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Launched by BigSpoon, Mehfil Biryani By Zakir Khan will be a bespoke delivery-only brand that aims to bring a fine-dine experience to India’s favourite food item – Biryani.
New Delhi, March 26, 2022: BigSpoon, the multi-brand cloud kitchen startup, today announced the launch of their new delivery-only celebrity brand Mehfil Biryani by Zakir Khan, in partnership with India’s top artist Zakir Khan. Mehfil Biryani by Zakir Khan will be the largest single-day F&B launch ever witnessed in India, starting with 28 cities and 66 outlets that are all company-owned and operated. The company plans to scale the Mehfil brand to 100+ outlets over the next quarter, and to 200 outlets in 2022.
The company will bring diverse biryani flavours and regional favourites in Matkas and premium container packaging options, along with regional starters and sides, local desserts, and beverages. It will continue to add regional favourites, limited-period products, and experience-led items in the dynamic menu and will be available in all major Indian cities.
Bigspoon signed a $2M lease and inventory financing partnership with Grip, India’s leading alternative investment platform, a part of which contributed to the launch and expansion investments of Mehfil. In addition to inventory, the kitchen and operational CapEx towards assets and tech hardware were funded by Grip. The company plans to deploy further growth capital to expand to 200+ outlets, and deepen their house of brands strategy in existing and new kitchens.
Bigspoon is a house of brands, with 8 owned and 6 partner brands in its portfolio. The company is currently present in 14 states and 30+ cities, with the footprint being doubled by the next quarter.
Cloud Kitchens in India have come of age in the last few years, growing at a CAGR of 30%+. The food-delivery market would soon be of a $10B+ annual size, and the growth is predominantly contributed by Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. With CoVid, the adaption has been accelerated rapidly, and the convenience of ordering food at a place of choice has taken precedence, matched equally by the increase in the number of options.
Quotes by Spokespeople:
On the occasion of the launch, Kapil Mathrani, Co-Founder & CEO, Bigspoon said, “Biryani has been the single largest ordered item in the country for a decade, yet it is a largely fragmented market with hardly 20% of it being organized. There are only a couple of national players that have a large footprint with Biryani as their USP. Mehfil will stand on three key pillars – standardized & high-quality offerings, value-for-money pricing and tailor-made, premium packaging. With deep research and experience, supply chain and culinary expertise, and bringing experts like Bizongo Desworks for the structural design of the packaging, Bigspoon has been able to achieve the three critical aspects at scale.”
Artist Zakir Khan said, “It is no secret that I have a soft spot for biryani. To tell the truth, touring a city is incomplete until I dig in and relish its biryani infused with local spices and flavours— it is my way to connect with my fans and the city I am performing in. Through this new venture with Bigspoon, I seek to give my fans a taste of one of my favourite dishes in the comfort of their homes. We have built this brand with a lot of love and hope you like it.”
Vivek Gulati, Co-Founder & COO, Grip, said, “Grip has gone beyond traditional asset investments, to now strategically help consumer brands build their growth trajectory by widening the scope of assets and fundable inventory including packaging. Mehfil Biryani by Zakir Khan is Bigspoon’s category-defining move, which with the backing of Grip accelerates the speed of execution and capturing key geographies across Tier 1, 2 and 3 landscape of India.”
Preranaa Khatri, Executive Vice President, OML, “We are incredibly excited to have facilitated the partnership between Zakir and BigSpoon to launch Mehfil Biryani. This collaboration makes perfect sense given Zakir’s great love for biryani. At OML, creator collaborations with brands are a big part of our strategy going forward and we are glad to have found a thoughtful and dynamic partner in BigSpoon to launch the first one.”
Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)
