QSR chain Wow! Momo Foods aims to double revenues in the next 30 months

The round will provide partial exits to initial investors Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds. Daryani also mentioned that about Rs 180-190 crore was for the primary funding of the business

Wow! Momo Foods, which operates quick service restaurant (QSR) brands Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken is aiming to double revenues in the next 30 months.  

Launched in August 2008, the QSR chain has more than 630 outlets in over 35 cities now.

Sagar Daryani, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder, Wow! Momo Foods, said, “We want to get to 1,000 stores and a 10 per cent earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and earnings (EBITDA) margin at a corporate level in the next 30 months. That’s the goal.” The company is hoping to close FY24 with revenues of Rs 500 crore.

Wow! Momo Foods has raised Rs 410 crore — Rs 350 crore from Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah), sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia and Rs 60 crore from existing investor OAKS Asset Management. This values the business at around Rs 2,460 crore. This is the highest fundraise by the company.

The round will give partial exits to initial investors Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds. Daryani also said that about Rs 180-190 crore was for the primary funding of the business.

A major focus for the next phase of growth for Wow! Momo Foods would be Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

“We are already present in these small cities, but a lot of action would be coming. For us, it was about covering the metro cities first,” Daryani said. In the next three years, the company targets a presence in 100 cities.

The company is also set to enter Darjeeling, where momo is a favourite snack. Will Wow! Momo dish out a different momo for Darjeeling? No, it’s going to be the same, said Daryani. “We’ve cracked what India wants. We have 11 different flavours available in steamed, fried and pan-fried.” And even chocolate momos and momo burgers.

While small box format stores would continue to be a growth area, the company has also ventured into large format stores, Wow! Eats, which houses all its brands, and is looking to add more.

The company has also forayed into dessert with Wow! Kulfi and will be expanding its reach. The FMCG business, which sells packaged momos, is eyeing significant growth too.