48East, a Bangalore based food startup that delivers fine Asian gourmet food, has raised $500K in Pre Series A funding from Al Dhaheri Family based in UAE. 48East offers exotic delicacies from 48 different countries across the Asian continent. The investment will be used towards unit expansion, enhancing logistics, ramping up technology and marketing.
Although Asia is home to 48 countries with multiple ethnic cuisines in each of these regions, there is limited awareness amongst consumers about this diversity. Majority of the boutique restaurants and five star hotels that offer quality Asian food are limited to serving Indo-Chinese or East Asian cuisines. Gourmet Asian food that comprises of delicacies from South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Asia and Middle East is neither affordable nor readily available for the common masses. With a two-fold goal in mind, 48East was started to bring awareness about the diversity of Asian food and to offer eclectic Asian cuisine at an affordable price on demand.
Founded in August 2016 by Joseph Cherian and Nabhojit Ghosh, 48East has a highly accomplished founding team with over five decades of culinary expertise across QSR management, food manufacturing and curated gourmet food. With Joseph Cherian’s rich experience in managing and scaling reputed F&B brands and Nabhojit Ghosh’s diverse culinary stints across leading luxury hotels, the company has gained huge customer acceptance and experienced steady growth. 48East is currently the highest rated online food delivery restaurant on Zomato in Bangalore.
Nabhojit Ghosh has an experience of over 30 years in leading hotel chains, private equity firm and a leading food tech brand in India. With an expertise in global cuisine and kitchen setups, his previous experiences include stints at Oberoi Hotels, Radisson and Taj Hotels. On the other hand, Joseph Cherian, an Alumnus of Harvard Business School, has over 20 years of professional experience in managing global markets, setting up and scaling new business verticals for brands like Papa John’s India and Mcdonalds. Joseph was also instrumental in the first ever merger in the Indian QSR industry. He was responsible for the initiation and execution of the merger of Pizza Corner and Papa John’s, helping the latter scale to 70 stores within a short span.
Earlier in August 2016, 48East had raised 250K USD in a round of angel funding from Agra based ACPL exports. ACPL Exports is India's highest silver jewelry exporting company for the last seven decades. In addition to the mainstream business, ACPL is known for investing in innovative companies that have the potential to disrupt the market.
Commenting on the company’s growth plans Joseph Cherian, Founder & CEO, 48East said “At 48East, we strive to provide the best of eclectic Asian gourmet food at an affordable price to our consumers. Our interesting combinations of carefully researched, crafted and curated Asian recipes have been well received by our customers. As a result, we are experiencing increasing demand and this new round of funding will enable us to setup more kitchens to expand our delivery area”
Saeed Sultan Rashed Al Dhaheri from Al Dhaheri family said “48East has demonstrated impressive growth within a short period of time. The company, with its dynamic ideas and experience rich team, has the potential to capture an increasing share in this category. I look forward to being a partner to them as they continue to provide exceptional culinary experiences to their customers”
With a weekly changing menu, 48East offers handpicked dishes from Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Turkey, India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Japan and many other Asian countries. 48East currently operates two kitchens in Indiranagar and Marathahalli and processes over 100 orders a day. 48 East will be expanding to many more areas across Bangalore in the coming months.
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