Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick to back cloud kitchen player Rebel Foods

Fast food restaurant chain KFC India has made an investment in Salesforce solutions to offer the much-needed choice and convenience to customers. With this investment, the brand wanted to mature its campaigns and offer customers with increasingly relevant offerings.

KFC’s move to invest in the Salesforce Data Management Platform (DMP) will help it in capturing more customer data and segment it more precisely.

Moksh Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC India, said, “The restaurant industry in India is hyper-competitive, and as our customers experiment with different outlets and new apps, we need to ensure we are able to understand individual customer needs and preferences to provide them offerings that are highly relevant.”

“To compete and win customers, KFC India has turned to Salesforce to evolve its marketing and customer experience. For KFC India, this has sparked a journey to better understand its customers and satisfy their cravings for a personalised experience,” he added.

KFC targets to know its customers with Salesforce

The QSR chain runs over 350 restaurants across India. KFC targets to drive visitors to its restaurants, and also increase orders through its website and app.

Chopra stated, “With Salesforce, we can really get to know our customers and personalise their experience even as their behavior and preferences change. The vision for KFC India is to reach every customer with 1:1 messaging and offerings that predict what they will order next. This has made data capture a priority.”

With Salesforce, KFC India is aiming at capturing information about its dine-in and delivery customers, including all transaction data like customers’ contact details, which products they are ordering and which channels they are using.

“With these insights, KFC India is starting to segment customers and personalise, to a certain extent, campaigns based on consumption and spending habits. In the past, we would send out the same communication to everyone in our database, whereas now communications are contextualised,” Chopra further said.

Utilizing multi-channel campaigns

The restaurant chain is experiencing the results of its marketing transformation. It ran a multi-channel campaign, using SMS, email and in-app notifications, during a recent cricket season, and resulted in substantial increase in CRM revenue contribution and overall ROI (return on investment).

Vipin Gupta, Head, digital, Yum Brands, stated, “If we can better understand our customers across all of the different touchpoints, including social media, we can start to predict their behavior and send them communications with the most relevant offerings that more likely to convert.”

Wow! Momo has secured $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Private Equity (PE) giant Tiger Global. This marks Tiger Global’s first investment in a QSR brand in India.

With this investment, Wow! Momo is now valued at Rs 860 crore, one of the highest among QSR chains in the country.

Wow! Momo owns and operates Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brands, Wow! Momo and Wow! China, in India. Currently, the QSR chain has 282 outlets of Wow! Momo and 11 outlets of Wow! China across 15 cities.

Sagar Daryani, CEO & Co-Founder, Wow! China/Wow! Momo, said, “From running a handful of kiosks in Kolkata to becoming a brand operating in over 15 cities, our ‘Make-in-India’ journey has come a long way. We are super excited and thankful in welcoming Tiger Global on board and looking forward to leverage upon their global connects, experience and knowhow.”

“This partnership is indeed a big step forward in our endeavour to become an Indian origin QSR chain with an aim to go global in times to come. We will smartly use the capital infused to further scale our operations backed with disruptive research and development to reach out to a larger consumer base within the country,” he added.

Wow! Momo Foods is eyeing to make Rs 190 crore in revenue in FY20. At present, the company is clocking a monthly run rate of more than Rs 15 crore and launching over 10 new Wow! Momo outlets every month.

Scott Shleifer, Partner and Head, private equity, Tiger Global Management, stated, “I am extremely confident that with our expertise backed by a strong leadership team at the helm, Wow! Momo is all set to become the face of Indian QSR on a global diaspora.”

Want to invest in a QSR franchise? Visit Franchise India 2019, Asia’s Biggest Franchise & Retail Show, and give wings to your entrepreneurial dreams.

Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd, the Indian snacks and sweets major, is in advanced talks to invest in Frozen Bottle. The Bengaluru-based QSR chain sells milkshakes and desserts.

Founded in 1937, Haldiram’s is planning to invest between $8 million and $10 million into Frozen Bottle.

A person aware of the development said, “Haldiram’s proposed investment into Frozen Bottle will be structured via their family office fund and will involve equity with a strategic investment approach.”

Haldiram’s is further eyeing startups in the packaged consumer goods segment, as well as a bunch of technology brands.

Incorporated in early 2017, Frozen Bottle was founded by Pranshul Yadav and Arun Suvarna. The QSR chain had crossed Rs 40 crore in annual revenue. Currently, it is operating 140 stores across 18 cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Surat, Manipal, Kochi and Coimbatore.

Pranshul Yadav and Arun Suvarna had jointly invested Rs 37 lakh to start the business. In the beginning, the firm operated as a proprietary brand, but later moved to the franchise format. Frozen Bottle also sells its products on food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato.

The Bengaluru-based company competes with Delhi-based Keventer Agro Ltd, which operates more than 250 stores serving milkshakes and desserts. Frozen Bottle also sells pouch milk under the Metro Daily brand.

Everstone Group, the master franchise owner of Burger King in India, has infused Rs 45 crore and a loan facility of Rs 150 crore into the American fast food chain. The capital will go into launching new stores, refurbishing existing ones and transaction-related expenses.

With the fresh infusion, Burger King India’s paid-up capital has gone up to Rs 366.48 crore. It has also increased its authorised capital to Rs 405 crore from Rs 350 crore.

Mohit Yadav, Founder of business intelligence platform Veratech Intelligence, said, “The deficit in current paid up of Rs 366.48 crore and authorised capital of Rs 405 crore leads to the inference that there could be another round of capital infusion from Everstone in the near future.”

“The line of credit of up to Rs 150 crore, which Burger King can borrow in 12 months, demonstrates Everstone’s confidence in its Indian business to generate considerable cash flow in coming years for timely service of the debt. Burger King India, which runs more than 214 outlets across the country, has no borrowings as of now,” he added.

Want to invest in a burger franchise? Visit Franchise India 2019, Asia’s Biggest Franchise & Retail Show, and give wings to your entrepreneurial dreams.

Food delivery firm Swiggy has earmarked an investment of $100 million for its subscription-based delivery business under Supr, which delivers milk, vegetables/fruits, and other daily essentials to consumers.

The development comes as Swiggy has forayed into hyper-local delivery business under Swiggy Stores and subscription-based home-cooked meal service with Swiggy Daily. The company is aiming to drive a higher frequency of orders, leverage its growing logistics network as well as the brand built on food delivery.

Swiggy had acquired Mumbai-based Supr last year in a cash plus stock deal. Claiming to be doing over 1 lakh deliveries per day, Supr is presently offering services in six cities including Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad.

Launched in 2015, the micro-delivery app continues to be run by its Founders Shreyas Nagdawane and Puneet Kumar post the acquisition. 

A person aware of the company’s plans said, “The segment Supr is working in is serving such a necessity that it can be scaled up beyond the top 10 cities. Swiggy has made in-roads in rural markets and Supr can be taken there too based on the convenience this model offers.”

Swiggy’s entry into the micro-delivery space has put it in direct competition with the likes of Google-backed Dunzo, BigBasket’s BB Daily, Milkbasket and DailyNinja.

