Burma Burma, the Burmese restaurant chain, has ambitious plans to increase its number of outlets to 20 by December 2025. To facilitate this expansion, the Founder of Burma Burma, Ankit Gupta, has revealed that the brand intends to invest INR 40 crore.
Currently, the restaurant chain runs ten outlets and one delivery kitchen across eight different cities.
“We will be opening one outlet each in Mumbai and Bengaluru by February and April, respectively. By December 2024, we will have 14 operational outlets and by December 2025, we will add 6 more,” he elaborated.
The typical Burmese restaurant outlet covers an area of 2,500 sq.ft, and the capital expenditure (CAPEX) required to open one outlet amounts to INR 3.5 crore.
“We will be opening our new outlets in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru and to aid the expansion plans, we are planning to raise approximately USD5 million in our seed round,” he said.
After being self-funded for its first eight years, the brand secured a pre-seed funding round exceeding USD 2 million in 2022, with Negen Capital taking the lead. Bbigplas Poly Private Ltd, along with other investors, also participated in this funding round.
“We are looking to raise anywhere between 3.5 times our turnover. In the pre-seed round, we diluted roughly around 12 per cent of our equity and in this round, we are looking to dilute a further 12-13 per cent. We will be wrapping up this round by early next year,” he added.
In addition to this, the restaurant chain is also gearing up to venture into the modern trade sector by partnering with Nature’s Basket through Burma Burma Pantry.
“Currently, Burma Burma Pantry, which is a retail unit of the brand, offers 25 SKUs including chips, unique pastes, teas, t-shirts, cups, tea-pots, etc. We offer 12 SKUs under the food category and the rest 13 SKUs come under the non-food category,” he said.
The brand’s products can be found in the restaurant and account for 1.5 percent of the brand’s overall business.
Furthermore, the brand’s food delivery service has experienced a significant increase in demand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it used to make up 5-6 percent of the total business, but today it constitutes 19-20 percent of the overall business.
“At present, our average order value online is INR 750 and in restaurants, it is INR 1,000,” he stated.
The brand, which achieves a return on investment (ROI) within 18-24 months, concluded the previous fiscal year with INR 56 crore in revenue. It has set a target to reach INR 75 crore in revenue for the current fiscal year.
It is eyeing to become a INR 120 crore brand by the end of FY 24-25.