Bengaluru-based cloud kitchen player FreshMenu seems to be in trouble. Three top executives have left the company in the last few months, as per an exclusive report in TechCircle.
Those who have left in the recent months include the Chief Business and Technology Officer, Pradeep Desai, Chief of HR, Anita Menon and Aparna Mahesh, Chief Marketing Officer. These resignations have occurred over a period of last six months or so and the three have gone on to join other companies such as Reliance Retail, Ola and BankBazaar. Apart from these three, a couple of more senior officials have parted from FreshMenu.
TechCircle has confirmed with FreshMenu that these exits have taken place. FreshMenu’s Founder and CEO Rashmi Daga has, however, claimed the reasons for these top executives leaving was purely professional. Daga has said the company has found the replacements and they are moving on.
She has gone on to say that FreshMenu is in the midst of discussions for fresh funding and also has plans for expansion of its business activities.
FreshMenu was established in 2014 and the startup follows a model where it runs its own kitchens and hires chefs to prepare food, which it then deliver. FreshMenu has only the online platform to run its business but did make a break by opening a dine-in and takeaway restaurant in Bengaluru. Keeping control over the full chain of operations, experts believe the company has every opportunity to be making profits.
But some experts feel while it may be possible to remain profitable with this setup as FreshMenu has, it may not work out when it tries to scale up the business. They believe it could be a big challenge for the startup to break it into the big league.
In terms of funding, FreshMenu has been able to raise capital from time to time and has had around $22 million invested so far. Some of the key investors are Zodius Technology Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and GrowthStory. These came in 2015 and 2016. As mentioned, the Founder claims there are discussions currently on for fresh infusion of funds.