PepsiCo India, the snacks and beverages major, will invest $70 million for setting up a food manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh. The company’s move is aimed at expanding capacity in the country's growing packaged foods market.

American global beverage firm is aiming to invest $2.1 billion in India by 2022. PepsiCo has grown to become one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in the country.

PepsiCo, which entered India in 1989, will invest with its local bottling partner Varun Beverages, as it looks to boost manufacturing capacity in the country. The greenfield plant will be creating new jobs and will also be enhancing cold storage infrastructure.

PepsiCo India's diverse portfolio consists of iconic brands such as Pepsi, Lay's, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade and Quaker.

Prime Venture Partners has made an investment of Rs 6 crore in FoodyBuddy, a platform that enables consumers to sell home-cooked food. The funds raised will be used by the company to expand into new geographies and build the network in Bengaluru.

Presently, FoodyBuddy is operational in Bengaluru. It is looking to expand to five other cities in the next 12 months.

FoodyBuddy brings together home chefs and consumers in the same neighbourhood. Residents of more than 100 apartment communities in Bengaluru are using the platform that has sold over 2,50,000 meals.

Akil Sethuraman, Co-founder, FoodyBuddy, said, "Today, close to 20,000 households use FoodyBuddy and more than 1,000 people are selling. We believe that food brings people closer and encourages a friendly, healthy and interactive community."

"The aim is to foster this by providing both sellers and buyers with a network through which they can address their requirements," he added.

Gurgaon-based Comfort Food Brand Hoi Foods has raised $500 k in a Pre Series A led by 1Crowd and its investor community. The company plans to utilize funds for geographical expansion and building a more integrated food solution in the backend.

The recent round of funding also saw the participation of other investors including Gemba Capital and Prime Holdings.

Indrajeet Roy, CEO, Hoi Foods, said, "Hoi Foods can be a food brand which can reach 100 cities in the next 4-5 years. The biggest challenge of any food brand is geographical expansion and to be present in every location where there is demand. Hoi’s asset-light model ensures multiple distribution points across the city."

Anil Gudibande, Co-founder of 1Crowd, said, "Hoi has a perfect combination of youth energy, strategic advisory, and F&B Subject Matter Expertise. Hoi Foods is bringing standardization in the comfort food segment on cuisines and promising a brand of taste, quality, consistency, variety, convenience and affordability to the budget hotels sector, which is currently completely unorganized and therefore carries huge potential."

Hoi Foods is creating an F&B footprint in multiple locations with standardized service levels and infrastructure. Currently, the company is based out of Delhi/NCR and is looking to expand to different cities very soon.

RI EXCLUSIVE: By Nusra

Sharad Sachdeva who was working as CEO at Lite Bite Foods has moved from Amit Burman’s promoted group after 6 years to join L capital.

Sharad is joining L Capital, the private equity arm of French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH as Director of Operations and will be based out of Mumbai to look after L Capitals assets in GCC countries, India and Southeast Asian Markets.

In India Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality run by Riyaaz Amlani of the ‘Social’ fame is their biggest acquisition in the F&B space by acquiring a majority stake in the brand last December.

Prior to joining L Capital, Sharad has been instrumental in changing the dining scenario and was also one of the key person behind the new retail experience created at GMR run Delhi Airport's terminal 3 and has worked full steam to give Mumbaikars a world class F&B experience at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji airport terminal 2 during his tenure at Lite Bite Foods.

Coming from a disciplined defence family of Dehradun, he completed his schooling from Doon and went on to pursue his management degree.

<p>वेंचर कैपिटल फंड हंच वेंचर्स यूएस आधारित बर्गर चेन वेंडी और भारत में फाइन डाइनिंग चेन जेमी के इतालवी ऑपरेटिंग दो कंपनियों में 100 करोड़ रुपये का निवेश करेगी। फर्म अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बाजार प्रबंधन (आईएमएम) के संयुक्त रूप से स्वामित्व वाली सिएरा नेवादा रेस्टोरेंट और डोलोमाइट रेस्टोरेंट में 50% हिस्सेदारी लेने के लिए निवेश कर रही है।</p>

<p>आईएमएम एक लंदन स्थित उपभोक्ता ब्रांड है, जो उद्यमी-रेस्टॉरिएटर जैस्पर रीड की अध्यक्षता में है।</p>

<p>रीड ने कहा, "वेंडी को अब भारत के लिए सही मॉडल मिला है और अगले 5-10 वर्षों में 300 वेंडी के आउटलेट खोलने की योजना बना रहा है। कंपनी इसी अवधि के दौरान लगभग 80 जेमी के ब्रांडेड रेस्टोरेंट&nbsp; खोलने की योजना बना रही है।"</p>

<p>हंच के संस्थापक करणपाल सिंह ने कहा, "हम सही खाद्य व्यवसायों की तलाश में हैं, जो स्केलेबल हैं और तकनीक, मीडिया और हमारे आतिथ्य ज्ञान जैसी अन्य संपत्तियों के साथ एकीकृत करने में सक्षम हैं। हम उन सभी अलग-अलग क्षमताओं का लाभ उठाना चाहते हैं।"</p>

<p>अब तक, हंच ने विभिन्न तकनीकी फर्मों में $ 150 मिलियन का निवेश किया है, जिसमें इंडियूट्स डॉट कॉम, हेल्थकेयर उद्यम और अन्य इकाइयों के बीच उच्च अंत कंसीयज सेवाएं शामिल हैं।</p>

<p>एमटेक ग्रुप कंपनी रोलटाइनर्स के बाद यह समझौता आया है, जिसने वेंडी में आईएमएम में अपनी 50% हिस्सेदारी बेच दी थी।</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

Venture capital fund Hunch Ventures will invest Rs 100 crore in two companies operating US-based burger chain Wendy's and fine dining chain Jamie's Italian in India. The firm is making the investment to pick up 50% stake in Sierra Nevada Restaurants and Dolomite Restaurants, jointly owned by International Market Management (IMM).

IMM is a London-based consumer brand headed by entrepreneur-restaurateur Jasper Reid.

Reid said, "Wendy's has now found the right model for India and is planning to open 300 Wendy's outlets in the next 5-10 years. The company plans to open about 80 Jamie’s branded restaurants during the same period."

Karanpal Singh, Founder of Hunch, said, "We have been looking for the right food businesses that are scalable and to be able to integrate with our other assets like tech, media and our hospitality knowledge. We want to leverage all those different capabilities."

So far, Hunch has invested about $150 million in various tech firms, which includes Indiaroots.com, healthcare venture, and high-end concierge services among other entities.

The agreement comes after Rollatainers, Amtek group company, had sold its 50% stake in Wendy's to IMM. 

