Foodpanda acquires Holachef

Foodpanda, the country’s fastest growing food delivery company, on Tuesday said it acquired Mumbai-based food-tech venture Holachef for an undisclosed amount.

With this acquisition, Foodpanda makes a strategic entry into cloud kitchens. It plans to launch its own brand of food products in different categories.

Foodpanda will build deeper capabilities to serve the diverse needs of millions of Indians by bringing different trusted offerings tailored to the needs of specific customer segments alongside an enhanced food ordering experience, the company said in a statement. With India’s largest food delivery network of 125,000 delivery partners, Foodpanda is well poised to address the increased demand on its platform.

“At Foodpanda, we are committed to building for unique local tastes and palate choices of the Indian consumer. Through the Ola platform, we also have an unmatched access to over 150 million customers and an understanding of their preferences. We have been able to bring an enhanced experience for millions of customers over the past year. We aim to build India’s largest cloud kitchen network that will be a major step in further elevating the food experience for our customers,” said Pranay Jivrajka, chief executive of Foodpanda India, in the statement.

As part of the acquisition, Foodpanda will take over Holachef’s business, including its kitchens, equipment, as well as bring onboard the company’s employees. Holachef’s founders are set to join Foodpanda’s leadership team.

“Our mission with Holachef is to serve incredible food experiences to customers through kitchens with the highest quality and hygiene standards. We are delighted to join hands with Foodpanda, to accelerate our mission,” said Saurabh Saxena, co-founder of Holachef.

Foodpanda, a part of app-based cab aggregator Ola, recently entered its 20th city, as part of its aggressive expansion across the country. It processes over 300,000 orders a day from more than 25,000 restaurant partners across the country.

Last December, Ola acquired Foodpanda India from Germany-based Delivery Hero Group, marking its re-entry into the food delivery space. At that time, Ola had also committed to invest another $200 million in the firm, in what the industry saw as a bid to take on rivals UberEats, Zomato, and Swiggy. Ola’s earlier food delivery initiative, Ola Café, had failed to take off in 2015.