Kebab Turki Baba Rafi (KTBR), an Indonesia-based kebab chain owned by Baba Rafi Enterprise is currently in talks with potential investors to sell a large stake.
Market watchers put the evaluation of the company owned by founders Nilam Sari and Hendy Setiono to be at US$10 to US$15 million.
Indonesian Hendy Setiono created the franchise in 2003, after he developed a taste for kebab while visiting his father who worked for an oil company in Qatar. Setiono was amazed at the number of kebab shops in urban areas and how popular the wrap was among local and foreign tourists.
Impressed with the simple yet tasty snack, 19-year-old Setiono took the idea back to Indonesia and started selling kebabs from a food cart in the streets of Surabaya.
Fourteen years since then, KTBR has expanded to become a multimillion dollar company, with more than 1300 outlets across nine countries. This includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and the Netherlands.
While largely known for its kebabs, the Indonesian fast food company has also diversified its menu, selling hamburgers, canai bread, kripiks, and sandwiches such as shawarma and hot dogs in its food kiosk.
The physical franchise has also extended into a business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, where it sells frozen food such as frozen kebabs and nuggets.
KTBR is known as the largest kebab chain in Indonesia, and Setiono wishes to expand it even further, to reach 4000 outlets in Indonesia and 200 overseas.
Alongside KTBR, Baba Rafi Enterprise also owns Piramizza, Bebek Garang and Voila! 360’ communication agency.
While Baba Rafi considers selling a majority in its Kebab chain, Indonesia’s popular street food chain OTW is also looking at completing its pre-Series A funding soon.
By Vivian Foo, VCNewsNetwork