• Locale, the UAE-based online marketplace for virtual restaurants built by cloud kitchen platform KRUSH Brands has raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A investment round from UAE-based family office Skelmore Holdings.

• The investment will be used to grow Locale’s existing portfolio of “foodprenuer” brands, virtual restaurants created by chefs. KRUSH is hoping to grow Locale’s portfolio to 20 brands, build up its tech-enabled kitchens and hire new talent. 

• Founded in 2015 by Ian Ohan, KRUSH Brands is an omni-channel food and beverage company. It has its own proprietary food technology for ordering and operates its own delivery fleet.

Press release:

Locale, the recently launched, foodpreneur-focused ecosystem from KRUSH Brands, welcomes its first investor Skelmore Holdings. KRUSH Brands has completed a US$4.5 million Pre-Series A investment raise with strategic investor Skelmore Holdings.

The investment is being used to grow Locale’s existing proprietary brand portfolio into a highly curated, foodpreneur-led group of around 20 innovative brands, build out a suite of next generation, technology-enabled multi-kitchens, accelerate its food technology program and bolster its senior leadership team.

KRUSH Brands is the only full-stack, fully integrated, omni-channel food and beverage company in the region. It has proprietary food technology, operates its own loved food and beverage brands and has its own professional and ethically treated delivery fleet. Its unique business model provides an economically sustainable and profitable ecosystem for innovative, local foodpreneurs to thrive and re-connect with the communities in which they operate.

KRUSH Brands recently launched Locale, its own, highly curated, online marketplace for its loved, local food brands. Locale is a place where good food, good people and good ideas matter. By not seeking profit on its delivery, technology or advertising Locale aligns its interests with foodpreneurs, customers and its employees by focusing on making a profit on food. Locale is the only alternative to the harmful third-party ecosystem.

Skelmore Holdings is a Family Office headquartered in Dubai which specialises in investments in Automotive, Retail Fashion and F&B and is perhaps best known for its award-winning restaurants Roberto’s, Rumba and Mercato Centrale. Skelmore Holdings also is an active player in the venture capital space and are also active technology investors.

KRUSH Brands has been historically self-funded.

Ian Ohan, Founder of Locale says ‘We are proud to have Skelmore Holdings as our first and as a strategic investor in KRUSH Brands. We selected Skelmore Holdings because of our shared ethics, values and vision, focus on quality and for their strategic capabilities. Their investment represents a pivotal moment in our company as we consolidate and capitalise on our intellectual know how to unlock value and accelerate growth.’

Amin Kadrie, Chairman, Skelmore Holdings says ‘We are pleased and excited with our investment in KRUSH Brands and to be part of the expansion of this unique business model and technology. We believe in Ian’s dynamic leadership and vision and in his exceptional ethical and moral standards which are reflected in the progressive culture of KRUSH Brands and its unique optimisation of human capital and customer engagement.’