Brands
Reelo launches ‘Membership’, a prepaid platform to power restaurant loyalty
MUMBAI: India’s F&B sector is getting a new loyalty lifeline. Reelo has rolled out ‘Membership’, a prepaid platform that helps restaurants drive recurring revenue while deepening customer relationships.
The launch comes as restaurants struggle with shrinking margins and high third-party commissions. According to Food Delivery Unwrapped, a report by The Mavericks India, hidden aggregator costs run into thousands of crores each year. ‘Membership’ by Reelo aims to shift the balance back in restaurants’ favour by encouraging direct engagement through prepaid plans and rewards.
“With Membership, we’re enabling restaurants to generate predictable revenue, build loyalty, and regain control of their customer relationships,” said Reelo, ceo and co-founder, Parin Sanghvi.
The platform allows restaurants to design custom prepaid programs from coffee subscriptions and festival bundles to prepaid wallets where customers might load 5,000 and unlock 7,500 in spending power. Seamless integration with 35 plus POS systems means automation of sales, redemption and reconciliation at scale.
Early pilots show promise. NOA by the Nutcracker in Mumbai enrolled 175 plus members in two months, adding over Rs 3 lakh in revenue. Niro in Ahmedabad saw visit frequency nearly double, while The Beer Café has launched its beer ocrat plan targeting Rs 50 lakh in the first month.
“With loyalty in place, membership was the natural next step,” said NOA, ceo, Gordon D’Souza. “It builds deeper relationships and brings in steady, repeat business.”
Reelo, which already supports 28,000 plus restaurants across India, the Middle East and Africa, says ‘Membership’ is about more than technology. “We’re catalysing a movement,” Sanghvi added. “This is the future of F&B in India: empowering restaurants to build legacies of loyalty.”
Brands
Devyani International Ltd plans three-subsidiary merger to streamline operations
QSR operator moves to streamline structure and unlock operational synergies
Devyani International is tightening its corporate kitchen. The quick-service restaurant operator has approved a scheme to merge three subsidiaries—Sky Gate Hospitality, Blackvelvet Hospitality and Say Chefs Eatery—into the parent company in a bid to simplify its structure and sharpen operational efficiency.
The decision was cleared at a board meeting on March 10 and disclosed in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. The merger will take effect from April 1, 2025, subject to statutory approvals.
All three transferor companies are direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, meaning no fresh shares will be issued and the shareholding pattern of Devyani International will remain unchanged once the scheme is completed.
The subsidiaries together operate more than 100 outlets—including dine-in restaurants and cloud kitchens, spread across over 40 cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.
Devyani International, the largest franchisee of Yum Brands in India, said the consolidation is aimed at generating operational synergies, optimising resource utilisation and reducing layers within the corporate structure.
Financially, the move brings together businesses of varying scale. As of March 31, 2025, Devyani International reported a net worth of Rs 10,381.02 million and turnover of Rs 33,493.33 million. Sky Gate Hospitality posted a net worth of Rs 761.14 million with turnover of Rs 2,657.57 million, while Blackvelvet Hospitality and Say Chefs Eatery reported smaller operations and negative net worth.
The merger will consolidate these operations under a single corporate umbrella as the company sharpens its focus on scale and efficiency.
Devyani International currently runs more than 2,000 outlets across over 280 cities in India, Nigeria, Nepal and Thailand. Its portfolio includes franchise rights for brands such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Costa Coffee, Tea Live, New York Fries and Sanook Kitchen, alongside its own food brands.
With the paperwork underway and approvals pending, Devyani is essentially clearing the corporate clutter—turning three subsidiaries into one tighter, leaner operation. In the QSR world, even the back office needs a spring clean.
