Riyadh - Mubasher: Matbakhi, a food-tech company in Saudi Arabia, has raised $2.30 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Bugshan Investment Company and various angel investors.
Established in October 2022 by Joe Frem and Rodolph Njeim, Matbakhi teams up with local Saudi chefs to democratise access to curated food and beverage (F&B) concepts, according to a press release.
The Riyadh-based firm plans to use the proceeds of the fundraising to introduce its Hotel Cloud Kitchen model in Saudi Arabia.
As of January 2023, the startup is running its business in five locations in Riyadh through four brands, with plans to widen its portfolio to 20 brands.
The company focuses on growth in Riyadh and the Eastern Region this year in order to become profitable by the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
Frem, CEO and Co-Founder of Matbakhi, said: “With many cloud kitchen models out there, it was super important to identify the model we wanted to adopt to ensure we build a financially sustainable company.”
He added: “The Hotel Cloud Kitchen Model we adopted is ultra-asset-light, which allows us to scale fast and reduce challenges like labour and licensing to launch operations in every location while solving a major problem for the hotels.”
“Our focus on hyperlocal brand creation will help us position Matbakhi as a locally-inspired catalyst of different cuisines,” the CEO noted.
