Indonesian cloud kitchen operator Legit Group raises US$13.7 million Series A round

LEGIT Group, an Indonesian cloud kitchen operator, has raised a US$13.7 million Series A round.

The round was led by MDI Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Telkomsel. Sinar Mas’ venture arm SMDV, East Ventures and Winter Capital also participated. see *Amendment note

Legit had earlier raised a US$3 million seed round from East Ventures and AC Ventures.

The latest fundraise follows the closure of Grab’s cloud kitchens in Indonesia in November 2022. The super-app had then cited the need to adopt an “asset-light” business model.

Legit operates four food and beverage (F&B) brands – Pastaria, Sei’Tan, Sek Fan, and Ryujin – across more than 30 points in the Greater Jakarta area, known locally as Jabodetabek. All four operate on a cloud kitchen model with no retail outlets.

Bram Hendrata, the company’s chairman and co-founder, said: “Through the funding obtained from MDI Ventures, Legit Group will strengthen its commitment to bringing more food to various places, while continuing to innovate and improve the technology we have to achieve a more efficient operating system.”

Nearly all – 95 per cent – of Legit’s stores are in Jakarta, the company said. Hendrata said that with the funding, it will expand further within Greater Jakarta. He added that Legit will also venture into second-tier cities, such as Surabaya and Melang.

The funding will also go towards expanding outlets and building technology to optimise operations.

Currently, not all of Legit’s brands operate out of its existing points. “With this funding, one of the uses is to relocate these outlets to be within our own kitchen space,” said Hendrata.

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For now, Legit’s main focus is on building up its own brands. But Hendrata noted that the company will be eyeing brands for acquisition once its infrastructure is ready.

* Amendment note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that SMDV stood for Sinar Mas Digital Ventures.