Oman's cloud kitchen company KitchenomiKs raises $1.7m to boost expansion

Founded in March, the start-up aims to expand across GCC market by early next year

Aankush Bhatia, chief executive and founder of Oman-based start-up KitchenomiKs. Photo: KitchenomiKs

Oman-based cloud kitchen operator KitchenomiKs raised $1.7 million in a new funding round as the start-up aims to scale its operations and expand across the GCC market.

The new funds were raised from angel investors, which included “prominent Omani Investors”, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Launched in March, The Abu Dhabi Global Market-registered start-up currently operates in Oman. The cash infusion will be used in “centralised kitchens, technology, hiring leadership teams and building more brands”, it added.

The start-up is looking towards expanding across the GCC region by early next year and “aiming to design and build numerous high-quality food brands operating out of their highly automated hub-and-spoke cloud kitchens”.

Cloud kitchens, also called ghost or dark kitchens, are commercial establishments built to prepare food specifically for delivery. They have no physical presence as a restaurant and offer delivery-only services from centralised premises through a mobile app.

The concept has taken off in recent years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic when lockdowns and travel restrictions kept consumers homebound.

“One of the most innovative things we have done in Oman is to create home-grown foodpreneurs to launch and scale their brand," said Aankush Bhatia, chief executive and founder of KitchenomiKs. "One such success story is the launch of Shades of Yum, which can scale across Mena.”

The global cloud kitchen market is expected to be valued at $71.4 billion by 2027 from about $43.1 billion in 2019, according to Allied Market Research.

KitchenomiKs is a smart cloud kitchen company creating the largest network of delivery-focused food brands. Since its inception, the company said it had created six individual brands with a rating of four-stars and above.

The company has also partnered with various restaurants and food and beverage brands to help them expand beyond their existing geographic reach with its kitchen-as-a-service model.

Employing more than 30 staff, KitchenomiKs has also joined forces with Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, giving it access to more than 30,000 square feet of kitchen space.

Oman’s F&B sector is growing fast. By 2025, the revenue of the industry in the country is expected to reach $1.8 billion from $759 million in 2020, according to Statista.

The hybrid food technology system on which KitchenomiKs is modelled includes a service platform for restaurants and partner global brands to reach a wider audience with scalability through turnkey delivery solutions for the preparation, distribution and expansion of food concepts without any capital investment.