A month after launching Swiggy Access, Swiggy acquihires QSR chain 48East
Swiggy, the Bengaluru-based food delivery app, today announced it had acquihired gourmet Asian food startup 48East. The QSR-based food startup was founded by Joseph Cherian, and Nabhojit Ghosh in 2016.
The founding team of Bengaluru-based 48East will be a part of Swiggy’s ‘New Supply’ business line.
The new business line, announced earlier this month, will focus on Swiggy’s strategy to give consumers a greater assortment of cuisines by addressing existing supply gaps, and enabling partner restaurants to expand their businesses. This includes the recently launched Swiggy Access, where the company brings a variety of food to consumers by enabling plug-and-play expansion for restaurant partners in different areas.
Joseph joins as the COO of the 'New Supply' business line. Other details of the acquihire are undisclosed.
Swiggy, in a statement, said Joseph and Nabhojit’s expertise in the food infrastructure space will strengthen its focus on solving gaps in supply through various strategic initiatives.
Spread across 3,200 sq ft, Swiggy Access comes equipped with kitchen spaces and gives restaurant partners access to Swiggy's delivery fleet. Addressing the Press, Harsha had said the launch of Swiggy Access works as a strategic initiative for the company.
As part of Swiggy, 48East will continue to offer handpicked dishes from across Asia with a weekly changing menu.
48East had recently raised $500,000 in pre-Series A funding from the Al Dhaheri family based in the UAE. In August 2016, the startup had raised $250,000 in a round of angel funding from Agra-based ACPL exports.
The venture had two kitchens, at Indiranagar and Marathahalli in Bengaluru, and processed over 100 orders a day. It currently serves Indiranagar, Cambridge Layout, Old Airport Road, HAL 2nd and 3rd Stage, Thippasandara, Ulsoor, Cox Town, Domlur, Marthahalli, Kundanahalli, Brookefield, Varthur Road, Yemlur, Kadubeesanahalli, Doddenukundi, Munnekolla, and Mahadevpura.
These kitchens will now be a part of Swiggy Access. Speaking about the acquihire, Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy said,
“With their deep understanding of the food space and an impressive track record of delivering a great consumer experience, the 48East team will equip Swiggy with additional capabilities. We are excited to work with them towards our vision of changing the way India eats.”
Swiggy had earlier this month, hired Vishal Bhatia as the CEO for the New Supply business initiative. The company had revealed its aggressive growth plans with Swiggy Access last month, and also those of its cloud kitchen - The Bowl Company.
Over the last three years, Swiggy has acquired a delivery fleet of over 20,000 people. This, the team believes, has given it an edge over competitors. Last month, Swiggy launched Swiggy Capital Assist in partnership with Indifi Technologies. The programme will give collateral-free loans to restaurant partners. The rate of interest and other details remain undisclosed.
Swiggy survived the 2016 foodtech bloodbath due to its strong operations, even as others in the space like TinyOwl shut shop.
The team claims it serviced four million delivery orders in July, and added it has seen healthy growth since then. Post its Series E funding round in June, the startup said it was looking to double its headcount, increase investments in core engineering, automation, data sciences, Machine Learning, and personalisation.
So far this year, $300 million has been was invested in the foodtech sector, and the overall food market in India is believed to be worth $193 billion, and poised to cross $540 billion in the next three years.