India-based virtual restaurant company Rebel Foods has revealed plans to enter the Saudi market later this year, its second expansion in the region after making it big in the UAE.
The dark kitchen-based restaurant chain will also be expanding its business model by adding take-away services with its soon to be launched brand – EatSure Express – in the Gulf region.
“We are formulating our plans to enter Saudi Arabia. Based on the current progress, we are looking at the second half of 2021 for our first set of kitchens in the market,” Ajay Jain, country head – UAE, Rebel Foods, told Arabian Business.
“Currently, we are doing primary market study on the potential and cuisine preferences of the customers in Saudi Arabia,” Jain revealed.
Jain said the company was hopeful that it could further disrupt the food market in the GCC region with its proposed entry into the Saudi market.
Significantly, Rebel Food’s plan to expand into the Saudi market coincides with its ambitious expansion drive in the UAE and its plans to enter into a partnership deal with Expo 2020 Dubai to launch its array of offerings to tourists at the mega event which starts in October.
“Our kitchens (in the UAE market) have become profitable and based on the increased traction, we are deepening our investment in the (UAE) market,” Jain previously said.
The senior executive of Rebel Foods said the proposed Saudi entry plan is part of the Indian hospitality chain major’s target of achieving a six-fold revenue growth in the GCC market.
Jain added: “Take-away is natural consumer behaviour among UAE residents. As people are only ordering online, it has worked in our favour because our entire cost structure is built on that – there’s no restaurant store front.
Ajay Jain, country head – UAE, Rebel Foods
“We would be launching our own platform – EatSure Express – from all our existing kitchens.”
Rebel Foods currently operates from five kitchens in Dubai, delivering across 80 percent localities.
According to industry experts, food delivery has overtaken the overall food scene in the UAE market in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic which has hit the numbers of consumers visiting restaurants and eating out.
A recent RedSeer Consulting study has projected online food orders to account for 16 percent of the total food services by 2023 representing $3 billion in spend.
Rebel Foods operate over 350 kitchens in India, Dubai, Indonesia and London.
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