Rebel Foods acquires majority stake in chocolate brand Smoor
Premium- Smoor, set up in 2015, sells chocolates, signature cakes, gift hampers, desserts, and beverages
NEW DELHI : Cloud kitchen company Rebel Foods has invested an undisclosed amount to acquire a majority stake in luxury chocolate brand Smoor, the company announced on Thursday.
The investment is in line with the company’s plans to invest $150 million across food brands as it scales its portfolio of food services brands in India. The investment values Smoor at over $50 million.
Smoor, set up in 2015, sells chocolates, signature cakes, gift hampers, desserts, and beverages. Its products are available across its own stores, cafes, kiosks, apart from the brand’s direct-to-consumer channel as well as online aggregator platforms.
The investment from Rebel will help the brand expand its distribution.
“Smoor will continue to build its omni-channel distribution strategy by expanding its physical customer experience centres across tier-1 cities in India and accelerating its online presence across digital platforms. The future expansion will also include strengthening its physical presence in 9 cities (Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad) and a fast-growing omni-channel presence," Rebel Foods said in its investment announcement.
Cloud kitchen companies are actively investing in, or acquiring, scalable brands to offer more variety to consumers.
To be sure, Rebel Foods operates the Rebel Launcher platform through which it plans to onboard 40 to 50 food brands in categories including premium North Indian, South Indian, Indian sweets, sandwiches.
Rebel also plans in the mid-to-long run to take all its Rebel Launcher brands globally across India, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah), the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, and Bangladesh, with its 10-country footprint, it added.
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“With Rebel Foods’ investment, we are set to make deeper inroads into the global market, introducing new and exciting confectionaries in multiple, accessible formats. We look forward to the growth that will unfold on the back of this development," Vimal Sharma, CEO, Smoor said.
Raghav Joshi, co-founder, Rebel Foods said the company has been an early adopter of the Thrasio-style model in food in India. “Our focus will continue to be on bringing great quality brands to every neighbourhood across food missions,“ he said.
Rebel Foods operates brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, Mandarin Oak, Slay Coffee, Sweet Truth, Wendy’s, among others. In all, it operates via over 450 kitchens across 70 cities in 10 countries.
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