Rebel Foods — world’s largest cloud kitchen brand — has forayed into eastern India with the launch of its virtual restaurants in Kolkata. The Mumbai-based chain, founded by food entrepreneur duo from Kolkata — Kallol Banerjee and Jaydeep Barman, has also entered the international market with the opening of a store in Dubai, which was launched on June 30.
The virtual kitchen giant currently has three stores — Ballygunge, Chinar Park and Behala. Apart from these three, work is underway to set up seven more outlets in the city. The brand plans to have a total of 10 outlets in Kolkata by December end.
Under the Rebel Foods portfolio, the virtual restaurant has 11 brands, some of them like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Sweet Truth, Firangi Bake, The Good Bowl and Lunch Box are popular in Delhi and Mumbai.
Besides ordering via Swiggy and Zomato, customers also have the option of downloading the Rebel Foods app, available in Play store.
When asked about the online-only market in Kolkata, Rebel Foods co-founder Banerjee said: “Gastronomy comes naturally to Bengalis. It is therefore not a taste acquired, but a science understood. Our progress across the globe, even as we grow our footprint in Kolkata, is a testament to that.”
Kolkata is one of the cities where the Rebel Group brands had the fastest acceptance, he said. “We are delivering at least 100 orders a day,” added the co-founder.
Talking about his company’s growth curve, Banerjee said: “Rebel Foods has been witnessing 100% growth for three consecutive years. In 2017-18, the company clocked Rs 200 crore and in 2018-2019, it’s Rs 400 crore.” At present, Rebel Foods has more than 1,500 virtual restaurants across 18 cities, delivering over 50,000 orders in a day.
Asked about the company’s inception, Banerjee said the digital restaurant was conceived in its first store in Pune in 2010. “Back then it was just a high-street outlet with an active delivery service,” he added.