Dil Foods, a Bengaluru-based virtual restaurant operator has successfully secured a Pre-Series A funding round of $2Mn. The objective of the brand is to partner with small to medium independent food businesses and restaurants, to curate a profitable brand that disrupts the meal market leveraging a unique asset-light model for food delivery to drive efficiency and maximize profitability.
The funding was obtained through a round led by V3 Ventures and Mount Judi Ventures. In addition, Revant Bhate (former Rebel and founder of Mosaic Wellness) and Arjun Vaidya (Founder of Dr. Vaidyas) are prominent investors whose invaluable expertise will help strengthen Dil Foods’ position in the sector of business for virtual restaurant operators.
With the goal of diversifying its brand portfolio, the company aims to provide customers with a diverse range of authentic cuisines. The recent funding secured will support geographical expansion into new cities and empower emerging partner restaurants to flourish. Strategic investments will be made in data analytics and supply chain optimisation to drive efficiency and enhance operations.
Arpita Aditi, CEO and Founder of Dil Foods expressed her excitement about the funding round, stating, “This investment is a testament to the tremendous potential of Dil Foods and our commitment to strengthen the business of small independent restaurants and other F&B players, who often struggle to achieve sustainability and financial viability. Limited resources, financial constraints, and a shortage of specialised personnel, hinders their ability to utilise the potential of new-age business models to enhance their revenues. We aim to address the challenges independent restaurants face by providing a platform that helps them realise their additional revenue potential and increase their asset and resource utilisation significantly. We anticipate robust growth in the coming months. This growth will be driven by our innovative product offerings, strategic partnerships, and relentless focus on customer satisfaction.”
Rahul Maheshwari, partner at V3 Ventures mentions, “Smaller restaurants have faced difficulties in leveraging the potential of the cloud to grow their business, despite the rapid expansion of the online food delivery market. We are excited to partner with Dil Foods team- who are dedicated to developing virtual brands and empowering small restaurants to tap into the online food delivery industry. By utilising Dil Foods’ central kitchen, these restaurants can maintain the exceptional taste and quality of their food.”
Mohammed Ali Shariff, partner at Mount Judi Ventures says, “In a short span of 1 year and with minimal investment, Dil Foods has seen explosive growth with 6 brands and 40+ partner kitchens in one city alone. With its hugely disruptive asset-light model, we believe that Dil Foods is poised to become a category-defining player in the virtual cloud kitchen space. We are excited to partner with Arpita and support her vision of making the restaurant business viable and a win-win for all.”
Under the umbrella of Dil Foods, each type of cuisine is offered by a unique but complementary brand. It caters to the varied palates of India by utilising the underutilised infrastructure of small independent restaurants to provide an authentic culinary experience.