American fast food firm Wendy's, Rebel Foods to open 250 cloud kitchens

American fast-food restaurant chain Wendy’s Company has formed a strategic partnership with food tech company Rebel Foods to expand Wendy’s presence in India over the next decade. As part of the expansion plans, Rebel Foods will partner with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to develop and operate about 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens across India, and Sierra Nevada will develop 150 traditional Wendy’s restaurants.

“This is a game-changing partnership. Rebel Foods, Wendy's and Sierra Nevada all believe in quality, speed, and the convenience that comes from multiple channels,” said  Kallol Banerjee, co-founder of Rebel Foods.

The coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted the restaurant business. Many restaurant chains are adopting new technologies to earn their clients’ trust regarding food safety and hygiene. Many of them are building or adopting food delivery platforms to see them through the crisis.

Banerjee said for generations, brands building a national presence relied solely on a brick-and-mortar strategy and made significant investments over decades. He said by partnering with the Rebel Foods network of existing kitchens in India, Wendy’s will get immediate access to rapid scale across the country, at far lower levels of capital. “We have always wanted to partner with a world-class burger brand, and this partnership with a globally beloved name is a fantastic addition to our portfolio,” said Banerjee.

Rebel Foods is the world’s largest operator of online restaurants with over 300 cloud kitchens across India, UAE, South East Asia and the United Kingdom.  A 'cloud kitchen' is one that does not offer dine-in facility and accepts food orders only through an online ordering system. The Mumbai-based company is known for brands like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Mandarin Oak and Oven Story.  It has raised total funding of $342.3 million from investors including Sequoia.

Sierra Nevada Restaurants launched Wendy’s in India in 2015 and operates four traditional restaurants and five cloud kitchens in Delhi’s National Capital Region. Wendy’s and its franchisees operate more than 6,800 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand.

Abigail Pringle, president, international and chief development officer of the Wendy’s Company, said the partnership reflects Wendy's commitment to growing its international business in strategic high-growth potential markets. This is being done through both traditional restaurant expansion and digital innovation with the meaningful addition of approximately 400 restaurants. “We look forward to expanding our presence in India and continuing to grow Wendy's footprint around the world,” said Pringle.

Jasper Reid, CEO of Sierra Nevada Restaurants said that omni-channel is key and a game-changer for quick service restaurants (QSR) and this collaboration demonstrates Sierra Nevada’s commitment to scale Wendy’s across India.

“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Wendy’s through our relationship with Rebel Foods, whom we admire and respect,” said Reid.

On the menu 

* Wendy’s, Rebel Foods and Sierra Nevada Restaurants would expand Wendy’s presence in India over the next decade.

* Rebel Foods will partner with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to develop and operate about 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens across India.

* Sierra Nevada will develop 150 traditional Wendy’s restaurants.

* Rebel Foods is the world’s largest operator of online restaurants with over 300 cloud kitchens globally.