Ghost Kitchens, an Indian cloud kitchen incubator, has acquired Speak Burgers, a gourmet cloud kitchen start-up owned by celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is intended to enable Ghost Kitchens to expand into the premium food delivery market. 

Ghost Kitchens' vision is to establish a range of premium food delivery brands that operate on platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. Ratnani will become Ghost Kitchens' chief culinary officer and co-founder as part of the deal, and the company will launch three new brands with Ratnani in the mass premium and cloud kitchen categories. 

The partnership will enable Ghost Kitchens to scale its offerings and add an additional 400 fulfillment partners over the next three years.

The acquisition will help Ghost Kitchens fill gaps in the supply of premium brands, according to founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Karan Tanna. Speak Burgers plans to increase its presence to over 200 locations in the next three years through fulfillment partner programmes. 

Ghost Kitchens' portfolio includes Wakka Wakka, Biryani Hazir Ho, Momo Guy, Starboy Pizza and Shakes and Maa Ki Khichdi, among others. At the end of December 2022, Ghost Kitchens had an annual GMV run rate of Rs 60 crore. The start-up aims to scale its offerings to more than 4,000 internet restaurants in the next year and target an annual run rate of Rs 500 crore by the end of 2024. Ghost Kitchens has raised $1.2 million across two funding rounds from investors such as Yuj Ventures, Dholakia Ventures and Salarpuria Family office, among others.

The cloud kitchen market in India is populated by large names such as Rebel Foods, FreshMenu, Box8 and Faasos. According to a report, the homegrown cloud kitchen market was worth $400 million at the end of 2019, with projections indicating that it will grow to $2 billion by 2024.