Lettus Kitchens, a Pakistan-based cloud kitchen startup that was launched just four months ago to build a portfolio of virtual brands and a growth platform for restaurants, has raised $250,000 in angel funding from local and international investors.
The investor pool comprises angel investors, Kash Rehman, Emre Tok, Ammar Naveed, Stella Penso, ex-VPs and Directors at Careem, Fuad Farooqi from Carnegie Mellon, and Ali Yarali, Founder of Turkish startup, Delivers AI, to name a few.
The team plans to use the angel funds to streamline operations across 4 kitchens in 3 cities and build a digital tool to better help them manage their supply chain. They are aiming to raise a seed funding round by January 2022 to expand in Pakistan and a few markets in the GCC.
The founding team at Lettus Kitchens consists of Khizer Ahmed, ex-founder/CEO of K-Town, Tayyab Raza, ex-GM for Fredridgo’s Pizza and founder of Marco’s Pizza, Humayun Asghar, ex-Head of Business Operations at Baskin Robbins, and Nouman Ahmed, ex-Head of Marketing at Cinnabon.
Founded by Bilal Sheikh, former Careem AGM for Qatar, Lettus’s cloud kitchens are multi-cuisine spaces that enable 70 percent-plus of frequently ordered online food options to be prepared in a single mid-sized kitchen. The kitchens are tech-enabled where everything from an ordering platform to POS systems to kitchen station display and inventory management has been integrated to ensure the operation is technology-driven. He said,
Restaurants have evolved significantly through the adoption of technology to help with operations, customer service, and digital marketing around the globe. However, in Pakistan, the restaurant industry broadly still operates and grows in a traditional format. Through our network of kitchens and LKOS (Lettus Kitchen Operating System), we hope to provide new avenues for restaurants to launch food concepts, grow their brands, and eventually provide consumers with a variety of affordable and quality food options.
Lettus Kitchens operates on a hybrid model whereby it creates a portfolio of its own delivery-only brands that can rapidly scale through their own or partner restaurant kitchens. Simultaneously, it helps brands virtually franchise through its kitchen network to rapidly launch in new geographies.
Kash Rehman, Investor and Advisor to Lettus Kitchens, says,
Lettus Kitchens is building a network of shared cloud kitchens to provide a better variety of online food options through their delivery-only and partner restaurant brands. Partner restaurants get access to commercially equipped kitchens strategically located within a city. This not only increases their market reach at a faster pace but also helps them to do so with minimal overhead. I truly believe in Bilal’s vision for the company, which dovetails nicely with my investment thesis.
Khizer, who previously operated a cloud kitchen in Karachi, joined Lettus to build a portfolio of brands and lead online sales. He commented on the occasion, “Our first step in building a long-lasting growth platform for restaurants is to create a network of kitchens that are operational and rapidly approach breakeven numbers. To do this, we are launching a portfolio of delivery-only restaurant brands while partnering with brands that provide ready-to-eat products and complement the portfolio. Masoom’s bakery is one such example.”
The team is now geared to launch a kitchen in Lahore and is exploring partnerships with restaurant brands to cross-launch a portfolio of delivery-only brands.
Cloud Kitchens are expected to be a $3.4 billion market in the Pakistan and GCC region by the year 2025. As food delivery continues to grow, with accelerated adoption owing to the pandemic, several startups in Pakistan are aiming to lead the race to become the main cloud kitchen as a service provider.
Lettus Kitchens envisions a similar future in Pakistan where restaurants get to launch, grow and sustain long-term partners and consumers to get their favorite food at affordable prices regardless of where they live or work.
