Kolkata-based quick service restaurant (QSR) chain Wow Momo Foods has secured Rs 75 crore from well-known investor Madhusudan Kela, founder of Singularity AMC, in a fresh funding round that underlines rising confidence in India’s homegrown fast-food brands. The company, which already operates more than 800 outlets across the country, said the new capital will fuel its next phase of expansion and brand building. For Kela, the deal marks a significant bet on the scalability of India’s organised QSR space, where regional brands are rapidly transforming into national chains.
The Rs 75 crore infusion is part of an ongoing bridge funding round that has seen sustained institutional interest. Earlier, the same bridge round drew participation from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, wealth manager 360 One, and Haldiram’s Kamal Agarwal. Media reports have pegged the total bridge funding raised earlier in the range of Rs 130–150 crore, led by Khazanah and Haldiram Foods’ Kamal Agarwal, taking cumulative bridge commitments well past the Rs 200-crore mark once Kela’s investment is factored in.
Part of a larger bridge and growth plan:
Wow Momo Foods has positioned the Kela-led investment as a strong endorsement of its long-term ambition to build a large, enduring QSR company out of India. In a statement, the founding team said the backing reinforces its conviction to scale faster, innovate deeper, and continue building a brand that Indians “love and trust”. The company has also mandated Avendus as its banker for a larger fundraise planned later next year, signalling that this bridge round is a precursor to a more substantial growth or pre-IPO raise.
The bridge money is expected to be used to strengthen store expansion, enhance supply chain capabilities, and support the growth of its multi-brand portfolio. With an increasingly competitive QSR market, fresh capital also gives Wow Momo room to invest in product innovation, digital ordering channels, and customer experience, while keeping leverage in check. The presence of marquee backers like Khazanah, Haldiram and now Kela also improves its profile with lenders, landlords, and potential franchise partners.
Aggressive expansion across cities and format:
From a small Kolkata beginning in 2008, when classmates Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai launched the brand, Wow Momo Foods has grown into a national player with more than 800 outlets in over 80 cities. The company now plans to push deeper into Tier-II and Tier-III markets, targeting a presence in more than 100 cities and a footprint of over 1,500 stores in the next two years. That effectively means nearly doubling its outlet count, riding on increasing urbanisation, higher eating-out frequency and demand for affordable, standardised food.
At the moment, the business runs four different brands: Wow! Momo, Wow! China, Wow! Kulfi and Wow! chicken. It is able to capture various eating occasions- from short meals and snacks to desserts within the same operating ecosystem thanks to its multi-brand strategy. Additionally, it makes it easier to implement new formats in malls, high streets, food courts, and cloud kitchens and improves unit economics by enabling greater use of kitchen personnel and infrastructure.
Strong revenue growth and ambitious target:
Wow Momo Foods’ financial performance has kept pace with its expansion. The company closed FY 2024-25 with revenue of over Rs 640 crore, registering growth of more than 30 percent over the previous year. Same-store-sales-growth (SSSG), a key metric for QSR chains that tracks performance of existing outlets, came in at over 40 percent in the same period, an indication that growth is not just driven by new store additions but also stronger throughput from existing locations.
Encouraged by this progress, the company’s current fiscal year 2025–2026 revenue objective is Rs 850 crore. If accomplished, that would be another significant increase and bring it closer to the Rs 1,000-crore revenue club, which is frequently used as a standard for scaled consumer brands in India. Investors like Kela are reassured that the brand has both depth in current markets and runway in emerging ones thanks to its high SSSG and growing footprint.
Kela’s bet on homegrown QSR growth story:
For Madhusudan Kela, known for spotting long-term themes in Indian markets, the Wow Momo Foods investment fits into the narrative of rising disposable incomes and formalisation in the food services sector. By backing a company with strong revenue growth, multi-brand presence and clear expansion plans, he is effectively betting on the shift from unorganised street food and standalone eateries towards branded QSR chains. His presence on the cap table, alongside global and domestic institutions, adds another layer of market credibility to the company’s journey.
For Wow Momo Foods, the Rs 75 crore cheque is more than just capital—it is validation from a seasoned market voice at a time when it is preparing for its next big leap. As it moves towards 1,500 outlets, chases Rs 850 crore in annual revenues and lines up a larger round with Avendus, the company is positioning itself as one of the leading names in India’s fast-evolving QSR landscape, powered by momos, Chinese, fried chicken and kulfis under one fast-growing umbrella.
