NewcrestImage now second largest shareholder in food tech company TiffinLabs

DALLAS-BASED INVESTMENT firm NewcrestImage became the second largest shareholder in TiffinLabs, a Singapore-based food tech company which operates food delivery-focused virtual restaurant brands, a statement said.

Founded in 2020, TiffinLabs introduced numerous virtual brands across Singapore and Malaysia. It started U.S. expansion in Dallas in 2021 and now operates in Chicago, Detroit, Knoxville, and Charlotte.  By 2023, it expects to have 1,000 digital storefronts globally and to be operating in 30 U.S. cities.

“TiffinLabs offers hotels and restaurants a low cost, turn-key source of incremental revenue for post-pandemic recovery, while for us as investors, TiffinLabs represents a strategic opportunity for long-term growth,” said Mital Patel, managing partner of NewcrestImage.

Because of the company’s shareholder position, Patel now becomes a board member of TiffinLabs.

He added that many TiffinLabs operators have achieved dramatically higher revenues and better margins, such as four-fold increases in delivery and on-premises income, and 30 percent increases in overall profit.

To operate as a TiffinLabs site, a restaurant or hotel uses its existing kitchen to tap into the growing food delivery market and attract new customers.

Brands such as Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, Hyatt Place, AC Hotels, Courtyard, and Best Western are now using the TiffinLabs concept. Its operating partners include HP Hotels, PM Hotel Group, Murphy Asset Management, Aimbridge Hospitality, and NewcrestImage, the statement further said.

“Our innovative culinary team, which includes representatives from around the world,

then carefully develops one or more virtual restaurant brands for your property so you can offer great-tasting meals for both on-premise in-room dining and online ordering through exclusive delivery by services such as DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats,” said Shaun Smithson, co-founder and president of TiffinLabs U.S.

Mehul Patel is managing partner and CEO at NewcrestImage. In January, the company completed its sale of 27 hotels to Summit Hotel Properties it first announced in November.