The Belgian Waffle Co: Startup Deep Dive

Startup Deep Dive : The Belgian Waffle Co — FY25 revenue Rs 450 crore and EBITDA Rs 62 crore; Vixar-led consortium buying about 45 percent at a valuation of nearly Rs 1,700 crore

The Belgian Waffle Co is a Mumbai-based dessert-led QSR chain (operated by Bloombay Enterprises LLP) selling waffles, waffle sandwiches and pancakes through company-owned and franchised outlets across India.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what The Belgian Waffle Co does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

The Belgian Waffle Co in Brief

What it is: The Belgian Waffle Co is an Indian Dessert QSR (waffles) company based in Mumbai.
Who it serves: businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers.
Sells waffles, Waffwich sandwiches, pancakes and ready-to-eat items
About 700 outlets across 250 cities reported in late 2025 (an earlier report cited 250 outlets in 75 cities)
Outlets are cafes, kiosks and takeaway formats, with delivery via Swiggy and Zomato
Funding: Marathon Edge Partners invested about $8-10 million for roughly 22 percent in 2021 (reported).

The Belgian Waffle Co Quick Facts

Company	The Belgian Waffle Co
Founded	2015
Headquarters	Mumbai
Founders	Shrey Aggarwal, Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal
Sector	Dessert QSR (waffles)
Total funding	Marathon Edge Partners invested about $8-10 million for roughly 22 percent in 2021 (reported)
Latest round	Vixar-led consortium buying about 45 percent, December 2025, largely secondary
Valuation	Nearly Rs 1,700 crore (December 2025); a 2024 report cited Rs 1,300 crore
Website	thebelgianwaffle.co

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is The Belgian Waffle Co?

The Belgian Waffle Co operates in the Dessert QSR (waffles) space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to The Belgian Waffle Co.

Sells waffles, Waffwich sandwiches, pancakes and ready-to-eat items
About 700 outlets across 250 cities reported in late 2025 (an earlier report cited 250 outlets in 75 cities)
Outlets are cafes, kiosks and takeaway formats, with delivery via Swiggy and Zomato
Retail premixes, waffle crisps and spreads launched in 2021
Presence in Nepal; Bangladesh planned

The Origin Story of The Belgian Waffle Co

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

Founders: Shrey Aggarwal, Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal.
Founded in 2015 by Shrey Aggarwal, who found the waffle concept while working abroad, with wife Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal leading marketing and brand
Started with one store in Mumbai
Owned and operated by Bloombay Enterprises LLP; listed address in Reay Road, Mumbai

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Dessert QSR (waffles) sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

2015: First store opens in Mumbai
2021: Marathon Edge acquires about 22 percent; FMCG premixes launched
2024: Talks with ChrysCapital (valuation about Rs 1,300 crore) did not close
Date not stated: 250th outlet opens in Trichy, Tamil Nadu
December 2025: Vixar agrees to buy about 45 percent at nearly Rs 1,700 crore valuation
FY25: Revenue Rs 450 crore, EBITDA Rs 62 crore

The Belgian Waffle Co Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

2021: Marathon Edge Partners, about 22 percent for $8-10 million
December 2025: Vixar (formerly Arpwood Partners), Vallabh Bhansali and HDFC Asset Management buy about 45 percent for about Rs 770 crore; sellers include Marathon Edge, CEO Ankit Patel and the founders

How Does The Belgian Waffle Co Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

Company-owned stores and catering plus franchise outlets
Low-capex kiosk and cafe formats
Retail FMCG line extends the brand
Delivery and online sales via aggregators

The Numbers: The Belgian Waffle Co Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

FY25: revenue Rs 450 crore, EBITDA Rs 62 crore; FY26 EBITDA expected around Rs 80 crore
FY24 and profit/loss after tax: not found

Market Opportunity for The Belgian Waffle Co

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising digital adoption, cloud and mobile penetration, growing enterprise technology spending, government digitisation programmes and a deep pool of engineering talent. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

Described as India's largest western dessert-led QSR brand
Dessert chains such as Theobroma attracted large PE deals

Technology and Product at The Belgian Waffle Co

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are product quality, data and integration depth, security, scalability and the speed of shipping improvements.

No proprietary technology reported; delivery via Swiggy and Zomato

Team and Culture at The Belgian Waffle Co

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

Shrey Aggarwal, founder
Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal, co-founder (marketing and brand)
Ankit Patel, Managing Director and CEO

The Belgian Waffle Co Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Competitor	How it differs
Dessert Junction	Often compared by franchise investors

Risks and Challenges for The Belgian Waffle Co

Heavy reliance on franchisees
Competition from dessert and snack formats
Deal figures differ between reports (Rs 770 crore versus Rs 1,700 crore valuation)
One profile claims it is bootstrapped, which conflicts with reported PE investment
Competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth.
Funding risk: technology businesses often burn cash before reaching profit and depend on investor appetite.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

The Belgian Waffle Co Growth Outlook: What to Watch

New consortium to become the controlling shareholder group
Plans to grow FMCG range and enter Bangladesh
Key indicators: recurring revenue, customer retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and runway.
Funding position: Whether The Belgian Waffle Co can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
Regulation: Changes from data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Industry Context: Where The Belgian Waffle Co Fits

India's technology startup ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, supported by cheap data, a large base of smartphone users, digital public infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool. Companies now build for education, software, mobility, logistics, agriculture, defence, media and more, selling both to Indian customers and abroad.

Durable technology companies usually combine a clear customer problem with repeatable distribution and disciplined unit economics. Growth funded only by spending tends to fade, while products that customers keep using and paying for build compounding advantages.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for The Belgian Waffle Co

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for The Belgian Waffle Co.

Bull case

A large and growing base of digital users and businesses expands the addressable market.
Recurring revenue and strong retention can compound growth.
Selling into global markets widens the opportunity beyond India.

Bear case

Heavy competition can compress pricing and margins.
Dependence on external funding can force painful cost cuts.
Regulation or platform changes can disrupt a product quickly.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from The Belgian Waffle Co

Studying a company in the Dessert QSR (waffles) space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about The Belgian Waffle Co.

Solving a clear, frequent customer problem matters more than adding features.
Retention and repeat usage are better health signals than sign-ups.
Disciplined spending extends runway and keeps options open when funding tightens.
Distribution, not just product quality, decides who wins in crowded markets.
Building trust through data protection and reliability is part of the product.

How to Evaluate The Belgian Waffle Co as a Startup

Customer clarity: Can The Belgian Waffle Co name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

The Belgian Waffle Co is part of India’s growing Dessert QSR (waffles) ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

The Belgian Waffle Co FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Belgian Waffle Co?

The Belgian Waffle Co is a Mumbai-based dessert-led QSR chain (operated by Bloombay Enterprises LLP) selling waffles, waffle sandwiches and pancakes through company-owned and franchised outlets across India. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded The Belgian Waffle Co?

The Belgian Waffle Co was founded by Shrey Aggarwal, Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal, and the company reports a founding year of 2015.

How much funding has The Belgian Waffle Co raised?

Marathon Edge Partners invested about $8-10 million for roughly 22 percent in 2021 (reported). Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does The Belgian Waffle Co make money?

The Belgian Waffle Co earns revenue from its Dessert QSR (waffles) products and services sold to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of The Belgian Waffle Co?

Reported rivals include Dessert Junction. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for The Belgian Waffle Co?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.