सीट्रिप  चीन की सबसे बड़ी यात्रा-बुकिंग साइट, ऑनलाइन रेस्टॉरेंट खोज और खाद्य वितरण प्लेटफार्म ज़ोमैटो में $ 100 मिलियन का निवेश करने की वार्ता में है।

नास्डैक-सूचीबद्ध सीट्रिप, एंट फाइनेंशियल (एक अलीबाबा एफिलिएट) और कुछबैकर्स  गुड़गांव स्थित फर्म का मूल्यांकन 1.8-2 अरब डॉलर के करीब 400 मिलियन डॉलर निवेश करने की संभावना है।

चर्चा करने वालों के लिए एक व्यक्ति ने कहा, "सीट्रिप के साथ चर्चा आखिरी स्टेज में है, केवल अंतिम राशि का फैसला किया जा सकता है। यह लगभग 100 मिलियन डॉलर होने की संभावना है। हालांकि निवेश पूरी तरह से वित्तीय है, दोनों कंपनियां सहकर्मी तलाश सकती हैं, जो प्रकृति में और अधिक रणनीति होकर आगे बढ़ेगी।"

$ 20 बिलियन से अधिक का बाजार पूंजीकरण होने के कारण, ज़ामैटो के साथ सीट्रिप का सौदा महत्वपूर्ण होगा, क्योंकि कंपनी यात्रा सेवाओं के बाहर पहली बार निवेश करेगी। सीट्रिप  दुनिया भर में शीर्ष चार ऑनलाइन ट्रैवल एजेंसियों में से एक है।

दो साल पहले, सीट्रिप ने स्कॉटिश यात्रा साइट स्काईस्कैनर $ 1.7 बिलियन के लिए अधिग्रहण किया था। कंपनी टूर्स 4 फन, ट्रैवल रिसर्च साइट ट्रिप डॉट कॉम और स्काईस्कैनर द्वारा ट्रिप का मालिक है।

यह सौदा गुड़गांव स्थित फर्म के लिए भी महत्वपूर्ण कदम होगा, क्योंकि यह अंतरराष्ट्रीय बाजारों में आक्रामक रूप से विस्तार और विकास करने का प्रयास करता है।

Ctrip, China's largest travel-booking site, is in talks to invest around $100 million in online restaurant discovery and food-delivery platform Zomato.

The Nasdaq-listed Ctrip, Ant Financial (an Alibaba affiliate) and a couple of backers are likely to invest around $400 million, valuing the Gurgaon-based firm at $1.8-2 billion.

A person privy to the discussions said, "The discussions with Ctrip are in the last leg, with only the final amount yet to be decided. It is likely to be around $100 million. While the investment is purely financial, the two companies may explore synergies, which will be more strategic in nature going forward."

Having a market capitalisation of over $20 billion, Ctrip’s deal with Zomato will be significant as the company will invest first-time outside of travel services. Ctrip is ranked among the top four online travel agencies worldwide.

Two years ago, Ctrip had acquired Scottish travel site Skyscanner for $1.7 billion. The company also owns Tours4Fun, travel research site Trip.com and Trip by Skyscanner.

The deal will also be a significant move for the Gurgaon-based firm as it attempts to expand and grow aggressively in international markets.

द. अफ्रिकी मीडिया दिग्गज नैस्पर्स, संगठित क्षेत्र को सेवाएं देने वाले तकनीक-आधारित स्टार्टअप हंगर बॉक्स में $12-15 मिलियन निवेश की तैयारी कर रहा है। नैस्पर्स फ़ूड-डिलीवरी फर्म स्विग्गी में सबसे बड़ा हिस्सेदार है। 

संदीपन मित्र द्वारा संस्थापित हंगर बॉक्स, संगठित क्षेत्र में कैफेटेरिया संचालन का अंकीकरण और प्रबंधन करने के लिए तकनीकी हल देता है, अन्न सुरक्षा और अनुपालन की देखरेख करता है और अपने मंच पर विक्रेताओं को प्रशिक्षित करता है। 

दी सेबर पार्टनर्स और लायनरॉक कैपिटल द्वारा समर्थन-प्राप्त कंपनी हर दिन 200,000 से अधिक ऑर्डर्स दर्ज करती है। वह वर्तमान में मुंबई, दिल्ली - एनसीआर और बेंगलुरु समेत 10 शहरों में 70 से अधिक क्लाइंट्स को सेवा पहुंचा रही है। 

हंगर बॉक्स 2018 के अंत तक 350,000 से अधिक दैनिक ऑर्डर्स की आशा करता है। अगस्त में, कंपनी ने 250 करोड़ रुपये की वार्षिक आय को पार कर लिया है। 

मित्र ने कहा, "हमने 10,000 से अधिक कार्यबल के 11 भारतीय कॉर्पोरेट फर्म्स (आईटी, आईटीईएस, बीपीओ, केपीओ आदि) को पहचान लिया है और अगले 6 महीनों में हम उन सबको हंगरबॉक्स के मंच पर ले आएँगे।"

South African media giant Naspers is planning to invest $12-15 million in HungerBox, a tech-enabled corporate catering startup. Naspers is the largest shareholder in food-delivery firm Swiggy.

Founded by Sandipan Mitra, HungerBox provides technology solutions to digitise and manage corporate cafeteria operations, undertake food safety and compliance, and curate vendors on its platform. 

The Sabre Partners and Lionrock Capital-backed firm records over 200,000 orders per day. Having over 70 clients, the firm is presently operating in 10 cities including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru.

HungerBox is expecting over 350,000 daily orders at the end of 2018. In August, the company crossed Rs 250 crore in annualised revenue.

Mitra said, “We have identified the top 11 Indian corporate firms (across IT, ITeS, BPO, KPOs, etc) with a workforce of over 100,000 and in the next 6 months, all of them will be on Hungerbox’s platform.” 

दिग्गज उद्यम पूँजी निवेशक फर्म सैफ पार्टनर्स, हांगकांग स्थित इंटीग्रेटेड कैपिटल और सिंगापुर स्थित विकास अवस्था निवेशक फर्म पैक्टोलस ने टी कैफ़े चेन चायोस में 81 करोड़ रुपये निवेश किए हैं। 

इससे पहले, चायोस ने वर्तमान निवेशक टाइगर ग्लोबल मैनेजमेंट के जरिए $2 मिलियन जमा किए थे। फर्म ने दिल्ली - राष्ट्रीय राजधानी क्षेत्र, मुंबई और चंडीगढ़ में 52 से अधिक टी कैफ़े शुरू किए हैं। उसकी 2018 की पहली तिमाही की आय लगभग 52 करोड़ रुपये थी। 

लाए गए निवेश को कंपनी के मौजूदा भौगोलिक क्षेत्रों में उपस्थिति अधिक बढ़ाने के लिए उपयोग में लाया जाएगा। 

चायोस के सीईओ नितिन सलूजा कहते हैं, "हमारा ग्राहकों का पुनरावृत्ति दर हर महीने 42% रहा है और उसे बढ़ाते रहने का एक ही जरिया ये है कि हम जहां मौजूद हैं, उन्हीं शहरों में हमारा समूह बढ़ाएं। पिछले 5 वर्ष में हमारी आय हर वर्ष दोगुना होती गई है। यही गति कायम रखने के लिए हम अपने स्टोर्स की संख्या उल्लेखनीय ढंग से बढ़ाने की कोशिश करेंगे।"

टी कैफ़े चेन ये दावा करती है कि, उसका हर स्टोर शुरू करने के 3-6 महीने में मुनाफा कमाने लगता है। इन स्टोर्स से उत्पन्न आय 80% से ऊपर होती है। 

चायोस सामा कैपिटल और डीएसजी कंस्यूमर पार्टनर्स द्वारा समर्थन-प्राप्त चाय पॉइंट और मुंबई-स्थित टी ट्रैल्स के जैसी कंपनियों की प्रतियोगिता में है। 

इस वर्ष की शुरुआत में, कैफ़े चेन ने जुबिलेंट फूडवर्क्स के सीईओ अजय कॉल को प्रमुख सलाहगार के रूप में निमंत्रित किया था। चायोस ने अजय को अगले 5 वर्षों में देश के सर्वोच्च 8 शहरों में 300 आउटलेट्स शुरू करने का लक्ष्य देकर नियुक्त किया था। 

Marquee venture capital firm SAIF Partners, Hong Kong-based Integrated Capital and Singapore-based growth stage investment firm Pactolus have invested Rs 81 crore in tea cafe chain Chaayos.

