After Filipino food startups CloudEats and Kraver’s Canteen secured major investors, MadEats is the latest cloud kitchen to bag an undisclosed investment. The Manila-based startup received a pre-seed investment from no less than the co-founder of Tinder, Justin Mateen, along with Luis Sia, the co-founder of Filipino startup success story Paymongo.
Cloud kitchens have grown in popularity in 2020 as lockdown has forced many restaurants to close but encouraged more customers to order. The solution? A collective online food company that can house multiple F&B MSMEs, all without operating from a brick-and-mortar shop.
MadEats is one of the many players in the burgeoning cloud kitchen ecosystem, led by an all-female team: CEO Mikee Villareal, CMO Andie Cruz, and CPO Keisha Lao.
“With the rise of on-demand food delivery and the increased habit of eating at home, we believe that the future of F&B is online, and delivery is here to stay,” said Villareal in an interview with e27.
MadEats just launched its first food brand Yang Gang, a Korean fried chicken brand that will bring Korean street food to Filipino customers. It has several more brands cooking, like Chinese concept Lucky Chow and fried rice brand Fried Nice.
For now, MadEats brands can only be ordered via its website and social media platforms.
MadEats marks Tinder co-founder Mateen’s third investment in Filipino startups. His first was fintech PayMongo in 2019, followed by edutech Avion School just a few months ago in July.
