Wow! Momo raises Rs 44 cr at Rs 230 cr valuation from Lighthouse Funds

Wow! Momo, Kolkata based foodtech startup, claimed as India’s largest chain of branded momos raises a whopping Rs 44 crore fund at a valuation of Rs 230 crore from the two VC’s in its series B round. The fund raised also provides a highly profitable exit to some of the Indian Angel Network (IAN) Investors, who decided to sell their shares partly or completely to Lighthouse at a return of 106 % on their Initial Investment in a period of less than 18 months.

KPMG was the Investment Banker advising the company in the above transaction. The financial vendor due diligence was undertaken by Delloite and Khaitan & Co was the legal advisor to the company.

Sanjeev Bhikchandani, founder of Naukri.com, has been a lead Investor in Wow! Momo on behalf of IAN since 2015. Commenting on the latest funding he said, “The team at Wow! Momo has executed very well. They have sustained positive cash flows in geographies where they have achieved economies of scale. The breadth of innovations around momos is commendable. They have built a strong brand through word-of-mouth and without spending marketing/advertising dollars. This company is now going National and might possibly even go overseas. At IAN, we recognize the market potential, talent, and the urge to disrupt the ecosystem, which is evident in Sagar, Binod, Miftaur, and their venture.”

Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai established Wow! Momo in 2008. Apart from India, it has a good presence in Nepal and parts of Tibet. The brand has grown rapidly to become the country's largest momo chain in terms of volumes, turnovers & innovations like chocolate momo, MoBurg, sizzler momos, and baked momo au gratin etc.

In a statement Sachin Bhartiya, partner at Lighthouse Funds said, “We believe Wow! Momo presents a great opportunity to participate in the fast-growing Indian food services space which is witnessing strong demand-side tailwinds.  We saw an amazing drive in the founding team, wanting to dream, dare and scale and above all, care for society, which matched the ethos of Lighthouse.  Wow! Momo has been successful in building an agile and profitable model, all while delivering consistency in quality, taste and service.  This is the reason it has demonstrated phenomenal growth and earned a fan following in such a short span.  We are excited to back Sagar, Binod and Miftaur and help achieve our collective vision for Wow! Momo.”

Earlier, Lighthouse Funds has invested in brands like Fabindia, Cera Sanitaryware, Xseed Education, Bikaji Foods and Kama Ayurveda.

Prior to this, Wow! Momo had raised $2M in series A round of funding from IAN. In last two months, this is the second investment in the food sector, which seems to be picking up. Another food delivery platform Swiggy, had raised Series E funding of $80 million led by Naspers.

Image credit: Hungryforever