India’s Wow Momo follows Domino’s lead, plans IPO within two years

Indian fast-food chain Wow Momo Foods plans to go public within two years, its chief executive said, as the popular dumpling brand aims to replicate Domino’s Pizza’s rapid expansion in the world’s most populous country.

India’s $5 billion fast food industry has seen significant growth, driven by growing demand from low- and middle-income households.

Wow Momo, valued at 25 billion rupees ($299.33 million) and with a network of 650 stores, plans to capitalize on this shift in consumer behavior and become the first major local fast-food chain to go public.

Tiger Global-backed Wow Momo reported revenue of nearly 4.8 billion rupees ($57.47 million) in the year ended March and the company aims to double revenue in the next 30 months, co-founder and CEO Sagar Daryani said , reaching 1,000 billion rupees, told Reuters on Tuesday night.

“The public markets are really growing… IPOs of homegrown fast-food chains in India will change the playbook for the fast-food industry (in the country),” Daryani said.

India’s booming stock market has hit record highs more than 50 times this year, with nearly 200 companies including e-scooter maker Ola Electric and telecom operator Bharti Hexacom raising billions of dollars.

In the restaurant industry, franchisees of Western brands such as KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Domino’s have gone public in the past decade. One of the latest local companies to go public is Barbeque-Nation Hospitality, which went public three years ago.

Bengaluru, Karnataka-based Barbeque-Nation’s shares are up nearly 28% from its IPO price, although footfall from inflation-weary consumers has posed some challenges.

Daryani said he plans to replicate the success of Jubilant FoodWorks and expand Domino’s from one store in India in 1996 to more than 1,800 stores.

Wow Momo, which offers delicious dumplings priced at 109-369 rupees ($1.31-$4.42) per serving, plans to increase its store count to 1,000 stores and become profitable based on core profitability metrics within two years.

Daryani added that while the company’s same-store sales fell from October to May, reflecting a broader slowdown in India’s fast food segment, sales have recovered, turning positive from June to September.

(1 USD = 83.5200 Indian Rupees)

Disclaimer: This story was published from a news agency without modifications to the text.