Earlier, Chaayos had raised $2 million from existing investor Tiger Global Management. The firm has set up over 52 tea cafes in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai and Chandigarh. It ended FY18 with revenues of about Rs 52 crore.

The infused capital will be used to further deepen the company’s footprint in the geographies it is currently present.

Nitin Saluja, CEO at Chaayos, said, “Our customer repeat rate across our stores has been 42% month-on-month and the only way to keep that growing is through a cluster approach within the cities we are currently present in. We will look at significantly ramping up our store count over the next year to keep up with our revenue growth, which has been doubling each year for the past five years.”

The tea cafe chain claims that its every store turns profitable within 3-6 months of its launch. The revenue earned from these stores is over 80%.

Chaayos is competing with companies like Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners-backed Chai Point and Mumbai-based Tea Trails.

Earlier this year, the cafe chain had roped in former Jubilant Foodworks CEO Ajay Kaul as its Chief Advisor. Chaayos appointed Ajay with the aim to scale up to 300 outlets across the top 8 cities in the country over the next 5 years. 

ब्रिटानिया इंडस्ट्रीज (बीआईएल) बंगाल में एक नई अत्याधुनिक सुविधा में 300-350 करोड़ रुपये निवेश करने की योजना बना रहा है। कंपनी लंबे समय बाद इस राज्य में निवेश करेगी।

तारताल में स्थित प्लान्ट ब्रिटानिया इंडस्ट्रीज का सबसे पुराना प्लान्ट है। इसके अलावा, कंपनी का डंकुनी के पास एक कॉन्ट्रेक्ट पर दिया मैन्युफैक्चरिंग यूनिट है।

बीआईएल के शीर्ष अधिकारी ने कहा है, "पिछले 10 वर्षों में, कंपनी ने बिहार, ओडिशा और असम में निवेश किया है, लेकिन बंगाल में कोई नया निवेश नहीं किया था, लेकिन अब हम ऐसा कुछ करने की योजना बना रहे हैं।"

ब्रिटानिया भारत में अग्रणी खाद्य कंपनियों में से एक है। देश में कंपनी के लिए पश्चिम बंगाल तीसरा सबसे बड़ा बाजार है, क्योंकि इससे 750 करोड़ रुपये से अधिक राजस्व अर्जित होगा।

अपनी राष्ट्रीय योजना के भाग रूप, कंपनी पश्चिम बंगाल में कोल्ड चेन इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर भी स्थापित कर सकती है। वर्तमान में, ब्रिटानिया पुणे के पास रंजनगांव में कोल्ड चेन इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर स्थापित कर रही है।

Britannia Industries (BIL) is planning to invest Rs 300-350 crore in a new state-of-the-art facility in Bengal. The company will be investing in the state after a long time.

The plant at Taratala is the oldest plant of Britannia Industries. Besides this plant, the company has a contract manufacturing unit near Dankuni.

BIL’s top official said, “In the last 10 years, the company has invested in Bihar, Odisha and Assam but there was no fresh investment in Bengal. But now, we are planning to make some.”

Britannia is one of the leading food companies in India. West Bengal is the third largest market for the company in the country as the revenue earned from it is over Rs 750 crore.

As part of its national plan, the company may also set up cold chain infrastructure in West Bengal. Presently, Britannia is setting up cold chain infrastructure at Ranjangaon near Pune.

सॉफ्टबैंक ग्रुप कार्पोरेशन सिलिकॉन घाटी में स्थित एक रोबोटिक पिज्जा स्टार्टअप ज़ूम में 50 करोड़ से 75करोड़ डॉलर निवेश पर विचार कर रहा है। यह स्टार्टअप रोबोट की मदद से ताजा पिज्जा बनकर डिलीवर (वितरण) करता है।

ज़ूम के ट्रक में रोबोटरखे होते हैं और रिमोट क्लाउड सिग्नल के माध्यम से मांग पर चालू होने वाले (जलने वाले) ओवन होते हैं। ज़ूम के सह-संस्थापक एलेक्स गार्डन ने कहाकि "यदि आप अपने पिज्जा को डिलीवर करते समय पकाते हैं, तो आपको एकदम ताजा पिज्जा मिलता है। इस तरह से आप ढेर सारा समयभी बचाते हैं।"

रोबोट और पिज्जा का यह संयोजननया नहीं है। पिज्जा हट और डोमिनो’ज़ पिज्जा भी रोबोट के साथ प्रयोग कर रहेहैं। पिज्जा हट ने ‘पीपर’-सॉफ्टबैंक रोबोटिक्स कार्पोरेशन निर्मित मानव शक्ल वभावों वाला रोबोट,एक निश्चित स्थान पर आदेश लेने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया।डोमिनो’ज़ ने भी एक स्वायत्त डिलीवरी रोबोट (बॉट) विकसित किया है।

इस निवेश से सॉफ्टबैंक’स विजन फंडस्वयं को फूड-डिलिवरी(भोजन-वितरण)व्यवसाय से जोड़ने की व्यापक महत्वाकांक्षा को परिलक्षित करता है। इससे पहले, सॉफ्टबैंक ने फूड-डिलिवरी(भोजन-वितरण) ऐप डोअरडैश(DoorDash) में53.5 करोड़ डॉलरके फंडिंगचक्र का नेतृत्व किया था। उबर में भी सॉफ्टबैंक की 15% हिस्सेदारी है।

SoftBank Group Corp. is considering a $500 million to $750 million investment in Zume, a robotic pizza startup based in Silicon Valley. The startup makes and delivers fresh pizzas with the help of robots.

The trucks of Zume’s are loaded in part by robots and have ovens that fire up on demand, via a remote cloud signal. Alex Garden, the co-founder of Zume, said, “If you cook your pizza while it is being delivered, you only get the freshest pizza possible. You also save a bunch of time that way”.

The combination of robots and pizzas is not new. Pizza Hut and Domino Pizza have been experimenting with robots too. While Pizza Hut used Pepper, the humanoid robot from SoftBank Robotics Corp., to take orders at a certain location, Dominos has developed an autonomous delivery bot.

The investment shows SoftBank’s Vision Fund's broader ambitions to attach itself to the food-delivery businesses. Earlier, SoftBank led a $535 million funding round into meal-delivery app DoorDash. SoftBank also owns a 15% stake in Uber.

