Ghost Kitchens acquires cloud kitchen company The Shy Tiger in all-cash deal, ET Retail

Food tech platform Ghost Kitchens has acquired Gujarat-based cloud kitchen company The Shy Tiger in an all-cash transaction, Ghost Kitchens CEO and founder Karan Tanna told ETRetail.

Ghost Kitchens' portfolio of five brands acquired includes KBOB's, The Black Chimney, Punjab Di Gaddi, Pizza Never Lies and Where's My Burger.

“This acquisition strengthens Ghost Kitchens' foothold in the Gujarat market while providing a platform for further expansion and growth,” Tanna said, denying sharing the value of the deal. We also saw this as an opportunity to expand our brand and expand our presence in Gujarat.” Gujarat market. ”

Going forward, Ghost Kitchens plans to integrate its existing brands into The Shy Tiger's infrastructure.

“Currently, we plan to expand only two of The Shy Tiger's brands, KBOB's and The Black Chimney, as these brands contribute almost 85 percent of the company's revenue. The other three brands will continue to operate as usual,” Tanna said.

In early 2022, Ghost Kitchens acquired technology company WTF. This has helped the company develop its proprietary technology, allowing cloud kitchen companies to manage their business end-to-end and more efficiently generate organic revenue and a better customer experience. . , more profitable.

Additionally, Ghost Kitchens acquired celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani's Speak Burgers in February 2023 and plans to expand the partnership through 25 offline retail stores over the next 18-24 months.

Ghost Kitchens aims to achieve an annual revenue of around Rs 200 crore over the next two years with a focus on expanding its owned and operated footprint, launching well-known brands and expanding into retail stores.

Currently, Starboy Pizzas is the best-performing cloud kitchen brand under Ghost Kitchens, accounting for 40% of the company's revenue.

“In the next three to four months, we are planning to launch two celebrity brands, one with a top singer and a rapper and another with a South Indian actor. , we plan to open our branded outlets by August, Starboy Pizzas and Speak'Burgers by Chef Vicky Ratnani from Mumbai,'' he said.

Ghost Kitchens plans to open three stores of each brand by the end of this fiscal year and 10 stores of each brand by the end of next fiscal year.

“These will be company-managed stores and the capital investment for opening each store will be Rs 6 million,” he said.

Ghost Kitchens achieved a revenue of Rs 350 crore in FY23-24 and is targeting a revenue of Rs 500 crore this financial year.

“Currently, our EBITDA is (-)8%, but we aim to become profitable in FY2026,” he asserted.

In February, Ghost Kitchens raised $5 million in a combined equity and debt Series A funding round led by GVFL Ltd, with participation from NB Ventures, LetsVenture, and Lead Angels. Existing investors Yuj Ventures, Dholakia Ventures and actor Rana Daggubati also participated in the round.

“We plan to raise our next round of $10 million in the second calendar quarter of 2025 to expand our brand's offline and online presence,” he said.

Founded in 2019, Ghost Kitchens operates through over 15 company-owned and operated cloud kitchens in Mumbai and Ahmedabad and 1,200 internet restaurants across 40 cities in India.