The Belgian Waffle Co. just hit a major milestone in India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) food scene. Vixar (formerly Arpwood Partners) invested ₹770 crore in the company, valuing it at about ₹1,700 crore. This shows that investors are really confident in well-run, growing D2C consumer brands in India.
With this deal, Vixar now owns a big chunk—around 45%—of the company, making them the biggest shareholder. Vallabh Bhansali and HDFC Asset Management Company also joined in, making this one of the biggest funding rounds and D2C acquisitions of 2025 in India’s food and drink industry.
This deal is mostly about selling existing shares. Marathon Edge, the current private equity investor, along with CEO Ankit Patel and founders Shrey Aggarwal and Alisha Shirodkar, sold some of their shares. Marathon Edge is expected to keep a 12–15% stake, while the founders and management will hold on to the rest. These kinds of partial exits and control changes are becoming more common as the Indian D2C sector matures.
Since its start in 2015, The Belgian Waffle Co. has become a top D2C brand in India. They were the first to bring the waffle craze to India and quickly grew through cafes, kiosks, and partnerships with food delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato. Now, they have almost 700 stores in 250 cities, making them the biggest western dessert QSR chain in India and a standout in the D2C market.
Financially, the company is doing great. In FY25, they reported ₹450 crore in revenue with an EBITDA of ₹62 crore. They expect their EBITDA to reach almost ₹80 crore in FY26, thanks to efficient operations, careful expansion, and strong unit economics. These numbers make them one of the fastest-growing D2C brands in India’s food and beverage sector.
Besides their physical stores, The Belgian Waffle Co. has branched out into packaged goods, which is a smart omnichannel D2C move. They now sell waffle crisps, spreads, and pancake and waffle mixes online, in stores, and through D2C channels. This move into ready-to-eat and easy-to-make products is in line with current D2C market trends, as brands try to balance in-person sales with online growth.
For Vixar, this investment makes sense because they like to buy significant stakes in consumer-focused businesses with good cash flow that are led by their founders. Rajeev Gupta, Manoj Dengle, and Amol Jain, who used to work at Carlyle and TPG India, founded Vixar. Since 2015, they’ve invested nearly ₹5,500 crore in healthcare, financial services, diagnostics, renewable energy, and consumer brands, making them a key player in private equity in the D2C space.
As India’s D2C industry sees more consolidation, secondary exits, and control investments, The Belgian Waffle Co.’s ₹770 crore deal is a landmark moment. It proves that scalable, profitable, omnichannel D2C food brands are attractive and shows that strong fundamentals continue to pull in long-term institutional capital into the Indian D2C world.