Alteria Capital has invested Rs 33.5 crore (around $5 million) in organic cold-pressed juice and beverage maker, Raw Pressery. The investment includes both equity and venture debt from Alteria Capital, a first-time move for venture debt firm.

Alteria currently has commitments of Rs 550 crore with anchor investments from IndusInd Bank, SIDBI and a large domestic family office foundation. Earlier, Alteria had invested in startups like ready-to-cook meal brand Fingerlix, education technology platform Toppr and Universal Sportsbiz.

Vinod Murali, co-founder and managing partner of Alteria Capital, said, “We are seeing increasing interest in the Indian consumer segment and this investment is aligned with our belief that strong, Indian consumer brands backed by venture capital are going to create massive outcomes in the medium to long-term”.

Founded in 2013 by Anuj Rakyan, Raw Pressery will use the new capital for expanding distribution domestically and internationally in the Middle East and South East Asia.

Anuj Rakyan, founder and CEO of Raw Pressery, said, “The Alteria team has always been very supportive of our vision and growth plans. The additional equity infusion will also provide a huge boost to us and we are excited with this partnership”.

Britannia Industries chairman Nusli N. Wadia said the company has earmarked Rs 400-500 crore  for expansion of capacity and new product development, including Rs 300 crore dairy plant whose site may be relocated from Maharashtra to Andhra Pradesh since the company is yet to hear from the Maharashtra government on the incentives.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of Britannia’s 99th annual general meeting here on Monday, Wadia said Britannia has been waiting to hear from the Maharashtra government for over a year on the incentives for the dairy project. “Hence, we are exploring whether to shift the project to Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

Wadia said the company will not enter fresh milk. Britannia has started milk procurement pilot in Maharashtra to strengthen dairy back-end capabilities and will set up cold chains across the country. The company will also enter the filled croissants space towards end of the year, apart from expansion of cake and rusk portfolio, he said.

Britannia leads the biscuits market by value of around one-third share. Wadia said the company wants to enter overseas markets and has set up a dedicated export unit in special economic zone at Mundra. “This will increase our foreign exchange earnings,” he said.

Online food delivery platform Swiggy is seeking attention from existing and new investors to raise funds at a valuation of $2.3-2.5 billion, as it burns cash at a quick pace in a fight for market share in the food delivery space, three people familiar with the matter said,

Swiggy’s rival Zomato which is backed by Ant Financial could be considered as a trigger for the third round of fund raise this year. In June Swiggy had raised $210 million from a clutch of investors in a round that valued it at $1.3 billion, making the startup the fastest to enter the haloed Unicorn Club.

Swiggy was in July offered at least one term sheet with an estimated valuation of $2.5 billion. It is unclear how much money the Bengaluru-based company is planning to raise in this round, but one of the people said it could raise anywhere between $250 million and $500 million.

The Bengaluru-based firm is also planning to raise up to $500 million, valuation may hit $2.5 billion. The round may also see the participation of Some of Swiggy’s early investors, the people said.

Swiggy held talks with a host of new investors including SoftBank, growth equity firm General Atlantic and a couple of Chinese hedge funds for the new round. The Chinese funds are probably Tybourne Capital and Hillhouse Capital, a person said. ET could not independently verify the names.

Hard liquor company Boutique Spirit Brands (BSB) which sells rum and brandy under the brand names of Gladius and Zeus respectively in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh has raised about Rs 6.8 crore ($1 million) from from institutional investors like Kae Capital.

BSB closed FY18 with over Rs 18 crore in revenues selling just across two markets and is targetting gross revenues of about Rs 80 crore by FY19 as it also looks to widen its playground and portfolio.

“We are now looking to launch a whiskey brand as also expand the sale of rum and brandy to eight and four states respectively. We want to have presence across all categories and hence will look at launching a vodka brand in the long term as well,” said Rahul Gagerna, Founder of BSB, formerly the head of marketing at distilleries firm Radico Khaitan.

The company sold 50,000 cases across rum and brandy in FY18 and is looking to sell over 2 lakh cases by FY19.

“Given that liquor is a matter of state jurisdictions and the operational complexity in business, we wanted to back a team that has navigated this in the past. The cofounding team has several decades of liquor experience coupled with strong traction of brands such as Gladius and Zeus made a compelling case for us to invest,” said Navin Honagudi, Managing Director at Kae Capital.

BSB is also planning to add multiple investors for Rs 14 crore in debt finance to establish a considerable retail presence across the hotel and restaurant segment for brand recognition.

Coolberg Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the Mumbai based non-alcoholic beer maker has raised an undisclosed seed amount from venture capital firm India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s (IAN’s) maiden fund.

According to the company, the raised funds will be channelized to expand business.

Mumbai-based Coolberg seeks to tap into the “sizeable” portion of the Indian population that does not consume alcohol, the statement said.

The company’s beer products come in flavours such as mint, strawberry, cranberry and peach, according to its website catering to the people across more than 75 cities 18 Indian states.

Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani had founded the startup in 2016. Aswani worked with private sector lender Citibank and Keswani was a communications expert at advertising agency MTLB, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

“Non-alcoholic beer is relatively a white space in the beverage segment in India,” said Madhukar Sinha, founding partner at India Quotient.

“While going to pubs and cafes for drinks is a fast-catching trend for Indian millennials, the choice of beverage, especially for people who do not want alcohol, is very limited,” added Sinha. “Coolberg has an opportunity to establish itself as the first-choice beverage for all such non-alcoholic visitors to pubs and cafés,” Sinha said.

Rise in health concerns among consumers and increase in adoption of a healthy lifestyle have also led to growth in demand for non-alcoholic beer, said Anirudh Agarwal, an entrepreneur member of IAN.

Ready-to-eat popcorn maker brand ‘Popi-Corn’, which is owned by Timla Foods has raised $2 million in debt financing from Anicut Capital.

The Chennai-based alternative asset management firm, counts beer brand Bira maker’s B9 Beverages among its prominent investments.

Kae Capital-backed Timla Foods, which has so far raised over $3 million in debt and equity, is present across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and Bengaluru.

The firm was founded in 2016 and has since expanded to over 35,000 retail touch points in key metros, selling about about 85% of the 3,50,000 packets it manufactures every day.

“We have started our expansion on the B2B side. Over the next two years, general trade and modern trade will form about 65% of our revenues, while B2B will form 35%. Cinema halls and Indian Railways are some of the key areas of focus,” said Prashanth Gowriraju, CEO of Timla Foods.

Hyderabad-based Timla Foods aims to close FY19 with about Rs 80-100 crore in revenue with about Rs 5 crore in monthly turnover at present. The food firm aims to beef up the existing production capacity,

The firm produces popcorn worth Rs 8 crore per month at facility in Andhra Pradesh. A second unit will be set up in northern India to cater to the northern markets.

Bengaluru-based personalisation technology firm, Dishq which is aimed to serve the food and beverage industry, has secured $400,000 (Rs 2.7 crore) pre-seed fund from from Techstars’ food and agriculture technology accelerator Farm to Fork and Arts Alliance.

