The acquisition will also help the Zelish experience spread across the Indian sub-continent and grow its presence globally in the North American market as well.
Tinychef, which counts celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor among its co-founders, on Tuesday said it has acquired Indian food-tech startup Zelish for an undisclosed amount.
Tinychef, which is looking at aggressively expanding in the US and European markets over the next few years, is targeting USD 40-50 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by December 2025, its co-founder Bahubali Shete told PTI.
Founded in 2017, Tinychef helps users discover recipes and cook meals via voice guidance on smartphones and smart speakers.
It has over a million users and over one lakh active monthly users in India and well-over 25,000 users in North America (the US and Canada). It has raised over USD 2 million venture capital, including Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Sequoia), Kanwar Chadha (Binatone Group Chairman) and others along with institutional investors such as SOSV, LetsVenture, IFFCO, and others.
By acquiring Zelish, Tinychef will gain access to the app’s 1.25 lakh users, 35 per cent of whom are monthly active users, Shete said.
‘The acquisition of Zelish gives Tinychef a powerful app with a highly engaged user base. Our users will now be able to discover recipes and plan their meals, shop for products, and indulge in voice-guided cooking. This is exciting as voice search queries in India are growing at 270 per cent and over 82 per cent of smartphone users are already using voice search on a regular basis,’ Shete added.
Shete said the potential of the combined solution of the teams will help make Tinychef the default kitchen assistant for every kitchen around the world.
He noted that nearly 4 million recipes were requested and over 1.7 million meals have been cooked using the Tinychef skill on Alexa in India alone, while over half a million recipes were made using Zelish last year.
Shete said Tinychef is looking at various revenue models including brand partnerships, subscription and ad-based service for users, and engagement with grocery platforms.
‘We expect, on the conservative side, anywhere between USD 40-50 million ARR by December 2025. The US is expected to contribute a large share of this,’ he said, adding that the focus is on adding voice guidance to the preparation of these recipes as well as enabling shopping for the ingredients via a single platform.
The company is also making in-roads in the Italian market as it looks to expand its presence in Europe.
Zelish co-founder Saakshi Jain said the transaction will help take the Zelish experience into the world of voice-assisted cooking.
‘Most people who manage the kitchen complain that there is a constant back and forth between operating their phones and managing the said tasks. With Tinychef in the picture, users can look forward to a completely hands-free experience. People will soon be able to relish the Zelish experience on voice assistants like Alexa instead of going back and forth on recipe videos,” she added.
The acquisition will also help the Zelish experience spread across the Indian sub-continent and grow its presence globally in the North American market as well.
(PTI)
Source: Business World
