Rebel Foods, the unicorn cloud kitchen startup behind popular brands like Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story, and Faasos, saw its losses narrow to ₹378 crore in FY24 from a net loss of ₹657 crore, driven by better margins and economies of scale across its portfolio.
The company’s revenue from operations saw a modest rise to ₹1,420 crore in FY24, up from ₹1,195 crore the previous year, while expenses remained flat at ₹1,857 crore, according to regulatory filings accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler.
“We are able to address large food categories from a single infrastructure through strong brands. Also during the year, we further strengthened our portfolio on the back of strong customer insights and culinary innovations,” the company said on Friday. “The board of directors are confident that the company will break even soon and will have a high growth rate in the years to come.”
In July, Mint reported that the Mumbai-based firm plans to invest up to ₹200 crore to expand its physical footprint, including its food court format EatSure, as dining out regains momentum post-pandemic.
This move aligns with Rebel Foods’ broader strategy as it eyes a potential stock market listing in FY26, signalling a shift towards offline expansion as the post-pandemic boom in cloud kitchens begins to wane in favour of in-store dining.
Currently, Rebel operates over 450 cloud kitchens across 75 cities in India, the Middle East, North Africa, Indonesia, and the UK. The company also manages 150 outlets of the fast-food chain Wendy’s in India and runs eight outlets under its food court format.
Founded in 2011 by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, Rebel Foods competes with both large fast-food chains and standalone cloud kitchen operators.
India’s food services market is projected to nearly double to ₹9 trillion by the end of the decade, up from ₹5.5 trillion, driven by a growing customer base, increased consumption, and a surge in new eateries, according to a report by Bain & Company and food aggregator Swiggy.
Earlier this week, Mint reported that smaller ghost kitchens are reassessing their strategies as competition intensifies and costs rise. Many of these smaller players, who have adopted an omnichannel approach with both online and offline presences, are now considering downsizing operations or merging with larger entities, highlighting the challenges even established businesses face in this evolving market.
