Airing earlier this season on Shark Tank India, Speed Kitchen — a commercial shared kitchen platform — made waves by securing a ₹2 crore deal.
Co-founded by childhood friends Paurav Rastogi and Shamin Kapoor from Delhi, the venture set out to ease the journey for food entrepreneurs by offering ready-to-use commercial kitchen spaces on a flexible revenue-sharing model.
Since its launch in March 2021, Speed Kitchen has grown to four cities, partnering with established brands like Haldiram, Chaayos, and Daryaganj.
The Shark Tank deal, which saw Ritesh Agarwal, Azhar Iqubal, and Kunal Bahl jointly invest ₹2 crore for a 6% stake, marked a pivotal moment for the company as it looks to expand aggressively and consolidate its presence in the cloud kitchen space.
In this conversation with Invezz, co-founder Shamin Kapoor reflects on the company’s journey since their Shark Tank appearance, the evolving cloud kitchen landscape, and Speed Kitchen’s plans for scaling up in a competitive, capital-intensive market.
The idea and the gap in the market
Invezz: Could you tell us how the idea for the company came about and how the journey has unfolded over the years?
Kapoor recalled how the business idea was born out of personal ambition and market observation.
“Like a lot of people, Paurav and I also had this idea of starting a food brand of our own,” he said.
However, as they began navigating the operational realities of the food services sector — from real estate issues to backend logistics — they identified a deeper opportunity.
“When we actually went into the space and tried to navigate these challenges, we understood there’s this big gap,” Kapoor said.
Inspired by the emerging cloud kitchen model in the UK and India, the founders pivoted to build a service platform enabling food brands to launch without operational hassles.
“We built a platform where multiple different brands can come and work under the same roof with all the capex infrastructure created by us, all the licensing provided by us, the entire maintenance and setup, everything is done by us.”
The Shark Tank experience
Invezz: How did the process unfold from applying to actually pitching on the show? Was there anything you found surprising or different from what you had expected?
On the Shark Tank process, Kapoor admitted to initial skepticism. “We had this in our mind that probably things are scripted,” he said, but quickly added, “that bubble immediately got burst when we were there.”
He credited the Shark Tank team for their rigorous, multi-stage selection process and hands-on involvement in preparing participants.
“It’s a one-take thing. Everything happens in one go — no retakes. So, they prepare you as well as possible so that you can give your best out there.”
Kapoor emphasized that the founders did not target any specific sharks for investment.
“All of them who were present there, in themselves, are stalwarts in their own spaces,” he said. While individual expertise like real estate or tech could help in specific areas, Kapoor stressed, “It’s not a particular expectation, but we were happy, to be honest, that we got a deal — and not just one, we got three people on board.”
Invezz: What kind of response have you received from customers and potential partners since your appearance on Shark Tank?
Though Speed Kitchen operates in a B2B space, which traditionally sees a slower sales cycle compared to D2C brands, Kapoor said the Shark Tank appearance significantly boosted visibility.
“We probably generated more inquiries in the week or the weekend of our episode airing than we probably generated in the last year,” he said.
The exposure also brought clarity about the cloud kitchen model’s infrastructure side, a segment Kapoor believes was previously underappreciated.
“People understand the concept of cloud kitchens, but they are not aware that players like us are providing such services.”
One notable takeaway was Kapoor’s confirmation that the due diligence process with the investment teams was nearly completed, and the deal done on the show should be completed soon. “It’s done. It should materialize very soon,” he said.
The plans for the future
Invezz: What are some of the short and long-term goals for Speed Kitchen in the coming years, and how do you plan to achieve them?
Speed Kitchen has set an ambitious target to scale from 20 kitchens today to 45-50 by the end of the next financial year, with long-term plans of hitting 100 locations.
“When we were at Shark Tank, we were at 14 locations. Now, while we’re talking, we’re already on 20, and we have five in the pipeline being built as we speak,” Kapoor said.
To support this expansion, a significant portion of fresh funds will go toward building local supply and operations teams in new cities.
“More than getting demand, I need to bring in the supply. I need to build my presence, get the properties, and get them started.”
“In the next five years, we aim to have a minimum of 150 to 200 locations, if not more. Our goal is to build a business worth between ₹500 to ₹1000 crore in the long term. However, I don’t want to lock myself into those figures,” the founder added.
Fundraising in a tough market
Invezz: Can you tell us about your experience with fundraising, especially in a market that has been going through a ‘funding winter’?
Kapoor acknowledged the challenges of raising capital during a so-called funding winter but pointed out Speed Kitchen’s strong fundamentals.
“Maybe our conversation is a little better than a lot of other people because of the fact that we have been able to maintain profitability since day one,” he said.
Unlike many cash-burning startups, Speed Kitchen has run a profitable operation while maintaining growth ambitions.
“I am very proud to say this thing — since day one,” Kapoor said. “Even the sharks, one of the biggest reasons they invested in us was because they saw a profitable business.”
As for the larger funding round the company was pursuing parallel to its Shark Tank appearance, Kapoor confirmed it’s still underway. “The bigger round probably might take a little bit more time, maybe 2-3 months, but that’s progressing well.”
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