The Kraver’s Group has secured $3 million (about P157 million) from its Series A funding round led by Quest Ventures Asia Fund II. This marks Quest Ventures’ first “formal” investment in the Philippines. Backed by Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Quest Ventures has invested in well-known startups such as Carousell and ShopBack.
The Kraver’s Group is best known for its cloud kitchen startup Kraver’s Canteen, which runs 11 cloud kitchens around the country. Cloud kitchens drive down operational costs of food brands by focusing their efforts on the delivery experience. The concept gained momentum during the pandemic when brick-and-mortar restaurants shut down, and appear to be sustaining post-pandemic. Kraver’s Canteen marks Quest Venture’s third investment in a cloud kitchen in the region.
“As with all high-involvement consumption, tremendous commercial potential reside within the data and commerce relationships for direct-to-customer models such as cloud kitchens, especially with the Philippines evolving into a fast adopting digital economy market post-COVID,” says Jeffrey Seah, partner of Quest Ventures Asia Fund II.
“The three Kraver’s founders have demonstrated a granular-level understanding of the cloud kitchen business and its ancillary domains; their unique backgrounds and experiences have added management bench diversity, making them even stronger when they come together.”
Kraver’s Canteen was founded in 2020 by Victor Lim, who heads operations and tech; Eric Dee, who heads product and food; and Victor Mapua, who heads finance and infrastructure.
With its new Series A funding, Kraver’s plans to grow its footprint in the Philippines by accelerating expansion and product innovation. The startup hopes to build up to 100 cloud kitchens by 2025.
“Our overall goal is to create value from our portfolio of online-only brands and to be known as the most effective channel for aspiring F&B brands to penetrate the Philippine market, regardless of how big or small their name may be,” said Mapua. “We will invest heavily in food R&D, kitchen technology, proprietary software development and brand development; all for the sake of improving customer experience.”
Just a few weeks ago, Kraver’s launched Kra-Verse Food Hall, a metaverse experience that lets consumers have a fun ordering experience. The startup also introduced its innovative “self-heating” food tech, which creates premium dining experiences by allowing customers to heat food on their own without the use of a microwave. Kraver’s is adopting this technology for multiple brands.
Kraver's Canteen previously raised $1.5 million (about P72 million) in its seed funding round in April 2021.
Following Quest’s Series A participation, Seah will now be joining The Kraver’s Group’s board of directors, which already includes Christopher Po (chairman of Century Pacific Food and Shakey’s Pizza), Brian Cu (co-founder of Grab Philippines, Gojek, Zalora Philippines, Sarisuki, and Byahe), Paulo Campos III (co-founder of Zalora Philippines and board member of Shakey’s Pizza), and Lance Gokongwei (CEO of JG Summit and Cebu Air).
Other strategic investors of Kraver’s include Foxmont Capital, Oak Drive Ventures, Food Group, Kaya Founders, Anthony Oundijian (managing director of BCG Philippines), Martin Cu (country manager of Ninja Van), Francis Wee (CEO of W Group), George Pua (president of Rico’s Lechon), Rohit Gulati (Managing director of BCG Southeast Asia), and Constantine Robertz (co-founder of Locad).
-----
Article Source: https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/capital/kravers-canteen-series-a-funding-a00304-20220504
