After pioneering the trend of virtual restaurants, India-based Rebel Foods has now hit upon another novel idea – Brand-as-a-Service (BaaS) – to embark on a faster expansion in the international market, including the Middle East.
Under the new model, Rebel Foods, which has a major presence in the UAE, plans to stitch up a series of tie-ups with eatery chains across the Middle East and other regions by extending its brand name and know-how, the co-founder of the company said.
The owner of some of the famed cloud-kitchen brands, such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Oven Story is also in talks with investors in the Middle East and other regions to fund its aggressive expansion plans globally.
“Brand-as-a-Service (BaaS) is a new concept we have initiated for our global expansion. In essence it is similar to the concept of SaaS (software-as-a-service). However, with BaaS what we are aiming at is offering partners with existing infrastructure the chance to grow along with Rebel Foods,” Kallol Banerjee, co-founder of Rebel Foods, told Arabian Business.
“Under this, we offer existing brands the know-how, dish selection and design of a menu, besides marketing, to local restaurants,” Banerjee said.
According to Banerjee, launching restaurants virtually is the next revolution in franchising where the company can truly expand rapidly by building a strong network of local partners across the globe.
“We have been working towards being the most loved food brand in the world with all our focus on what customers love or want, rather than what we have to offer. There is a huge potential to launch many more brands, based on country-specific demands and our aim is to appeal to these tastes and demands,” he said.
Significantly, Rebel Foods revealed its BaaS-based expansion plans after it announced last week its move to enter Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt by the first quarter of 2022, to build a $1 billion food services business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over a three-year period.
Kallol Banerjee, co-founder of Rebel Foods.
Sector experts said the BaaS model could help the Indian online food major to achieve its growth target in the region even faster.
Banerjee said the company’s new concept would envisage giving access to prospective partners to the ‘Rebel Operating System’ which comprises of culinary expertise, brand knowledge, strong supply chain network, technological innovation and the Rebel ecosystem.
“When we partner with these brands, we focus on three things – finding the right partners, understanding the market offerings and matching them to our portfolio. This also helps us be successful in our plans for a quicker expansion into newer markets and launch brands as per the local preferences.
“Since there is an existing physical infrastructure, we are easily able to integrate them into our operating system,” said the founder of Rebel Foods, which has launched 500 internet restaurants outside India within a short span of five months.
“We will aim to add more Rebel Foods and partner brands in the coming months,” he added.
Banerjee said since December 2020, the company has been adding newer geographies across the international markets, with its gourmet brands Faasos and Behrouz Biryani.
“We have also launched a burger and Japanese cuisine brand to service the demand for local cuisines in the new markets,” he added.
Rebel Foods last week also announced plans to be present in at least 20 countries by the end of fiscal year 2021-22.
Aside from the UAE and India, Rebel Foods is currently present in Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UK.
Regarding fundraising plans, Banerjee said: “Yes, we are in talks as you can imagine but nothing substantial [worth reporting] has emerged as yet.
“We already have Middle East-based investors in our cap table and they continue to support our growth and expansion globally. We cannot disclose a lot at this stage and will provide inputs when the time is right,” is all that the Rebel Foods co-founder would say when asked about whether the prospective investors would be from the Middle East region or not.
Follow us on
