[Funding alert] Momo QSR brand Zomoz adds foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods as its strategic investor

Foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods , known for brands like Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, has invested an undisclosed amount in a Hyderabad-based quick-service restaurant chain Zomoz, which is now increasing its focus on cloud kitchens.

Speaking to YourStory, Zomoz's Founder Shouvik Dhar said that this Pre-Series A round of funding is a strategic investment by Rebel foods, and with this, Zomoz will expand its reach across India through the cloud kitchen model.

Founded by Shouvik Dhar, an ISB alumnus, with the aim to deliver dumplings across India, Zomoz has built a scalable business model with robust backend systems supported by simplified plug and play outlets. It differentiates itself by serving a wide variety of dumplings within a minimal time maintaining consistency in taste across all servings, the company said.

Zomoz currently has 40 retail and cloud outlets spread across five locations including Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai. The partnership with Rebel Foods will help the company scale to more than 300 retail and cloud outlets pan India over the next 30 months, according to Shouvik.

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Zomoz started operations in 2015 and was bootstrapped before this investment. Shouvik shared that since the company was profitable, the plans were to continue with available funds, but the coronavirus outbreak put the locks on its 40 outlets and the revenue came to zero.

"We realised that the doorstep delivery is a way to go, and that had us tweaking our business model from retail to cloud kitchen last year, and we realised that it saved us cost and increased our revenue," he said.

During this pivot, Zomoz partnered with Rebel for its Rebel OS, a full-stack technology that allows food brands to launch and scale-up in a very short period of time.

"This collaboration worked out well, and Rebel decided to back us," said Shouvik. He also added that the model fits right into Zomoz's operating system and this will enable it to quickly and become profitable.

Ankur Sharma, Co-Founder, Rebel Foods said, “Through the Rebel Operating System, our goal is to address every food mission of a consumer. The momos/dumplings category is witnessing high demand in the delivery space and we have an excellent offering in terms of taste and quality. Looking forward to rapidly scaling Zomoz and making it the category leader in the next 2-3 years.”

Earlier speaking with YourStory, Raghav Joshi, Co-Founder and CEO India Business Unit, Rebel Foods, had said that the foodtech unicorn is on an aggressive expansion drive and wants to grow as the Rebel Operating System. Rebel Foods entered the unicorn club in October following a $175 million Series F funding round earlier this month, began life as Faasos in 2004.