Food delivery startup LUNCH:ON has secured a total of $5.5m in funding after adding a further $2.5m in the final closing of its Series A round. The round was led by Wamda Capital & Global Ventures, with B&Y Ventures, Derayah Capital, Mindshift Capital, Shorooq Investments and Vision VC all coming into the round since the initial close was announced in February. “LUNCH:ON’s unique model and platform is improving the lunchtime experience for companies, restaurants, and employees,” said Noor Sweid, General Partner at Global Ventures, “Their ability to execute quickly and secure such a high-quality customer base within a short period of time gives us full confidence in their expansion into new cities globally. We are thrilled to partner with the LUNCH
LUNCH:ON, co-founded by Mohammad Al Zaben and Dana Baki in February 2016, was created out of their passion for food, and mutual frustration over ordering food at work. Mohammad Al Zaben comments “We identified a gap in the market as it relates to affordable lunch options for working professionals. LUNCH:ON offers a simple solution that saves customers both time and money while also benefiting our restaurant partners.”
The company partners with top local restaurants to offer corporates and their employees curated meals, delivered to the office, at discounted prices. With its LUNCH:ON Pro subscription, customers can get their daily lunch for a fixed price of AED 25. Employees in each office receive a curated menu from 3 different restaurants daily, based on the preferences and ordering patterns of the customers in that office. They then simply need to place their order by 11:30 am and a delicious lunch of their choice is delivered to their office for AED 25 with free delivery.
LUNCH:ON understood that customers were looking for good lunches at reasonable prices and has been pioneering a model that consolidates orders to simplify operations and reduce costs for restaurants. This allows LUNCH:ON to offer a much more affordable price point.
The food-at-work partner now works with over 200 of Dubai’s favorite restaurants and is the online delivery platform of choice for over 500 major companies across the UAE. LUNCH:ON not only focuses on delivering lunch to individuals at work, but it also provides a hassle-free catering service that takes the stress out of organizing food for any sort of meeting or event.
“Our new catering platform gives office admins a simple way to get catered food, from over 200 restaurants, for their internal meetings and events. Companies are now able to order platters, plan food for any kind of event or order the traditional LUNCH:ON boxed meals for their teams, with just a few clicks. This part of the business has taken off quite nicely, as we have learned that corporate catering is a huge pain point for those involved, that no other regional players are addressing adequately,” comments Dana Baki.