Restaurant reservation startup EazyDiner closes Series B investment round

Restaurant reservation startup EazyDiner Pvt. Ltd has closed its Series B investment round by adding Rs 11 crore ($1.5 million) to a previous funding commitment.

The startup has wrapped up the round with Rs 41 crore ($5.85 million) led by Denlow Investment Trust, Rachit Gupta, chief marketing officer of the company, told TechCircle. 

Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm BeeNext, and existing investors DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital also participated in this capital raise.

With the close of the current round, the startup is now valued at Rs 280 crore ($40 million), Gupta said.

In October, EazyDiner’s co-founder Rohit Dasgupta told VCCircle that it had secured Rs 30 crore ($4.6 million) as part of its Series B round from existing investors DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital. Beenext and an undisclosed family office from the Middle East came on board as new investors then. The latest deal has been struck at the same post-money valuation.

The company did not clarify if Denlow Investment Trust represents the unnamed Middle East family office.

EazyDiner will use the money it has raised to expand its operations and for its loyalty programme, EazyDiner Prime.

“The company aims to grow three times in terms of revenue this year, having 1.1 million subscribers on the platform. We are also launching a food festival next month,” Gupta said. 

Following the current capital raise, John Price, chairman of Mars Pension Trustee, the UK-based pension fund of American food giant Mars, will join EazyDiner’s board, he added.

The development was first reported by The Economic Times.

Founded in late 2014 by media personality Vir Sanghvi and a group of hoteliers and restaurateurs, EazyDiner offers services including restaurant discovery, reviews, deals, table bookings and concierge services. According to information on its website, customers can book more than 2,500 restaurants on the platform.

The startup is present in 11 cities across India and is setting up operations in Dubai. It plans to launch in five more cities over the next two months, starting with Hyderabad.

In June 2017, cricketer Yuvraj’s Singh’s investment firm YouWeCan had invested an undisclosed amount in the EazyDiner. Singh was also appointed as the startup’s brand ambassador as part of the transaction, media reports stated at the time.

In August 2015, EazyDiner had raised $3 million (Rs 20 crore then) from DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital. In April 2015, it had raised $1 million in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners and Gulpreet Kohli, former managing director of ChrysCapital.

Deals in the space

A number of startups offering restaurant discovery have secured capital from investors in the past few months.

The most well-known player in the space is online food delivery startup Swiggy, which in June this year secured $210 million (around Rs 1,400 crore) in a Series G investment round led by South African technology conglomerate Naspers and Yuri Milner-led DST Global.

Its rival Zomato has raised $200 million from Alipay, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The investment will see Info Edge (India) Ltd, which holds a 45% stake in Zomato, divest a 6.66% stake for $50 million either directly or through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Naukri Internet Services Pvt Ltd.

In July this year, Dibz, an online food delivery startup, raised bridge funding from Stellaris Venture Partners and existing investor Benori Ventures. The startup allows users to discover curated offers and deals from more than 150 restaurants, hotels and pubs.

In March, food-tech startup SmartQ raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) from a consortium of investors from Dubai. Existing investor YourNest had also put in money the funding round.