Building a Cloud Kitchen Empire with 500 Million IRR: Nader Raftari’s Story

Nader Raftari, a food and industry entrepreneur, revealed at INOTEX 2025 how he transformed 500 million IRR into one of Iran’s first cloud kitchens, now employing over 120 people.
    
On May 1, 2025, during the “Chameh: Entrepreneurs’ Stories” event at the 14th INOTEX exhibition, Nader Raftari, owner of Raftari Restaurant and Dan Cloud Kitchen, shared his remarkable journey. Starting with a mere 50 IRR monthly income from lathe work, Raftari credits his uncle for instilling independence and resilience in him.

After living in the UK and Italy, he returned to Iran, delving into industrial production with projects like building 35,000 cooling units for Iran Khodro. His innovative leap came with the “Dan” cloud kitchen, where 14 food brands share a common space, offering diverse cuisines from sandwiches to Iranian dishes. Beginning with just 500 million IRR, this model has expanded without hefty branch setup costs, now supporting over 120 employees. Raftari sees entrepreneurship as a personal growth test, embracing the ability to rise again after setbacks.