Zomato grows when our Restaurant Partners grow. So we constantly ask ourselves – what does it take for a great restaurant to grow further and faster? We believe it is a combination of great food, exceptional customer service, entrepreneurial team, loved brand, and easy access to capital. Ideally, capital should seamlessly follow any great restaurant, but in reality, it is not easy for restaurants in India to raise funding through growth-focused equity investors. While some large chains have attracted investors, we have barely scratched the surface – in the last three years, only about 25 restaurants and cloud-kitchens saw Series A or larger equity funding rounds, as per Tracxn. There are thousands of budding restaurants that may not have the expertise or focus to fundraise at the right time from the right investors. This is where we want to help.

We are excited to announce the launch of Zomato Wings, a platform to connect investors with restaurants. Just like ambitious restaurant entrepreneurs look for investors, investors also hunt for brands and teams that have the potential to become the next big chain. We at Zomato have seen the growth story of such restaurants first hand. By curating a set of restaurants and cloud-kitchens that could become rocketships if fuelled with equity capital, we hope to build the go-to platform for venture capital firms, angel investors, family offices, etc. that are looking to make private investments in restaurants and cloud-kitchens. 

As we partner with more investors by connecting them with enterprising restaurants, more budding restaurants would use this platform for fundraising, and the platform’s flywheel would create a win-win for restaurants and investors, and by extension, for Zomato!

Will Zomato invest in these deals? We would have loved to! We have strong conviction in the imminent success of so many of our restaurant partners, and nothing would give us more joy than becoming closer partners. However, we are mindful that by owning an equity stake in one brand, we may raise some concern among other brands. Again, we do not want to compete with restaurants, and want to remain a fair and neutral platform for all restaurants. 

Zomato’s role would be limited to being a facilitator of fundraising for restaurants. We will help restaurants position their story and metrics in the right manner and connect them with the right investors.

Is your restaurant brand ready to fly? Get in touch with your account manager if you believe your business can grow exponentially if backed by the right investors. If you are an institutional investor looking for a hidden gem that could be the next unicorn of the restaurant industry, reach out to us at wings@zomato.com. We hope to give wings to at least 100 restaurant brands in the next three years – join us in this exciting growth story!