Ghost kitchen chain Casper raises € 5M for expansion

Ghent / Amsterdam, April 20, 2022– Casper, the leading ghost kitchen chain in Belgium, announces to have raised € 5M in a Series-A round led by Amsterdam-based Slingshot Ventures, together with serial entrepreneurs Jürgen Ingels (Smartfin), Zhong Xu & Jan Hollez (Deliverect).

Casper is a fast-growing chain of delivery and takeout-only restaurants, so-called ghost- or dark kitchens. In 2021 Casper saw its turnover grow by 210% and processed over 230.000 dishes. Euromonitor market research predicts the global food delivery industry to be worth a trillion dollars by 2030.

 

Casper’s customers can order from a variety of 10 virtual restaurants: either through delivery or takeout. The menu is for all tastes: from Gloria’s baked pasta and Barney’s burgers to healthy salads, bagels, or a completely vegan brand in collaboration with The Vegetarian Butcher. One can order directly through the virtual restaurant or via Casper; where you can mix and match these different brands into 1 order with 1 delivery. 

 

Casper has a zero-waste policy and strives to work with local suppliers. Within 30 minutes Casper’s meals are delivered to your door or ready for takeaway, thanks to the process-driven production kitchens where technology, food, and operations are in balance. In this whole process, product quality is key. The restaurant chain works with the marketplaces Just Eat Takeaway, Deliveroo and Uber Eats. 

 

Unlike other ghost kitchens, Casper is very visible in the streets: no shuttered windows in a back street, but open and transparent locations, with clear and recognizable branding, technology to place walk-in orders and waiting areas for the delivery riders.

 

Matthias Laga, co-founder & CEO of Casper: “Of course we are proud of what we have achieved in the past 2 years, but we realize as well that our biggest challenge is still ahead of us. Nevertheless, I’m 100% convinced the best is yet to come!  Thanks to this funding we will be able to accelerate our expansion into new markets and meet the continuous and growing demand for convenience. It is our belief that the combination of our delivery-proof offering with a perfectly balanced fusion of tech expertise, building hospitality brands and operational excellence is the best way to do so.  We will be opening new locations in the Benelux and France and by 2024 we plan to have 50 international locations. It’s an ambitious plan, but we are ready for it. Good thing we’re not afraid to take on big challenges; they give the best rewards!”

 

Tanja Kramer, Principal at Slingshot Ventures: “We are excited to support Casper in its mission to change the online food purchasing experience and to become part of this impressive growth story. The dark kitchen market is growing rapidly, fueled by the fast adoption of online food ordering and the rise of on-demand food delivery apps. Especially Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly accustomed to ordering food from delivery-only restaurants. Casper is the leading player in Belgium and well-positioned to grow its presence internationally. We are impressed by the relentless focus on customer satisfaction, food quality and operational excellence of Matthias and his team.”

 

About Casper

Casper was founded in March 2020 by Matthias Laga (1986), Zhong Xu (1985), CEO/co-founder Deliverect and Peter Van Praet (1988), CEO/founder Bavet. Casper is a hybrid delivery and take out-only restaurant (a so-called ghost kitchen or dark kitchen) that sells 10 quality virtual brands for different tastes – reasonably priced and sustainably packaged. The chain of hybrid kitchens is currently active in Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven, Brussels, Liège and Bruges, and partners with the marketplaces Just Eat Takeaway, Deliveroo and Uber Eats to deliver their delicious food. As of Q3, Casper will also be present in multiple locations in the Netherlands (The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht) and France (Lille). Luxembourg will follow in Q4. By Q2, 2024 Casper plans to operate out of 50 international locations.

 

For more information: www.eatcasper.com

 

About Slingshot Ventures

Slingshot Ventures is an Amsterdam-based venture capital fund focused on investing in the future of digital consumer life, from pre-seed up to series A and beyond. Being funded solely by entrepreneurs, Slingshot invests in the next generation of successful entrepreneurs, building companies with strong brands, happy customers and healthy margins. The founders that Slingshot supports gain access to invaluable knowledge and experience and access to a strong (international) network. 

Slingshot successfully backed well-known consumer technology and e-commerce businesses such as The Fabricant (digital fashion house), Chronext (digital platform for luxury watches), Boldking (European leader in online care products for men), Naduvi (digital outlet for home and living), Wild Cosmetics (sustainable refillable deodorants), Temper (digital platform for flex workers), Stox Energy Socks (innovative compression socks), VanMoof (smart E-bikes) and Wundermart (unmanned retail solutions).

 

For more information: www.slingshot.ventures

 

Media contact

Carolijn Peelen, carolijn@peelen.nu, +31 6 53 28 09 36

Yasmine Moors, yasmine.moors@telenet.be, +32 497 03 67 78