Rebel Foods Enters Offline Restaurant Space, To Operate Wendy’s Outlets In India

Cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods on Tuesday marked its entry into the offline restaurants business with the announcement that it has signed an agreement with the US-based fast food chain Wendy’s to develop and expand its offline restaurants in India.  

Till now, Rebel Foods only held the rights to sell Wendy’s products via cloud kitchens. In March 2020, it signed an agreement to be the exclusive cloud kitchen partner for Wendy’s and said it aimed to open around 250 such kitchens by 2030.

With the latest agreement, the foodtech unicorn will develop and manage the offline retail presence of Wendy’s.

In a statement, Rebel Foods said it will help Wendy’s grow its restaurant model in India with digital expertise in delivery, automation, and innovation. It aims to set up 150 retail outlets of Wendy’s across the country over the next decade (2033).

Previously, Wendy’s offline restaurant business was managed by Sierra Nevada. The fast food chain claims to have a presence in 19 cities across the country.  

“India is a strategic, high-growth potential market for us, and we are thrilled that Rebel Foods is expanding its franchise commitment to accelerate Wendy’s footprint across the country with a mix of traditional restaurant expansion and digital innovation via cloud kitchens,” said Abigail Pringle, president, international and chief development officer of The Wendy’s Company. 

Wendy’s, founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas, sells burgers, side snacks, cold beverages and wraps. It claims to operate around 7,000 brick-and-mortar restaurants across the globe. It entered the Indian market in May 2015.

Rebel Foods, founded in 2011 by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, operates an array of food brands – Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, Mandarin Oak, and The Good Bowl, among others. It entered the unicorn club in 2021.

Last month, it fired about 2% of its workforce. It attributed the layoffs to annual performance evaluation and a realignment within the company. 

Rebel Foods’ net loss widened 55% to 564.4 Cr in FY22 from INR 364 Cr in FY21, while its total revenue nearly doubled to INR 907 Cr from INR 436.5 Cr. 

The cloud kitchen startup has a presence in India, the UK, the UAE, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. It counts Alteria Capital, Alimco Financial, Sequoia Capital India, Goldman Sachs and Acernis Ventures among its investors.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.