Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd, the Tiger Global-backed quick-service restaurant chain, is turning packaged foods into a major revenue driver. The 800-outlet chain eyes ₹850 crore in revenue for FY26, driven by the FMCG business, a pivot which is sending the firm into everything from frozen momos and cup noodles to frozen coconut and kulfi.
However, the shift comes as delivery costs and heavy discounts squeeze margins at its brick-and-mortar stores. The 14-16% margins on delivery eroded due to high commissions, discounting, deals and marketing compared to pre-covid times.
Though digital orders hit 40% of sales, the firm is targeting higher-margin retail and exports to West Asia to boost profits and offset rising delivery costs.
Still, cofounder and CEO of Wow Momo, Sagar Daryani, has delayed the firm’s IPO by two years due to market volatility, prioritizing a ₹1,200 crore revenue goal by 2027 instead. In FY28, its turnover will be ₹1,100-1,400 crore, he said.
The QSR-to-FMCG company is growing 100% year-on-year on the back of improved unit economics across quick commerce, modern retail, general trade, and exports, he said.
“We realised people want our momos at home as much as in stores. Our FMCG business is likely to equal our quick service restaurant segment within the next decade," he added, speaking to Mint.
He said there has been a deliberate effort to make FMCG a second growth pillar rather than just an extension of the kitchen. The business is now contributing around ₹100 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Of its ₹850 crore target revenue, FMCG will contribute 12-15% this fiscal.
The packaged foods arm, he added, is rapidly expanding its reach, now present in 6,000 retail points nationwide, while exports to West Asia, including Qatar, Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, will also start in July.
Next, it will add packaged noodles for general retail trade, priced between ₹15 and ₹20 to compete with established brands like Maggi. It already has Korean packaged noodles and cup noodles, which are priced higher, upwards of ₹40.
Focusing more on FMCG
Its frozen momo brand competes with Prasuma, launched in 2019 and acquired by cigarettes-to-FMCG major ITC in 2025. The kulfi vertical, on the other hand, launched last year under a shop-in-shop model from its momo outlets and now has over 200 points of sale, generating monthly revenue of ₹1.5 crore.
This is projected to reach ₹5 crore monthly this summer. It launched its ice cream and kulfi vertical last summer, but could not scale then because its plant for making Indian ice cream was not yet ready. This year, Daryani expects to retail desserts across several pin codes outside its shop-in-shop model.
Samir Kuckreja, founder and CEO of boutique hospitality consulting firm Tasanaya Hospitality, said, “Wow! Momo has been a first mover, taking a product that naturally lends itself to FMCG and bringing it to the market in a way few others have.”
While India's ready-to-eat market is still nascent, it offers QSR brands a unique growth path beyond traditional stores. However, success requires significant working capital and specialized teams to navigate high retail listing costs and advertising demands, Kuckreja said.
It launched 200 new QSRs this year, bringing the store count to over 800. Beyond momos, its restaurant business is also building other verticals.
The chicken brand, which competes with chains like KFC, operates 50 stores across South and East India. Gross margins in chicken outlets are slightly lower at 60%, compared to 70% in momos, Daryani said. "We tried to open these stores in the north of the country also, but we did not achieve much success, as the non-vegetarian eating population is lower. So we shut some stores and have moved focus to the east and south of the country for the time being," he added.
Future outlook
The company has raised about ₹625 crore since its inception, including ₹120 crore from Tiger Global Management in 2019. It was last valued at roughly ₹2,500 crore. The company expects its FMCG business to close FY26 with an annual recurring revenue of ₹100 crore. Daryani stated that plans are in place to scale total revenue to ₹1,000–1,200 crore by FY27 through both restaurant and retail expansion.
Wow! Momo is one of the few Indian restaurant brands to successfully move beyond outlets into packaged foods, joining legacy players such as Haldiram’s, Bikanervala, and MTR, which are now heavily into retail.
Other contemporary brands, like Blue Tokai Coffee, are also experimenting with packaged coffee formats. The move may be timely, as India’s food services industry is expanding rapidly in some categories.
According to the National Restaurant Association of India, the sector is expected to reach ₹7.76 trillion by FY28, growing at a CAGR of 8.1%, with quick-service restaurants projected to grow by 27% over the same period.
In its most recent annual returns to the ministry of corporate affairs, accessed via Tofler, the company reported a revenue from operations of ₹457 crore in FY24, growing over ₹409 crore in FY23. It reported a loss of ₹103 crore in FY24, similar to FY23’s ₹106 crore.