The Syndicate Fund and angel investor Sven Hensen, founder and managing partner of business analytics firm mayato. Existing investors Zeroth, a startup accelerator, and Artesian Venture Partners also participated in this funding round.

According to the company the raised amount will be used to expand its engineering team and to accelerate its sales and marketing activities.

The artificial intelligence startup takes food science and machine learning into help to predict people’s tastes. Dishq claims to have developed what it calls a ‘food brain’ that can predict both an individual’s food preferences as well as broader industry trends.

The startup was launched in December 2015 by Kishan Vasani (chief executive) and Sai Sreenivas Kodur (technology head), who both previously worked at online food ordering ventures Just Eat and Zomato, respectively.

The tech service provider is currently powering more than 30 million recommendations each month. It claims to have its users across six markets for its first product, a business-to-business (B2B) personalisation engine.

“Our technology essentially brings greater alignment between producers and consumers, and we’re truly honoured and excited to have the backing of such fantastic investors for our vision,” Vasani said.

Alchemy Capital, an investment fund co-founded by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has bought about 3.5 per cent stake in restaurant chain Barbeque-Nation Hospitality for Rs 90 crore. The fund acquired the stake as part of a pre-initial public offering deal, valuing the company, promoted by Sayaji Hotels, at around Rs 2,300-2,400 crore, said investment bankers.

The Bengaluru-headquartered Barbeque-Nation, which pioneered ‘over the table barbeque’ concept in Indian restaurants, filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its maiden IPO in August 2017. The IPO is estimated to raise over Rs 700 crore, according to merchant banking sources. As per the DRHP, the issue comprises a fresh issue of shares of Rs 200 crore and an offer for sale of up to 61,79,000 equity shares from certain selling shareholders.

In 2013, Ajay Relan-founded CX Partners invested close to Rs 110 crore, followed by an additional investment of Rs 103 Crore in 2015.

According to Technopak, the chain Casual Dining Restaurant (CDR) segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the Indian restaurant industry and is projected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 21 per cent from Fiscal 2017 to Fiscal 2022.

According to its DRHP filed in August 2017, Barbeque-Nation had 81 restaurants in India as on June 30, 2017. The public offer will result in around 30per cent stake dilution on a postoffer basis, said another person familiar with the development. According to the company’s DRHP, the company trebled its revenue from Rs 184 crore to Rs 503 crore during the fiscal 2013 to 2017.

In what furthers the wave of consumer brands increasingly finding favour with India's venture capital ecosystem, Kishlay Foods which manufactures snacks, chips and biscuits has raised $15 million (Rs 100 crore) in its latest round of funding. The investment round was led by growth equity investment firm Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and D.K. Surana, promoter of Intensive Softshare Services (Intensive).

The investment which also features a prominent secondary share sale component, will be used to primarily buyout the existing business partners, as also to expand distribution in North and East India markets, launch additional product lines, and enhance the management team.

“Kishlay foods is well positioned to penetrate deeper in its home markets and expand further in new geographies and products. Kishlay is excited to partner with NVP and Intensive and will benefit greatly from the support of external investors as it looks ahead on to its next phase of growth,” said Sandeep Bajaj, CEO of Kishlay Foods.

Founded in 2003, the Guwahati based firm is a significant regional player focused on the snacks market and currently has a dominant presence in North East India selling products under the brand names of “Non-Stop”, “Kishlay” and “Mamooz”. The product basket comprises extruded snacks, potato chips, biscuits and cookies.

The financing is expected to fuel growth towards establishing a stronger brand platform and capturing an increased share of the organized snack market in India. Mumbai based Intensive is also the sole syndicator and advisor to the deal.

“As part of Norwest’s investment focus on food tech, packaged food and food services, we have been tracking Kishlay Foods for a long time, and have been extremely impressed with the quality of the team, the company’s rapid growth and strategic execution,” said Sumer Juneja, Director at NVP India. “The large organized snacks market in India is estimated to be $8 billion and is growing at 20% CAGR. With its unique products and growing distribution network, Kishlay is well positioned to capture this opportunity,” Juneja added.

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Ltd (PCHFL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the diversified Piramal Enterprises Ltd, said on Monday that it has invested Rs 650 crore ($94 million) in hotels owned by Gurugram-based hospitality firm SAMHI Group.

PCHFL said in a statement that the structured debt funding will help SAMHI Group with its growth plans and refinance existing lenders across three assets – The Courtyard and Fairfield by Marriott in Bengaluru, Sheraton in Hyderabad and Hyatt Regency in Pune.

The company said that all loans are against operational assets.

The deal marks PCHFL’s third investment in the hospitality sector over the past six months.

Before this, PCHFL had invested Rs 600 crore in the Gurugram-based Vatika Group (Westin Gurgaon and the Westin Sohna) and Rs 600 crore in Advantage Raheja Group (JW Marriott, Bengaluru and the Crowne Plaza, Pune).

PCHFL has also sealed five other transactions worth Rs 450 crore against five hotel assets which are operated by top-tier brands like Taj, Hyatt, Radisson, etc. across regions like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Shimla and Goa.

Of this, the firm will provide Rs 100 crore as last-mile funding towards the completion of the first Taj Luxury Resort in Himachal Pradesh coming up in Theog, near Shimla.

“We believe that this is an opportune time to target the hospitality sector with ‘intelligent’ capital,” said PCHFL managing director Khushru Jijina.

“The industry is firmly on a path of growth, ably supported by both domestic and foreign tourism, has higher disposable income and is witnessing a general change in spending habits of target customers,” Jijina added.

The company has deployed Rs 2,000 crore towards the hospitality sector as it scales its offerings within this vertical to reach a target book size of Rs 10,000 crore in the next three years.

“We continue to see accretive acquisition opportunities in hotel sector and we are perhaps best positioned to take advantage of these,” said Ashish Jakhanwala, founder and chief executive officer, SAMHI Group.

SAMHI was founded by Jakhanwala and Manav Thadani in 2011. In 2016, US-headquartered investment firm Goldman Sachs had invested Rs 441 crore ($66 million at the time) in the PE-controlled hospitality firm for a minority stake.

Equity International, GTI Capital Group and International Finance Corporation had also invested in SAMHI Group.

Micro-hospitality startup SaffronStays has about $2 million from consumer-centric venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures. The pre-series A investment marks the first institutional round into the firm and will help SaffronStays expand the number of holiday properties under its platform.

Founded in 2015 by Devendra and Tejas Parulekar, SaffronStays curates and manages hospitality operations, reservations, branding and marketing for private vacation homes owned by high networth individuals. The firm currently operates 45 homes across six states in India and claims to host over 1,500 guests every month.

“We are excited to have Sixth Sense Ventures as our partners in our entrepreneurial journey. We hope to use this money to expand our footprint, work on innovative business models, strengthen our operations and improve our technology backbone,” said Devendra Parulekar, Founder of SaffronStays. As part of this investment, Nikhil Vora, Founder & CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures will join the board of SaffronStays.

Hospitality being a high margin sector, SaffronStays claims to be cash flow positive at a unit level even as it clocks about Rs 5 crore in annual revenues.

