Bengaluru-based Popo Global, which operates gourmet food brands The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini, and Smash Guys, has secured a ₹532 crore minority investment from Artal Asia, part of the US-based Invus Group. According to reports from Moneycontrol, the company announced the deal on September 10, with the investment coming months after Moneycontrol was the first to report in April that Popo Ventures was looking to sell a stake worth ₹550-600 crore at the same valuation range. However, sources now suggest the deal values the firm at around ₹1,250 crore, making this Popo Global's first-ever external funding round after largely bootstrapping its expansion since inception. The company has not disclosed the valuation details or the precise structure of the transaction, but the deal values the firm at around ₹1,250 crore, significantly higher than the earlier reported valuation range.
As reported by Moneycontrol, Popo Global was founded in 2017 by brothers Nikhil Gupta and Abhijit Gupta. The company has grown from a single Pizza Bakery outlet into a multi-brand food platform with around 40 outlets across The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini and Smash Guys. The company stated that its highly capital-efficient model has enabled significant expansion in the Bengaluru market. The company combines the convenience of QSR, fine dining, and scalability of delivery kitchens, delivering highest same store sales growth and repeat rates, along with best unit economics in the category. With this investment, Popo Global is laying groundwork to expand beyond Bengaluru to fulfill its global potential.
According to Moneycontrol, Artal Asia is an affiliate of Artal Group whose global portfolio includes CAVA, the leading Mediterranean fast-casual brand in the US. In India, Artal Asia's investments include Capital Foods, which was backed for over a decade before its ₹5,200 crore acquisition by Tata Consumer Products in 2024. The investment comes months after Moneycontrol was the first to report in April that Popo Ventures was looking to sell a stake worth ₹550-600 crore at the same valuation range. Investors including Norwest Venture Partners, A91 Partners, TR Capital and Temasek had explored the deal, which was expected to be largely secondary with a small primary component also possible. Lee Swee Yin, director at Artal Asia, said, "Our mission is to empower exceptional entrepreneurs to transform their industries. We are proud to support Popo Global in continuing their customer and product obsession at greater scale."
As reported by Moneycontrol, brothers Nikhil Gupta and Abhijit Gupta expressed their journey from starting with a single pizza outlet to building a leading restaurant company. "9 years ago, we were trying to figure out how to make one great pizza. We didn't set out to build a leading restaurant company, and certainly not to be talking one day about bringing in a global investor. What we did have was an obsession with making food people genuinely wanted to come back for, and a slightly irrational belief that restaurants could be built differently," they stated. The founders emphasized their obsession with making food people genuinely wanted to come back for, and their belief that restaurants could be built differently. "That belief became a business, then three brands, and now a platform we think can be much bigger than any one of them. Bringing Artal Asia into Popo lets us think considerably bigger while keeping the spirit that got us here - never cutting any corners on quality. The best part is that this still feels like the beginning. We have a few more ovens to play with now," they added. The Rainmaker Group acted as the exclusive financial advisor on the transaction, while Invus was the global investment advisor to Artal Asia.
