Thea Kitchen raises Series-A funding from Carpediem Capital

Carpediem Capital, an India focused private equity fund has invested an undisclosed sum in Gurgaon based Thea Kitchen, owner of the niche QSR chain 'Biryani Blues' in a Series-A round for a significant minority.

Carpediem Capital focuses on small and medium size businesses. Focus sectors include consumer products and services, healthcare, consumer finance services, logistics, managed services and education its investment sweet spot is Rs 15-50 crore while bringing in co-investments for larger deals.

Started in 2013, Biryani Blues has emerged as a unique modern Indian QSR format based on traditional Hyderabadi Biryani. Started by a professional couple, Raymond and Aparna Andrews, the chain has focussed on standardised quality, including investing early into setup of a central kitchen and ERP software from day one.

"The QSR format in India has been dominated by western formats in recent years. The QSR space, especially Biryani joints has attracted a lot of investor attention. We believe that with Biryani Blues there is an opportunity to develop a highly scalable Indian QSR format," said Arvind Nair, Chairman, Carpediem Capital.

At present, the chain has a base kitchen and three outlets in Gurgaon and aims to deploy the funds for further expansion. It plans to add another six outlets in the next 3-6 months. Biryani Blues specialises in Mughlai cuisine, especially Hyderabadi Biryani.

Raymond Andrews, Director, Thea Kitchen said, "Biryani as a dish lends itself very well to a chain format if the right focus is put on standardisation. Over the past two years, we have received a great response from the highly discerning Gurgaon market. With the latest fund raise, we are keen to expand our reach."