Ghost kitchen chain Casper from Belgium is going to expand to the Netherlands
Casper oprichters Peter Van Praet, Matthias Laga & Zhong Xu
Casper, the fast-growing ghost kitchen chain in Belgium, announced it has raised €5 million in a Series A financing led by Amsterdam-based Slingshot Ventures, in partnership with serial entrepreneurs Zhong Xu & Jan Hollez (Deliverect) and Jürgen Ingels (Smartfin).
With this injection Casper will expand to various locations in the Netherlands (The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht), France (Lille) in the third quarter of this year and Luxembourg will follow in the fourth quarter. As of Q2 2024, Casper aims to have 50 international locations.
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What can the Dutch expect from ghost kitchen chain Casper?
Casper is a successful chain of delivery and takeaway restaurants, a so-called ghost or dark kitchens. In 2021, Casper had sales growth of 210% and delivered more than 230,000 dishes. Market research from Euromonitor predicts that the meal delivery industry will be worth a trillion dollars by 2030. Casper customers can order from 10 virtual restaurants. The menu offers something for everyone: from Gloria’s pasta and Barney’s burgers to healthy salads, bagels or an all vegan dish from the Vegetarian Butcher. Ordering can be done directly at the virtual restaurants or through Casper, where the different brands can be combined into one order, in one delivery.
Casper about sustainability and transparency
Casper has a zero-waste policy and strives to work with local suppliers as much as possible. Within 30 minutes, meals are delivered to your door or are ready for pickup. The production kitchens are process-driven, with technology, kitchen and operations always balanced and product quality essential. Casper works with the delivery platforms Thuisbezorgd.nl, Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
Unlike other ghost kitchens, Casper is clearly visible in the street scene. It does not have blinded windows in back alleys, but open and transparent locations with clearly recognizable branding, technology to place walk-in orders and waiting areas for the delivery people.
Matthias Laga, co-founder & CEO of Casper: “Of course we are proud of what we have achieved in the last 2 years, but we also realize that our biggest challenge is still ahead of us. Still, I am 100% convinced that the best is yet to come! This financing will allow us to accelerate our expansion into new markets and meet the continuous, and growing demand for convenience. We are convinced that we have a success formula with our delivery proof offering combined with our tech, marketing and operational expertise. We are going to open new branches in the Benelux and France and our ambition is to have 50 branches internationally by 2024. An ambitious plan, but we are ready for it. Fortunately, we are not afraid to take on big challenges; big challenges bring the best rewards!”
The support by Slingshot Ventures
Tanja Kramer, Principal at Slingshot Ventures: “We are excited to support Casper in his mission to change the online meal delivery experience and become part of this impressive growth story. The dark kitchens market is growing exponentially, fuelled by the rapid adoption of online meal orders and the rise of on-demand meal delivery apps. Millennials and Generation Z in particular are used to ordering meals. Casper is a market leader in Belgium and well positioned to expand internationally. We are impressed by the continuous focus on customer satisfaction, product quality and operational management 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 chain of hybrid delivery and takeaway restaurants (ghost or dark kitchens) selling 10 high-quality virtual brands for different tastes – interestingly priced and sustainably packaged. Casper is currently active in Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven, Brussels, Liege and Bruges and works with the delivery platforms Thuisbezorgd.nl, Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
About Slingshot
Slingshot Ventures, founded in 2017 by Marco Pieters and Tom Kist, is a Venture Capital fund that invests in fast-growing consumer-tech companies. It is the largest venture fund in the Netherlands funded exclusively by entrepreneurs. The combination of the investors’ expertise and network makes Slingshot proactive in its participations. Since its foundation, Slingshot has invested in, among others, Chronext (luxury watch platform), Boldking (European leader in online grooming products for men), Naduvi (online outlet for home & living brands), Temper (marketplace for hospitality and retail jobs), STOX Energy Socks (innovative compression socks), VanMoof (smart and electric city bikes) and Wundermart (unmanned retail solution for hotels and offices).
Website: Ghost kitchen chain Casper
