The Emirati virtual kitchen Sweetheart Kitchen just scored $17.7 million in their Series C funding round led by the startup’s own CEO Peter Schatzberg along with some strategic investors. The investment will fuel their vision to leverage the best technologies to optimize the company’s food delivery supply chain.

Sweetheart Kitchen is a delivery only multi-brand virtual kitchen with a portfolio of more than 25 quick service and fast-food concepts. This tech Dubai-based virtual kitchen joins a growing number of delivery-only food businesses that are leveraging data, on-demand transport infrastructure, and strategically placed kitchens to deliver quick service food in under 20 minutes.

“We invest most of our funding into supply chain technology, food design, and hiring talent. This will continue in 2021, as we are just fifteen months old and we are still perfecting our business model. Scaling units is certainly one important objective for us, but we are also investing in streamlining our processes and systems to achieve profitability. We look forward to even more milestones in this next stage of the company’s growth.”

Peter Schatzberg, CEO, Sweatheart Kitchen

From procurement to production and assembly, every single aspect of operations is closely monitored, assessed, and fed back into a continuous improvement cycle for optimum performance. Sweetheart Kitchen utilizes a series of advanced systems to monitor raw materials, expiry dates, and match supply with demand.

Having previously raised €21 million and launched 30 brands, the company is building on its early market success and plans to dedicate the funds from the new round to launch five additional brands, and have 12 units live in the UAE and seven units live in Kuwait by Q1, 2021 with more expansion in the pipeline into Saudi Arabia in the second half of 2021.

“We are excited to relaunch in Kuwait after the pandemic lockdown measures prevented us from scaling earlier this year. It’s a great market for delivery where product innovation is valued by the consumer. We plan on re-opening in January with 7 kitchens and on covering over 75% of Kuwait by the end of Q2-2021 with our new brands.”

Adib Samara, VP Global Brand & Marketing, Sweetheart Kitchen.