Food-tech startup Noodle Play raises around $160K in angel funding

Mumbai-based Lollypop Foods Pvt Ltd, which runs a delivery-only Chinese fast food venture under the brand Noodle Play, has raised Rs 1 crore ($160,000) in angel funding, as per a press statement.

Gautam Sinha, co-founder of seed fund MyFirstCheque; Elliot Stechman, managing director of EK Wireless, a startup that specialises in mobile data and portable data security devices and Ambarish Ray, director and COO at Metal Communications, participated in the funding round.

"The fund will be used by the company for catering its service to more locations across the metropolis. We are planning to open delivery outposts in over 50 locations in Mumbai by 2016 before moving to other metros and tier-II cities," said Hitesh Bhatia, founder and CEO of Lollypop Foods.

Bhatia, a diploma holder in hotel management, had launched Noodle Play in December 2012. The venture allows online ordering of fast food dishes from its own delivery-only kitchens. It currently serves five locations in Mumbai—Bandra (including an additional kitchen in BKC), Powai, Lower Parel and Goregaon.

The firm is also looking to raise Rs 10 crore (around $1.6 million) in the next three months.

"Our present investors will also back us in our upcoming round. Besides, we are in talks with some other people," said Bhatia, who had earlier served at Think People Solutions Pvt Ltd— a cross industry human resource procurement service providing company headquartered in Mumbai—for six years.

Food-tech ventures have become red hot with investors stumbling over each other to back new players in the space. Some startups essentially offer an ordering platform from restaurants or independent chefs. Others run their own kitchen or serve ready to cook or read to serve meal boxes.