Oman-based cloud kitchen operator KitchenomiKs raised $1.7 million in a new funding round as the start-up aims to scale its operations and expand across the GCC market.
The new funds were raised from angel investors, which included “prominent Omani Investors”, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Launched in March, The Abu Dhabi Global Market-registered start-up currently operates in Oman. The cash infusion will be used in “centralised kitchens, technology, hiring leadership teams and building more brands”, it added.
The start-up is looking towards expanding across the GCC region by early next year and “aiming to design and build numerous high-quality food brands operating out of their highly automated hub-and-spoke cloud kitchens”.
Cloud kitchens, also called ghost or dark kitchens, are commercial establishments built to prepare food specifically for delivery. They have no physical presence as a restaurant and offer delivery-only services from centralised premises through a mobile app.
The concept has taken off in recent years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic when lockdowns and travel restrictions kept consumers homebound.
“One of the most innovative things we have done in Oman is to create home-grown foodpreneurs to launch and scale their brand," said Aankush Bhatia, chief executive and founder of KitchenomiKs. "One such success story is the launch of Shades of Yum, which can scale across Mena.”
The global cloud kitchen market is expected to be valued at $71.4 billion by 2027 from about $43.1 billion in 2019, according to Allied Market Research.
KitchenomiKs is a smart cloud kitchen company creating the largest network of delivery-focused food brands. Since its inception, the company said it had created six individual brands with a rating of four-stars and above.
The company has also partnered with various restaurants and food and beverage brands to help them expand beyond their existing geographic reach with its kitchen-as-a-service model.
Employing more than 30 staff, KitchenomiKs has also joined forces with Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, giving it access to more than 30,000 square feet of kitchen space.
Oman’s F&B sector is growing fast. By 2025, the revenue of the industry in the country is expected to reach $1.8 billion from $759 million in 2020, according to Statista.
The hybrid food technology system on which KitchenomiKs is modelled includes a service platform for restaurants and partner global brands to reach a wider audience with scalability through turnkey delivery solutions for the preparation, distribution and expansion of food concepts without any capital investment.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
