Rebel Foods to increase its stake in DropKaffe; expands ESOP pool to $62 Mn

After doubling down its stake in FoodBuddy, Rebel Foods is set to invest in beverage manufacturer DropKaffe. The Coatue Management-backed company would pick shares worth Rs 13 crore, show regulatory filings.

DropKaffe is an FMCG beverage brand with a multichannel distribution channel. Besides marketplaces, the company also sells through kiosks in IT and corporate parks.  It started as coffee-based beverage brands with dark kitchens but later pivoted to full-fledged FMCG beverage brands.

It’s worth noting that Rebel Foods is an existing investor in DropKaffe. The four-years-old firm had raised funds from GrowthStory, Silicon Valley-based fund P39 Capital and several angel investors.

Besides increasing its stake in DropKaffe, Rebel Foods has also expanded its ESOP pool. According to regulatory filings, The company has passed a special resolution to amend its current ESOP scheme. The company has increased its ESOP pool size by 6,000 options to a ceiling of 57,902. With the addition of new options, the ESOP pool of Rebel Foods is now worth $62 million.

The expansion of the ESOP pool has come after Rebel Food raised $26.5 million or Rs 198.5 crore from Coatue Management in its extended Series E round. With additional investment in July, Coatue emerged as the biggest stakeholder in Rebel Foods. It owns 22.13% stake in the full-stack foodtech company.

Rebel Foods recently rebranded one of its popular brands Faasos to EatSure. According to Fintrackr, the company was valued at $820 million during its last fundraise. It’s the third-largest full-stack foodtech company in India. It runs multi-brand cloud kitchens including Faasos, Oven Story, Firangi Bake, Mandarin Oak, Kettle & Eggs, and Behrouz. 

Besides its own app, the company generates close to 60% of its demand through marketplaces — Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats. Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchen’s was also in talks to pick up a small stake in the Mumbai-based firm. However, the company is yet to receive any money from the new company of Uber’s co-founder and former chief executive officer.