Dubai-based cloud kitchen company Sweetheart Kitchen said it plans to use funds from its recently concluded Series C round to expand its brands and reach in the region in addition to investing in technology and talent.

The 15-month old company had raised €15 million ($17.7 million) in Series C funding backed by “strategic investors” after raising a total of €21 million ($25 million) in previous Series A and B rounds.

Sweetheart Kitchen said in a statement that it plans to use the funds from the new round to launch five new brands, in addition to the 30 in its stable.

It said the company is targeting to have 12 units live in the UAE by the first quarter of 2021 and enter Saudi Arabia in the second half of 2021.

The funds will also be used to relaunch its Kuwait operations that were impacted by the pandemic lockdowns in the Gulf state.

“We plan on re-opening in January with seven kitchens and on covering over 75 percent of Kuwait by the end of second quarter of 2021 with our new brands,” the statement said, quoting VP Global Brand & Marketing Adib Samara.

CEO Peter Schatzberg said the company would continue to invest in supply chain technology, food design and hiring talent into 2021.

In April, Schatzberg had told Zawya that the company was targeting 12-15 units in the UAE and 10-12 in Kuwait in 2020.

The global cloud kitchen market size was valued at $43.1 billion in 2019 and is estimated to reach $71.4 billion by 2027 with a CAGR of 12 percent from 2021 to 2027, according to Allied Market Research.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; editing by Daniel Luiz)

anoop.menon@refinitiv.com

 

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