INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The cloud kitchen craze has reached Latin America
Food tech startup Muy landed a fresh $15 million Series B to expand into Mexico and soon Brazil
The company describes itself as a virtual kitchen and smart chef system that uses AI to produce food based on forecasts of demand, which can
help to reduce food waste
previous investor Seaya returning
explosion of delivery apps has kept options competitive for customers not only in the United States but across Latin America
cities due to the long commute times that keep the growing middle class out of their homes for extended periods of 12 hours or more
A large part of the market, around 40%, brings a lunch to work, says Calderon
But as disposable income increases, he predicts that more people will avoid cooking at home and will opt for faster and higher-quality
support them from launching in the United States and down to Latin America
According to Calderon, the food service market opportunity in Latin America will reach $270 billion by 2021
The founder also notes that the Latin America market is highly fragmented; the top 10 chains only hold around 5% of market share in
comparison to countries like the United States where this figure reaches 24%
cloud kitchen opportunity
Earlier this year, Amazon took a $575 million bite into Deliveroo, which opened its first shared kitchen in Paris in 2018
City Storage Systems, the holding company of CloudKitchens, was backed with a $150 million controlling stake from Uber founder and ex-CEO
The winners among the various global delivery apps, cloud kitchens and controlling incumbents have yet to emerge, but what we do know is
that everyone needs to eat lunch
