Making Customers Investors
foodService India|July-August 2017

Crowdfunding and crowd-investing, as an alternative form of finance for start-up companies, is taking off particularly in the service sector in Europe. In 2015 the Europe-wide volume grew by 92% to €5.4 bn, as documented by a report from the University of Cambridge and the accountancy firm KPMG. By far the greatest proportion of this crowd funding volume comes from the UK (> €4,412 m), followed by France (€319 m), and Germany in third place (€249 m). The benefits which this alternative financing tool can bring to the catering sector are shown by the example of the new British-Mexican food chain Chilango, London.

Jutta Pfannschmidt-Wahl
Making Customers Investors

“How to raise £5,500,000 from your on-line friends and family and why I think crowd funding is a fantastic alternative source of financing,” co-founder Eric Partaker spoke about this exciting chapter in the growth of his fast-casual formula Chilango at the last European Foodservice Summit hosted by FSE & ME and GDI in autumn 2016 in Zurich.

Strong and rapid expansion thanks to ‘burrito bonds’: with this catch line the two founders of Chilango, Eric Partaker and Dan Houghton, sketch their vision of growth for the UK and beyond. In the short term their strategy is to double in size. They were running twelve outlets under their own management last autumn – eleven in London and one in Manchester. “Several more in major UK cities are in the pipeline,” says Partaker.

Chilango is also looking at international sites. Partaker and Houghton have trademarked the brand in thirty markets throughout the world now. “Long term we believe that what we are creating is a multi-billion-pound global power brand,” is how Partaker puts it casually. The first steps on this track: by 2020 alone they intend to be running around 50 restaurants under their own management in 20 UK towns and cities, plus further outlets to be opened via franchising in other national markets are on the agenda. The quick service formula intends to attain these ambitious expansion goals by using the capital which it has amassed through successful crowd funding campaigns: a total of £5.5 m of investment cash was garnered through two ‘back-to-back record-breaking capital-raising campaigns’, the so-called burrito bonds, in 2014 and 2015. In July 2014, before its crowd funding campaigns, Chilango had seven outlets in London and earned around £4.3 m in sales revenue.

This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of foodService India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July-August 2017 edition of foodService India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FOODSERVICE INDIAView All
foodService India

How Smart Technology Can Lead The Way For Safe Eating Environments

As many forms of consumption drivers come together to fuel the growth of Indian food and beverage service retail industry, there is an increased focus on food safety, especially in terms of food preparation, packaging and distribution.

time-read
4 mins  |
March - April 2020
Thinking out of the box
foodService India

Thinking out of the box

Benjamín Calleja is the founder and CEO of Livit, one of the world’s top restaurant design firms. He shares his views with us on the role of design and technology in creating restaurants that are profitable and efficient as well as great on guest experience.

time-read
8 mins  |
March - April 2020
Zomato acquires UberEats India for approx Rs. 2,500 crore
foodService India

Zomato acquires UberEats India for approx Rs. 2,500 crore

Zomato has acquired Uber’s Food Delivery Business in India in an all-stock deal. Uber will have 9.99 percent stake in the Deepinder Goyalled food delivery platform.

time-read
2 mins  |
March - April 2020
Millennials are looking for food that goes back to the roots
foodService India

Millennials are looking for food that goes back to the roots

The millennials are very much aware of the benefits of healthy food; so the farm-to-table approach is growing and there is a boom in the demand for organic food cooked with sustainable methods. Chef Raji Gupta, in a conversation with FoodService India, throws light on the future of the food industry, changing trends and choices of people and the importance of catering to the evolving demands of customers.

time-read
3 mins  |
March - April 2020
Survey reveals that breakfast is not a favourite cooking moment for Indian moms
foodService India

Survey reveals that breakfast is not a favourite cooking moment for Indian moms

If making breakfast is an art, more often than not, the mother in the family happens to be the artist. It is regularly pegged as the most important meal of the day. But in the madness of rushed mornings, is it even possible for the artist to give it its due? To gain deeper insights into it, V-Guard, country’s leading electrical appliance brand partnered with Momspresso. com, India’s largest user-generated content platform that allows women to express themselves through different formats including text, audio and video across ten languages, to conduct a nationwide survey with 500 Indian moms.

time-read
1 min  |
March - April 2020
Burger Singh to open 66 franchise outlets in the next 2 years
foodService India

Burger Singh to open 66 franchise outlets in the next 2 years

Burger Singh, the burger chain popular for its big burgers with an Indian twist, has become a name that’s on the favourite burgers list of every foodie. With an appetite as big as that of its customers, the famed burger chain is now heading for aggressive expansion across the country.

time-read
2 mins  |
March - April 2020
Éminences grises of foodservice industry ring down the curtain on India Food Forum 2020
foodService India

Éminences grises of foodservice industry ring down the curtain on India Food Forum 2020

India Food Forum returned for its 13th edition at the Renaissance Convention Centre at hotel Renaissance Mumbai on 5-6 February where the crème de la crème of India foodservice industry came together on Day 2 of the event to offer insightful takeaways on the innovations in food retailing, HoReCa and food technology, and also ensuring that all those attending the day’s deliberations were empowered with the products and insights that would help to maximise the opportunities offered by India’s vast consumer universe.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March - April 2020
“People look for quirky things and innovative concepts in summers”
foodService India

“People look for quirky things and innovative concepts in summers”

Amit Johari, Co-Founder, House Of Commons, which is located at Connaught Place, Central Delhi, talks to FoodService India about how summer trends differ from the other seasons in terms of the choice of beverages & appetisers, and on the profitability prospects for restaurants during the season.

time-read
5 mins  |
March - April 2020
A bar that does not burn a hole in your pocket
foodService India

A bar that does not burn a hole in your pocket

Yudhveer Singh, Founder of Delhi-NCR based The Beer House Café, in a conversation with the FoodServcie India, highlights the unique features of his establishment and the market strategy it has adopted to stay relevant in a competitive market.

time-read
3 mins  |
March - April 2020
A childhood passion becomes a profession
foodService India

A childhood passion becomes a profession

A childhood passion turned into a full-blown career for Chef Shaurya Veer Kapoor, Head Chef, Gola Sizzlers (A Naresh Gola Group). In a conversation with FoodService India, he discusses the changing tastes of Indian consumers and how he has created the themes for the diners at Delhi-based Gola Sizzlers and Cafe Hawkers.

time-read
5 mins  |
March - April 2020