We Got Funded: Food To Go To Expand Its Cloud Kitchen Concept Across The UAE Founded by Elie Haber, Johnny Khazzoum, and Tony Abou Mrad in January 2019, Food To Go offers technology-driven restaurant operations to franchisers and food outlets, helping them sustain quality amid today's increasing restaurant operational costs.

Food To Go, a Dubai-based cloud kitchen concept, has announced that it received the first round of funding within the seed fund raising process managed by YAS Investment.

AlSerkal Ventures appears as the startup's first investor, with the amount of funding not being disclosed, and the Food To Go founders state that the concept has attracted the increased interest from investors. The funds will be used for expanding the startup's operations across the UAE. "We are always on the lookout for fresh solutions that truly capture and utilize the power of technology," an AlSerkal Ventures spokesperson said in a statement. "The traditional restaurant business model has been positively disrupted by technology and we believe services being offered by Food To Go will fill a major void in the market as a means of meeting the increasing demand for high quality food services."

Founded by Elie Haber, Johnny Khazzoum, and Tony Abou Mrad in January 2019, Food To Go offers technology-driven restaurant operations to franchisers and food outlets, helping them sustain quality amid today's increasing restaurant operational costs. Among the outlets already signed up for the Food To Go services are the likes of Karaz from Beirut, Miyabi Sushi, D.O.N. Pizza, Burger Pit, Mambo Pizza, Meat avenue, and Kale.

To date, Food To Go has a branch in Business Bay, Dubai, while the two other locations, both in the city's Al Barsha neighborhood, are scheduled to open next month. Wael Khechen, co-founder, Food To Go, explains that the company's business model includes the provision of full menu preparation in its advanced kitchen facilities which are managed by some of the best chefs in the country, a call centre service, and full food delivery fleet support. "Food to Go is responding to a major need for F&B services that reduce overheads and take some of the load off local businesses that are not able to meet the increasing demand for their products," Khechen said in a press release. "With the UAE expanding its urban spaces; restaurant owners are placed under tremendous pressure to grow their distribution network, and are effectively unable to do so without incurring high setup costs. Our service ultimately relieves the bulk of the stress of managing restaurants and empowers business owners to focus on refining their offering and brand presence while scaling the demand for their products."

Related: The How-To: Building An Eatery Brand In The Middle East