The largest foodtech business in the Middle East, Calo, revealed that it has raised SAR 94 million ($25 million) in its Series B fundraising round. Calo is revolutionizing personalized meal subscriptions. Calo’s Series B includes regional family offices, STV, Khwarizmi Ventures, and returning investors, including Nuwa Capital, which led the round. The company is headquartered in Riyadh and is supported by top investment firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The oversubscription of the Series B round indicates investor confidence, which is why Calo has extended the amount to a total of $50 million, with an additional $25 million to be raised in Q1 2025.
In late 2019, Ahmed Alrawi established Calo, and Moayed Almoayed joined him as a co-founder shortly after. With no obvious winner in the “healthy” category, the global quick service restaurant sector is nevertheless expanding rapidly and is worth over $500 billion. Calo is currently the fastest-growing meal subscription business in the world, with over 100% compound annual growth (CAGR) over the last five years (2020–2024) and an unprecedented nine-figure yearlyized revenue ($million).
“It’s been truly a privilege to be ‘making healthy easy’ over the past few years for hundreds of thousands of customers, but it’s still day 1 for us,” said Ahmed Al Rawi, Founder & CEO, Calo. “Being in Saudi, we’re inspired to think big and be ambitious. There’s no reason why we can’t export innovation from the region to the rest of the world. The top 10 food brands globally earn $300B a year, none of which are solving the health problem. We bet that in the next 10 years, there will be a healthy brand that climbs to the top 10 list, and we aspire to be that brand having tech & innovation in our DNA from day 1”.
Calo is dedicated to making healthy eating more accessible as the prevalence of obesity and lifestyle-related illnesses rises. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, the company’s customized meal plans accommodate dietary requirements and exercise objectives, delivering more than 10 million meals in 2024 alone.
“Calo is reimagining how the world adopts healthy lifestyles by being customer obsessed and creating products that truly solve the problem. At Nuwa, we are excited to return as investors due to our deep conviction in Ahmed’s vision and Calo’s ability to build a category-leading technology business that has delivered consistent growth across geographies, solving a big overlooked problem,” said Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner, Nuwa Capital.
After completing its Series B investment, Calo plans to use AI to further personalize its offerings and launch additional products, further solidifying its position as the GCC’s top meal subscription provider. As part of its goal, the company will also expand into related industries, such as retail, where it has already opened five physical sites and generated seven-figure revenues, and pursue international expansion through M&A, with its first acquisition expected to close in Q1 2025. In order to guide the company through this phase of rapid expansion and the IPO process scheduled for 2027 in Saudi Arabia, the company will also hire for key leadership roles.
Vision Ventures, 500 Startups, Savour Ventures, Nama Ventures, and other angel investors contributed $26 million to Calo in the past. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are among the countries where the company operates.
