Cloud kitchen platform Yumlane gets $1 mn from Jetty Ventures

Mumbai-based Qwikpik Technology, which owns and operates cloud kitchen brand Yumlane, has raised $1 million in a bridge funding round, dubbed a pre-Series A round, from Singapore headquartered early stage investor Jetty Ventures.

The company looks to expand its operations to new cities and hire talent using the fresh funds, a statement said.

Founded in 2016 by Hitesh Ahuja, Rahul Kumar and Reuben Ghosh, Yumlane currently has 30 points of delivery across Bengaluru and Pune. Last year, the platform pivoted its business model from a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) packaged food startup to running a cloud kitchen.

In 2016, it raised $1 million in a seed funding round from Flipkart co-founder and CEO Binny Bansal. RB Investments and Orios Venture Partners have also backed the company.

“We believe (the) cloud kitchen format will be the flagbearer of the food services industry in the coming years and expect more consumers to order online food delivery vis-à-vis eat out,” co-founder Ahuja, also the CEO of Yumlane, said.

According to the company, the cloud kitchen market is expected to be worth $6 billion by 2025.

Since the pivot, Yumlane operates in a segment similar to Rebel Foods and Box8. The most-funded startup in the segment, the firm owns ten cloud kitchen brands, such as Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, and operates 176 cloud kitchens.

In April, Coatue management agreed to invest close to $50 million in the company. In the same month, rival Box8 raised $3.9 million in a Series C funding round from Mayfield India and IIFL.

“Conditions are right for order-in preference to carve a large share in the overall market. Cloud kitchens will be a capital efficient format for this thesis to play out. Yumlane’s operations since its pivot to the cloud kitchen model has shown demand from the consumers,” Chirag Meswani, managing partner of Jetty Ventures, said.

The venture capital firm has earlier funded startups such as online apparel retailer mrbutton, commercial electric vehicles manufacturer Euler Motors and personal care firm Syona Cosmetics.