Restaurant discovery platform Zomato has agreed to invest $15m in India-based restaurant services provider Loyal Hospitality, the Economic Times reported.
Founded in 2015, Loyal Hospitality is building a network of ‘shadow kitchens’ across India that will enable existing small restaurant brands to expand their food provision and grow rapidly.
Zomato has already provided the first $5m of the funding and is investing at the same time as it shuts down Zomato Infrastructure Services, a similar service that was intended to meet gaps in demand across India but which had only opened a single pilot kitchen.
The tie-up with Loyal Hospitality will allow the corporate to access more than 200 kitchens serving 10 restaurant brands in the city of Bengaluru, and it is expected to enter another seven cities by the end of 2018.
A source told ET: “Loyal Hospitality is looking to set up 8,000 to 10,000 kitchens across India over the next three years and will enable cross-city launches of restaurants through this model.
“In its first phase, the platform will enable Zomato to get delivery access to some high order frequency restaurants in Bengaluru such as Empire Restaurants, Adigas, Hyderabadi Biryani House and Al Bake amongst others.”