“The Indian travel market is massive and yet underserved. We believe that SaffronStays is very well equipped to capture this market with its exclusivity and well-curated offerings and parallely create an opportunity for homeowners to monetize their most valuable and expensive asset,” said Vora on the investment.

Currently operational around Mumbai, Pune, Goa and a few locations around Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, the firm is looking to scale to about 125 properties by the end of 2018 even as it looks to scale to over 1,000 homes over the next 5 years.

Leading restaurant reservation platform in Southeast Asia Eatigo has received a follow-on investment from its existing investor TripAdvisor, bringing its total raise across all its investors to over USD 25 mn. TripAdvisor’s restaurants business unit and subsidiary, TheFork will help expand Eatigo’s presence and services across the Asia Pacific region.

Having entered Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia and India in 2017, Eatigo will use the funds to launch in several more markets and extend its product offering.

"Eatigo is excited to continue its strong relationship and collaboration with TripAdvisor. These new funds will be integral in allowing Eatigo to consolidate and extend the reach of our leadership and expertise in helping customers reserve the perfect table,” said Michael Cluzel, Eatigo’s CEO and Co-founder.

“As we look to further our presence in the Asia Pacific region, we believe our latest strategic investment in Eatigo will continue to support a great business and strong management team,” said Bertrand Jelensperger, Senior VP, TripAdvisor Restaurants and Founder of TheFork. “TripAdvisor’s continued partnership with Eatigo will help us both better serve millions of diners and restaurant owners who are increasingly turning to online channels,” he added.

Food company, Britannia Industries (BIL) has come up with a greenfield manufacturing facility in the country, at an investment of.`200 crore in Rampur, Assam. The Rampur facility will produce a wide array of Britannia products to cater extensively to Assam and the north-eastern states. The unit has a production capacity of 60,000 tonnes of biscuits annually.

The company already has two manufacturing facilities in Assam with a production capacity of 30,000 tonnes annually. Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries, who was in Assam on Monday, said the facility in Rampur has come up in record time of 14 months. “The way government of Assam has supported us in getting clearances is unprecedented and unseen in any other place in the country,” he said. He added, “Britannia is Rs 10,000-crore company with operations in 75 countries. Northeast India roughly accounts for Rs 600-crore business annually and Assam facilities contribute 8% to the total production. In the three units in Assam, the company has invested close to Rs 350 crore.”

“As government of Assam is initiating for communication with South East Asian countries, we may look at supplying our products from here to those countries. We are diversifying and adding more products, we will soon emerge as a complete food company. Assam could be an ideal base to evaluate business expansion to International markets,” Berry added.

Faraway Foods Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based startup that sells healthful snacks for children under The Mumum Co. brand, has raised angel funds worth Rs 3.4 crore ($500,000) from a clutch of wealthy individuals.

The round was led by Nisa Godrej, executive chairman of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, and Siddharth Parekh and Sumeet Nindrajog, co-founders of private equity firm Paragon Partners, said a press statement.

The company, which sells snacks such as roasted grain puffs, is going to use the capital mainly for expansion in key metros and Tier-I cities. Currently, the products are available at over 100 stores across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune. A part of the capital will be also used to launch more varieties in healthful snacks category.

The company was launched in September last year by Farah Nathani Menzies and Shreya Lamba. “When we became parents, we looked around for healthful, real, yet fun food to feed our children. We soon realised that many parents were in the same boat, but with very few trustworthy options,” Lamba said on the inspiration behind The Mumum Co.

The Mumum Co. snacks are also available on online channels such as Amazon and FirstCry. The brand is set to expand to over eight more cities by the end of the year.

“We strongly believe The Mumum Co. is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the large, untapped healthful snacking market for kids in India,” said Parekh of Paragon Partners.

The Mumum Co. competes with the likes of Timios brand, which raised an undisclosed amount from the seed fund of packaged food company MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd in May this year.

Several deals have been reported in the healthful snacks category in the recent past.

Last month, Wholesome Habits Pvt. Ltd, which sells healthful snack bars under the brand name Eat Anytime, raised $500,000 (Rs 3.43 crore) in seed funds from early-stage investment firm Sprout Venture Partners and a few wealthy individuals.

Homegrown private equity firm Rabo Equity Advisors also invested money in nutrition bar maker Naturell India.

Last year, Mumbai-based LightSaber Food Ventures Pvt. Ltd, which sells healthful snacks through online and offline channels under the Snackible brand, had raised angel funds worth $175,000.

Singapore-based CCube Angels Network has invested Rs 3.5 crore (around $515,000) in health- and nutri-foods maker Inner Being Wellness Pvt. Ltd, which markets its products under the brand ‘Inner Being’.

In a statement, the Hyderabad-headquartered firm said that it plans to use the fresh capital for product development and expansion in tier-1 cities in India and a few other countries.

Launched in 2012 by Pavan Raj Kanungo and headed by CS Jadhav, Inner Being offers items in the wellness, nutricare, and nutrifood categories. It also owns and operates an online store.

“Inner Being is introducing traditional foods like millets, quinoa and other ancient grains in more contemporary formats that appeal to the modern generation such as breakfast mixes, snack mixes, savory snacks, crackers, cookies and energy bars,” said Jadhav.

The company currently offers several millet-based products such as jowar idli, jowar upma, ragi malt, jowar flakes, millet cookies in Hyderabad and is now in the process of expanding to Delhi and Mumbai this year. It plans to spread to 10 cities in couple of years.

Inner Being is also preparing to launch a range of new mixes such as quinoa porridge, millet & nut cake, gluten-free pizza, and millet pancake which will cater to health-conscious consumers.

Inner Being had last year secured funding from Springforth Investment Managers (SIM), a startup accelerator launched by mid-market focused investment banking firm Springforth Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd.

“We have a strong belief that nutricereals will be the next smart food and specially millet, being a dry land crop, will improve livelihoods at the rural level and at the same time offer nutritious products to the urban consumers,” said Atim Kabra, director of Frontline Strategy, which manages CCube Angels Network.

CCube Angels Network has been structured as a pledge fund. It had earlier backed companies such as Hyperdata.IO, Simbus Technologies, Omnipresent Retail India Pvt. Ltd, Kloneworld, and Cashe.

Noida-based student housing startup Placio has raised $50,000 in seed funding for its new venture in subscription-based food delivery system.

The company acquired a subscription-based food startup Paco Meals. With this move, it will help Paco Meals with the technology.

The takeover of Paco Meal provides Placio with an edge of talented culinary professionals,  and state-of-the-art facilities to develop menus that meet a multitude of tastes and deliver food beyond expectations.

“Placio intends to transform student living with nutritious and tasty food. With our deep understanding of the student market, we realise that nutrition and food play an important role in transformative living and learning experience. This is part of our vision for making students feels safe, involved and inspired. The good news is that Placio now extends this outlook to even students living in non-Placio properties. Taking over Paco Meals will now make us realize our dreams -- by an unrestricted provision of meals to all students in other student housing also," said Rohit Pateria and Ankush Arora, co-founders of Placio.

