Wow! Momo plans ₹300 crore fundraise, eyes overseas expansion ahead of proposed IPO
Quick-service restaurant chain Wow! Momo Foods is preparing to expand overseas while lining up a ₹250-300 crore fundraise to fuel its restaurant business in India, ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the next 18-24 months. The Kolkata-based company is seeking to build a larger business across restaurants and packaged foods, with international markets offering growth opportunities for both.
The company, which operates Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken, plans to enter Sri Lanka by the end of 2026 through a master franchise partnership with local entity Softlogic Corp. The partners plan to open about 25 outlets in the country over the first three years. Softlogic will fund the outlets and local production, while Wow! Momo will earn fees and royalties and provide operating support, co-founder Sagar J. Daryani told Mint.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the next market under consideration for the restaurant business, through a local partner. The US and China are longer-term targets, with entry being considered by fiscal year 2030 (FY30).
Its packaged-food arm, Wow! Momo FMCG, already sells products in 14 countries. It plans to expand into the US, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and Canada over the next 12 months, Daryani said.
The FMCG business currently contributes 12% of the company's overall business, generating about ₹10 crore a month, he said. The company expects its share to rise to 20% by the end of the year. FMCG is also more profitable than the restaurant business, Daryani said.
The company expects its international business, combining restaurant operations and FMCG exports, to exceed ₹100-120 crore in revenue in two to three years. FMCG is growing at about 100% annually, albeit on a smaller base, compared with 20-25% growth in the restaurant business.
Fundraise ahead of IPO
Mint has learnt that Wow! Momo has planned a ₹250-300 crore fundraise to finance its restaurant expansion in India. The founders could participate in the round alongside incoming investors.
The proceeds will support new store openings and working capital, as well as the repayment of some debt. The company has previously indicated that it would consider a potential IPO before the end of calendar year 2028.
Daryani did not comment on the proposed fundraise or the IPO plans.
The company expects to close FY27 with revenue of approximately ₹1,050 crore, driven by expansion across its restaurant and retail businesses.
Wow! Momo reported revenue of about ₹830 crore in FY26, up from ₹630 crore in FY25, according to its latest available data. It currently operates around 860 outlets across its three restaurant brands and expects to end FY27 with about 910 outlets, before accelerating openings in FY28.
The company has raised about ₹625 crore since its inception. Investors include Tiger Global Management and Khazanah, a Malaysian sovereign fund, which invested in 2019 and 2024, respectively. In December, investor Madhusudan Kela put ₹75 crore into a bridge round. Wealth management fund 360 One and the owner of Haldiram also invested in the business in August and September 2025.
The business was last valued at roughly ₹2,500 crore as of FY26.
Inflation squeeze
While international expansion offers a new growth avenue, rising input costs and delivery commissions are putting pressure on the restaurant business in India.
Food inflation across the industry has been running at 7-8%, Daryani said, with chicken, cooking oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), onions, fuel and packaging all becoming more expensive. Wow! Momo and other industry players have responded by raising menu prices by around 6%.
Daryani said the company has absorbed part of the cost increases rather than passing them entirely on to customers.
Delivery platforms have added another cost burden. About half of Wow! Momo's restaurant sales now come through delivery platforms, up from 35-38% a few years ago. Platform commissions, which accounted for around 1% of the company's profit and loss statement before the pandemic, now account for about 10%, Daryani said.
While online ordering has expanded the company's customer base, the higher commissions have made delivery economics harder to manage. Daryani expects commission costs to decline with the emergence of alternatives such as Rapido's Ownly and Swiggy's Toing.
Despite these pressures, the company reported stronger same-store sales growth than several listed peers in the first half of FY27.
“Our same-store sales growth year to date in H1 March-September was a positive 14%. This is a significant double digit as compared to single-digit of listed peers,” Daryani said.
Listed quick-service restaurant chains also reported improving demand in the first half of FY27, with some recording double-digit same-store sales growth. KFC India, operated by Sapphire Foods, reported growth of 14% in the second quarter, while Westlife Foodworld, which runs McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India, posted 10.1% growth. Burger King India recorded 12.6% growth in the first quarter. By comparison, Domino’s India operator Jubilant FoodWorks reported like-for-like sales growth of 4.1% in the second quarter, while Pizza Hut India posted 5% growth in the same period.