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Rebel Foods – The Company That Redefined the Restaurant Business

If you have ever ordered food from Zomato or Swiggy, chances are that you have ordered something from brands like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, or Oven Story Pizza. Most of us do not realize that all these popular brands belong to the same company — Rebel Foods. Today, Rebel Foods is one of India’s most successful food-tech companies. This is not just the success story of a startup; it is the story of completely changing traditional thinking about the restaurant business.

Many of us dream of starting a restaurant — whether it is a fine-dining place, a small café, or even a food truck. The food business looks attractive from the outside. But behind this attraction lies a harsh reality. High rents, lack of prime locations, rising labour costs, shortage of manpower, and very thin profit margins make the restaurant business extremely difficult. In India, these challenges are even bigger.

The founders of Faasos, Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, were facing the same difficulties. The journey began in 2004 in Pune with a small Kolkata-style rolls outlet. The aim of Faasos was to build a large fast-food chain from India — like McDonald’s, but focused on rolls and wraps instead of burgers. People liked the concept and sales started growing. In 2012, the company’s revenue was around ₹4 crore, which grew to nearly ₹62 crore by 2016.

However, with growth came bigger problems. Opening new outlets meant expensive real estate, heavy investment, and more staff. In one interview, Kallol Banerjee mentioned that in the United States there are about 75 restaurant chains with more than 500 outlets each, whereas in India — despite a population of over 1.5 billion — there are only three such chains. The main reason is costly real estate and extremely high rentals.

In 2014, Jaydeep Barman attended an investor summit, where he received an important insight: remove unnecessary barriers to growth. After returning to Pune, he conducted a customer survey, and the results were shocking. Nearly 70% of Faasos customers had never visited a physical outlet. They were ordering only through their mobile phones. This was the era of smartphones. Internet access was spreading rapidly. People preferred ordering food at home rather than going out to eat. At that moment, the importance of physical restaurants started fading. This became the turning point.

Rebel Foods took a very bold decision — to shut down traditional dine-in restaurants and focus only on online delivery. This led to the birth of the cloud kitchen or ghost kitchen concept. These kitchens do not have seating arrangements. Orders are taken online and food is delivered directly to customers’ homes. This became possible with delivery partners like Swiggy and Zomato.

The advantages of this model were massive. No need for expensive locations, no waiters, lower maintenance, and reduced electricity bills. Investment was lower and profits were higher. While traditional restaurants operate on margins of 5–10%, cloud kitchens started delivering margins of 15–25%. Within just four years of this shift, Rebel Foods’ revenue reached around ₹560 crore.

But the story does not stop there. After the success of cloud kitchens, Rebel Foods played its next big move — the multi-brand strategy. Instead of running one multi-cuisine restaurant, they launched different brands for different needs. Behrouz Biryani for a royal biryani experience. Oven Story Pizza for pizza nights. Firangi Bake for quick snacks. LunchBox for daily meals. Sweet Truth for desserts.

The idea was simple: in the customer’s mind, every dish has a specialist. If someone wants biryani, they prefer a biryani specialist. This builds trust and leads to repeat orders.

Most importantly, all these brands operate from the same kitchen. One location, the same staff, the same equipment — but five to ten brands running together. This reduces costs and increases efficiency. It is like a virtual food court.

Today, Rebel Foods is not just a food company; it is a technology-driven internet restaurant company. With the use of artificial intelligence–based quality checks, smart cooking equipment, and automation, taste and quality are kept consistent everywhere. A Behrouz Biryani ordered in Mumbai tastes exactly the same as one ordered in Delhi.

What started as a small rolls outlet has now become a global operation. Rebel Foods has not only built successful brands but has also changed the way the entire restaurant industry is viewed.

For the financial year ending March 2025, Rebel Foods reported a consolidated operating revenue of around ₹1,617 crore, showing a year-on-year growth of about 14%. The company has also received investments at a valuation of approximately USD 1.4 billion. This reflects strong investor confidence and has strengthened the company’s plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the financial year 2025–26.

In terms of global expansion, Rebel Foods is no longer limited to India. The company operates hundreds of cloud kitchens across several countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), the Middle East, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. With a strong network in India and growing international operations, Rebel Foods is now considered one of the largest cloud kitchen platforms in the world. Without maintaining traditional dine-in restaurants, the company fulfils millions of online orders every month.

EatSure is Rebel Foods’ direct-to-consumer food ordering and delivery platform. It works like a “digital food court,” where customers can order from multiple trusted restaurants and Rebel Foods’ own brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story Pizza, and LunchBox — all in one place. Food safety, hygiene, and quality are given top priority. EatSure was launched to overcome the limitations of third-party delivery apps, allowing the company to control the customer experience and reduce dependence on aggregators.

Along with the app, Rebel Foods has also launched EatSure outlets and multi-brand food courts. These are physical locations where multiple brands are available under one roof, allowing customers to easily choose different types of meals. All of this is powered by Rebel Foods’ strong technology and operations systems. Currently, EatSure outlets are present in more than 80 cities, and the company is focusing on expanding this network further. New features like digital group ordering are also being introduced gradually.

Rebel Foods has proved that in the restaurant business, thinking, technology, and courage matter more than physical space. Even without tables, chairs, and waiters, it is possible to build a restaurant empire.

Writer: Sanjay Satalkar
Consultant in Advertising & Marketing