Paco Meals focuses on ‘3As appearance, aroma and appetite’ targeting delicious, innovative, sustainable, healthy food options. The company ensures the menu will not be repeated at least for 3 months and also brings the ‘taste of home’ to meals as students are invited to bring their favourite recipes from home, especially those for vegetarian and ethnic dishes.

“We understand the needs of bachelors and students as we have experienced the unappetising meals’ during our stay in college hostels. This unpleasant experience led to my startup in 2016 to provide wholesome and nutritious meals at subsidized prices for bachelors and students who were on a lean budget. Placio today has given me an opportunity to provide the residents and students with hygienic and nutritious meals filled with variety and flavour at all Placio’s housing in Delhi, Greater Noida, Noida Laxmi Nagar, Indore, and Lucknow," said Nitin Joshi and Parul Tusele, co-owners of Paco Meals.

True Food Kitchen, the award-winning restaurant brand that has pioneered health-driven dining, announced that Oprah Winfrey has made an equity investment in the company and will extend her strategic insight to support the brand’s national expansion. In addition, Winfrey joins the restaurant brand’s board of directors and will collaborate and consult with True Food Kitchen’s leadership team to advance the company’s business and marketing objectives.

Founded in 2008, True Food Kitchen has received national recognition as a culinary leader, with a health-driven menu of seasonal dishes and natural beverages guided by the principles of founder Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid. Today, True Food Kitchen operates 23 restaurants in 10 states, with plans to double its store count in the next three years. Key focus areas include new markets on the east coast in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina, in addition to expanding its existing presence throughout Florida, Maryland and more. Still to come in 2018 will be the addition of two new locations in Nashville, Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida. The restaurant brand currently has 3,000 employees nationwide.

Winfrey was first introduced to True Food Kitchen by friend and health expert Bob Greene, who shares True Food Kitchen’s belief that food should make you feel better, not worse. In addition to being inspired by the restaurant’s healthful food, Winfrey was struck by the brand’s commitment to its mission of bringing people together to eat better, feel better and celebrate a passion for better living.

“I love bringing people together over a good meal,” Winfrey said. “When I first dined at True Food Kitchen, I was so impressed with the team’s passion for healthy eating and, of course, the delicious food, that I knew I wanted to be part of the company’s future.”

“When Winfrey and I first sat down to discuss her potential investment, I was impressed by her genuine passion for the intention behind True Food,” said Christine Barone, Chief Executive Officer, True Food Kitchen. “My hope is that her passion and investment will continue to develop our growing brand to allow even more guests to experience a better way of eating.”

True Food Kitchen believes that delicious dining and conscious nutrition can go hand in hand without sacrificing flavor, creativity or indulgence. Its healthful, flavor-forward menu rotates regularly to showcase the freshest, in-season produce and nutrient-dense ingredients. From thoughtfully crafted cocktails, such as the Citrus Skinny Margarita, made with fresh-pressed citrus and organic tequila, to signature dishes such as Edamame Dumplings, Ancient Grains with miso-glazed sweet potatoes and Dr. Weil’s original Organic Tuscan Kale Salad, True Food Kitchen’s menu celebrates variety and caters to every food preference with an assortment of delicious vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Dibz, an online food delivery startup which also serves as an online-to-offline (O2O) platform for discovering restaurant deals, has raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge round of funding from Stellaris Venture Partners and existing investor Benori Ventures, a top company executive told VCCircle.

Vikas Bagaria, founder of toilet hygiene brand PeeSafe, and Rahul Maroli, vice-president and business head at ride-hailing unicorn Ola, also participated in this round. Both individuals had invested in Dibz in the past.

Apart from Stellaris, the other new investors in this round included Ritu Mehrotra, country manager at Booking.com, and Abhivyakti Gulati, founder of handicrafts & household items platform Aakarsshan.

Dibz, operated by Gurugram-based Xpericon Online Solutions Pvt. Ltd, will primarily use the fresh capital to expand to more cities besides consolidating operations in areas where it already has a presence, said co-founder Sonal Pande.

“Though we have a presence in Gurugram and have plans to expand into Delhi and Noida as well, tier-2 and 3 markets are our main focus,” said Pande. “We are already present in Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow. We will soon launch our services in Dehradun and Kanpur.”

Dibz hopes to be present in 10 cities by the end of October. Apart from expanding to a few more cities in Uttar Pradesh, venturing into another state is also on its to-do list.

The company had previously raised two rounds of funding – one each in 2016 and 2017 – from Benori Ventures, Bagaria and Maroli besides Amit Parsuramka, president-funds at Lodha Ventures and Partha Sarathi Guha Patra, founder of Asadel Tech.

Founded in November 2015, Dibz had a soft launch in April 2016 in Gurugram before moving into tier-2 markets in the region. Late last year, Pande’s husband Rishabh Kaila came on board as a co-founder .

Dibz’s other founding members include Udit Verma, who looks after verticals that include marketing, operations, customer acquisition and retention. Raunak Pandey handles business development.

The venture started off as a mobile app that enables users to discover curated offers and deals from more than 150 restaurants, hotels and pubs.

Using proprietary algorithms and a predictive analytics platform, Dibz helps its merchants decide on appropriate deals.

However, Dibz has gradually moved away from deal discovery as its primary business and is currently focussing on food delivery. The venture also has plans to develop in-house logistics capabilities.

Dibz claims to have more than 70,000 customers using its platform and has plans to increase this number to about 5 lakh by end of this year as it expands to new markets.

“The idea is to eventually become a unified platform for food. Be it restaurant deals & discounts, table bookings or home deliveries, we want to be the go-to platform for anything to do with food,” she added.

Global coffee giant Starbucks announced Monday it is to eliminate all plastic straws from its 28,000 stores by 2020, becoming the latest corporate giant to take steps to combat pollution from disposable plastic.

After months of tests, many of them carried out in Britain, the firm announced the news on Twitter.

The plastic straws will be replaced by recyclable lids that have a small raised opening allowing consumers to sip their drink, a model that has already been road tested on some of the company's cold beverages in the US and Canada.

Plastic straws have proven difficult to recycle, not because of the material they are made from but because they are too slim for recycling production lines to effectively sort through. The new lids, made of polypropylene, will be big enough for machines to recycle, Starbucks said.

"Starbucks is finally drawing a line in the sand and creating a mold for other large brands to follow," said Chris Milne, director of packaging sourcing. "We are raising the water line for what's acceptable and inspiring our peers to follow suit."

The store will automatically offer cold drinks with the new sipping lid, but for "frappuccinos," a coffee mixed with ice, the store will offer paper straws or ones made of a compostable plastic based on fermented plant starch. Customers who prefer a straw with their drink can ask for one.

By not automatically offering straws with drinks, Starbucks estimates it will save a billion straws a year.

Numerous advocacy groups, including Ocean Conservancy, welcomed the move. Several European countries and cities in the United States are mulling restrictions on the use of plastic straws, although outright bans are still rare. In the US, Seattle -- hometown of Starbucks -- is the only major city to have so far banned the use of plastic straws in its eateries.

Pressure from consumers is driving many companies to tackle waste from packaging. McDonald's is road testing the use of biodegradable straws for its drinks.