Japanese casual dining and QSR chain Harajuku Tokyo Cafe has raised $2 million (Rs 19 crore) in seed funding. The round was led by Indian Angel Network, with Samved VC, LetsVenture and Capitar Ventures participating, company executives told ET.
The funding will pave the way for the chain’s expansion across India, executives said, and comes amid increasing investor interest in the consumer space.
Gaurav Kanwar, founder and chief executive officer of Harajuku Tokyo Cafe, said the funding and expansion would help spread Japanese cuisine across India. “What began as a project to make Japanese food accessible has evolved into a scalable business model,” he said.
The investment round was co-led by IAN investors Hari Balasubramanian, Uday Chatterjee, Pradeep Jai Singh and Sri Prakash.
The company said Harajuku, which was set up in 2021 by Kanwar, has an annual recurring revenue of Rs 30 crore. It added that from seven outlets currently across Delhi NCR and Mumbai, the chain plans to set up 90 outlets across 20 cities by 2027.
India’s food-service industry, valued at close to $51 billion and expected to more than double to $123 billion by 2033, is being driven by casual dining and QSR, within which Japanese cuisine is one of the fastest-growing international segments, the company said.
Like other food service chains, Harajuku, too, is expanding to the packaged food segment. The company’s D2C vertical KoiKoi Essentials will sell ramen kits, sauces and frozen meals.
The company said it is also in discussions for franchise partnerships in the UAE and other international markets where Indian diaspora communities could drive demand.
There has been an uptick in deals in the consumer space in recent months after five quarters of subdued activity. While ChrysCapital bought an 85% stake in pan-India bakery chain Theobroma Foods for about Rs 2,410 crore, Devyani International acquired a controlling stake in Sky Gate Hospitality, which owns domestic chain Biryani By Kilo.
Wow! Momo raised Rs 150 crore from Haldiram’s promoter Kamal Agrawal and Malaysia’s wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, while cafe chain e in a funding round led by venture capital firm Prath Ventures.
AloJapan.com