Mumbai-based specialised cuisine startup The Bohri Kitchen has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Venture Catalysts, an integrated incubation platform.
The three-year-old startup raised funds from Anuj Puri (Venture Catalysts, Qatar), Abhishek Agarwal (managing partner, Rockstud Capital), Nikunj Pachisia and Anirudh Damani (Artha India Ventures) and Vishal Brahmbhatt.
The Bohri Kitchen (TBK) also saw participation from food and beverages doyenne Riyaaz Amlani as well as high-net-worth individuals such as Romil Ratra and Chef Rahul Akerkar, among others, Venture Catalysts said in a statement.
The funds will be used to upgrade infrastructure which will involve moving into a bigger central kitchen and hiring skilled workers for standardising recipes, said Munaf Kapadia, founder and CEO of The Bohri Kitchen.
The Bohri Kitchen was founded by former Google executive Munaf Kapadia and his mother Nafisa Kapadia in 2014.
The Bohri Kitchen is known for combining specialised cuisines with a unique dining experience. The brand claims to be the first to take delectable dishes unique to the Dawoodi Bohra community and make them available to gastronomes and food connoisseurs.
“Securing funds from leading names in the startup and food and beverage ecosystems such as Venture Catalysts, Riyaaz Amlani, Rahul Akerkar and Romil Ratra is a major shot in the arm for us,†said Munaf Kapadia.
“TBK’s dedication towards ensuring authenticity in both experience and taste of the Bohri culinary offerings is the main reason why I have chosen to invest capital in this disruptive F&B brand,†said Riyaaz Amlani.
“The brand has grown from strength to strength, setting up a delivery kitchen and expanding into the restaurant vertical as well. TBK will continue to set new benchmarks in the experiential dining space,†said Anuj Puri.
Mumbai-based Venture Catalysts is a seed investment platform founded by Anil Jain, co-founder, Wallfort Financial Services Ltd, an institutional stock-broking firm; Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, vice president, Indian Angel Network; Anuj Golecha, partner, Banshi Jain & Associates and Gaurav Jain, who worked with Reliance Private Equity.
The firm facilitates investments worth $100,000-$500,000 in early-stage startups.
The entity claims to have facilitated investments worth Rs 45 crore in 24 startups in the last 18 months. Ventures incubated by Venture Catalysts include EasyRewardz, DSYH, Beardo, FYND and CoutLoot.
Recently, Mumbai-based identity management platform ERA, which is operated by Autentico Pvt. Ltd, raised a seed round of investment from Venture Catalysts and Patni Computers’ scion Amit Patni.
Venture Catalysts also invested $500,000 (Rs 3.2 crore) in energy drinks startup FYRE, which is operated by Mumbai-based Triquetrus Essentials Pvt. Ltd.
Besides, a couple of months ago, Fintech startup HomeCapital received an undisclosed amount of funding from Venture Catalysts.