Cloud Kitchen platform ZFW Hospitality raises nearly USD 150,000 pre-seed funding from Mumbai Angels Network, Expert DOJO & other angels

 

The funds will be directed towards expanding the company’s footprint in the western region, hire top talent, and bolster its network to 300+ cloud-based restaurants.

19th April, 2021: Mumbai Angels Network, along with California-based accelerator Expert DOJO and 3 other marquee angel investors, has invested close to USD 150,000 in India’s first cloud kitchen platform and Huddle-backed ZFW Hospitality to add to the armour of early supporters and advisors. ZFW will be utilizing the funds to expand its presence in the western region, hire top talent, and increase its network to 300+ cloud-based restaurants before raising a larger amount of funds in the next round. ZFW also revealed that it will deploy a part of the proceeds to improve AI and Data Analytics Capabilities on the ZFW-OS platform that helps streamline operational efficiency and overhead costs.

Speaking on the freshly infused funds for his company, Madhav Kasturia, Founder of ZFW said, “Having witnessed the rapid shift towards delivery & asset-light models on the front lines over the past 6 years, we’re excited to play a key role in the consumer ecosystem. Humbled to receive the confidence of investors and strategic angels who’ve joined us early on in our exciting journey. As ZFW focuses on its next chapter, our team remains committed to our mission of helping partners drive attractive incremental unit economics.”

Commenting on the investment, Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter, and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said, “Cloud Kitchen and Fulfilment Network ZFW will help recognized F&B brands maximize utilization of kitchen space and enable their asset-light expansion. This will help them scale up rapidly to cater to the growing consumer demand across geographies. It will also help brands that are on the path to profitability and have already figured out their unit economics”.

“The F&B space is getting more competitive by the day due to daunting tasks, more players, and the rising costs of customer acquisition, new geography expansion, and operations. ZFW addresses that by not only scaling brands into newer markets but with 360-degree support to speed up learning curves without any cost. This pre-seed round is a testament to Madhav’s expertise and vision to build the gold-standard platform, needed by the industry in India,” added Sanil Sachar, Founding Partner at Huddle.

ZFW helps F&B & D2C brands grow sustainably through its vast network of cloud kitchens & fulfilment centers. The company has been in the news for its partnerships with notable brands like Baskin Robbins, Keventers, Tibbs Frankies, The Brooklyn Creamery, & Beijing Street to help boost profitability through its 50+ cloud restaurants across India.

About Mumbai Angels Network:  Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 550+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur, Chennai) & 40+ cities across the globe. The network today has one of the strongest portfolios in the country with 160+ companies, 70+ exits plus next round investments.

About ZFW:  ZFW started as a takeout store - ‘Beijing Street’ in South Delhi back in 2015. Beijing Street’s first store at Vasant Kunj did well for ZFW & it was followed by the launch of it’s second store at Greater Kailash, New Delhi. Mid 2018 was when Madhav Kasturia (Founder @ ZFW) graduated from College & decided to scale up ZFW in the cloud kitchen space. By 2019, ZFW was successfully running 4 Pan-Asian Cloud Kitchens across the city & that’s when something as small in size as the Corona virus, hit the economy of 200+ Countries on this planet & ZFW was one of the millions of ventures that got affected by this pandemic. On March 22 2020, A nation-wide lockdown was declared, ZFW had to pause operations of all 4 Cloud Kitchens & that’s when Madhav came up with the ‘Kitchen-in-Kitchen’ model. Within 56 days of the commencement of the Lockdown, ZFW launched it’s first set of 8 Cloud Kitchens in the ‘KIK’ Format. Today, ZFW is running 50+ Internet Restaurants across 22+ Cloud Kitchens in NCR. ZFW OS platform was launched in December 2020 & ZFW has signed up with a couple of notable International & domestic brands such as Baskin Robbins, Keventers, The Brooklyn Creamery, Tibb’s Frankies, NOTO Ice-cream, Artinci, Only Bowl. etc.