Mukunda Foods

Mukunda Foods, a kitchen robotics company, was founded in 2012 by Eshwar K. Vikas and Sudeep Sabat. The two met as engineering students and roommates at SRM University. Their journey began not in robotics, but with the launch of a quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain in Bengaluru. After expanding to their third outlet, they faced operational challenges with staff inconsistency, which impacted food quality and profitability, sparking the idea to automate their kitchen processes.

This pivot led to the creation of their first product, the DosaMatic, an automatic dosa-making machine. The initial prototype took months to perfect, but as other restaurants took notice, the co-founders transitioned from running a QSR to manufacturing and selling kitchen automation solutions. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, where it also has its manufacturing facility. Over the years, Mukunda Foods has secured a total of $8.11 million in funding across nine rounds, with a significant Series A round in March 2022 led by Zomato. This investment valued the company at $30 million.

Mukunda Foods designs and manufactures machines that automate cooking processes, primarily for QSRs, cloud kitchens, and fine-dining restaurants. Its business model focuses on helping food brands scale operations, ensure taste consistency, and reduce dependency on skilled labor. The company generates revenue by selling its range of automated cooking equipment. Its products are designed to address repetitive and labor-intensive tasks such as frying, tossing, and grilling.

The product line has expanded significantly from the initial DosaMatic to include solutions that can automate up to 80% of global cuisines. Key products include 'Wokie,' an automated station for stir-fry dishes; 'Ecofryer,' an automated fryer; and 'Rico,' a machine for preparing rice, pasta, and noodles. These machines are IoT-enabled, allowing restaurant owners to remotely monitor performance and gather data to make informed business decisions. The company also offers kitchen layout design services to optimize workflow and efficiency. Mukunda Foods serves major clients like ITC, Rebel Foods, Chaayos, and Wow Momos, and has installed over 3,000 machines in more than 22 countries, including the UK, US, and Australia.

Keywords: kitchen automation, food robotics, restaurant technology, commercial kitchen equipment, QSR solutions, cloud kitchen automation, food and beverage automation, automated cooking systems, dosa making machine, food tech, restaurant scaling, foodservice technology, kitchen efficiency, IoT kitchen appliances, automated frying, automated stir-fry, Indian cuisine automation, restaurant operations, food processing machinery, robotic kitchen