a commercial kitchen that only offers food delivery. These kitchens do not have a storefront.

Rebel Foods is currently managing around 45 cloud kitchens brands that serve from Chinese to Indian to desserts through delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy. They also have their own delivery app.

The Mumbai-based startup plans to use this funding to expand its presence worldwide, build better technology and add more brands to its plate. The company currently operates 450 cloud kitchens across 10 countries — Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

It claims to have an annualised sale of $150 million this year and moving steadily towards profitability.

“The food-tech space has evolved towards better personalisation, innovation and complete transparency. We are excited to welcome QIA, which has a track record of being a long-term supportive investor,” Ravi Golani, chief strategy officer of Rebel Foods, said in a statement.

Rebel Foods is the first cloud kitchen startup to enter the unicorn club. Even Swiggy and Zomato have announced their plans to make a segway into these domains, but there hasn’t been any development in this regard so far.

A cloud kitchen is a cost effective alternative to running an actual restaurant, as it helps the entrepreneur avoid customer facing costs like hiring servers, getting a larger space for dine-in, electricity bills and more.

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