Dil Foods
4 known investors
Bengaluru-based operator of virtual restaurant brands that partners with existing kitchens to cook and deliver regional Indian food.
Also known as Dil Brands · Nutnbolt Business Solution Private Limited
Investors · 4
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Dil Foods, operated by Nutnbolt Business Solution Private Limited, is a Bengaluru-headquartered restaurant enablement and virtual restaurant company founded in 2022 by Arpita Aditi. Rather than building or owning kitchens, the company creates food brands — including the menu, standard recipes, ingredient specifications, packaging and branding — and contracts existing local restaurants to cook and fulfil orders placed on food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. Partner restaurants are paid on a per-dish basis and gain an incremental revenue stream from spare kitchen capacity without new capital investment.
The brand portfolio is organised around regional Indian cuisines and everyday meals, and has included Dil Punjabi (Dil Punjabi Daily), Bihari Bowl, Bhole Ke Chole, House of Andhra, Khichdi Bar, Aahar/Ahaar, The Chaat Cult, Junglee Kitchen and Vegerama. The company reported eight brands and more than 50 partner restaurants in Bengaluru and Hyderabad in mid-2023, and by May 2026 reported nine to ten regional brands, more than 300 partner restaurants across six cities and coverage of 340 pincodes. Alongside brand creation, Dil Foods supplies partner kitchens with a technology layer for insights and standardised operations, quality control systems and supply chain support intended to keep output consistent across fulfilment locations.
Founding story
Arpita Aditi founded Dil Foods in 2022 after working at Swiggy, where she dealt closely with restaurants and observed that many kitchens with strong cooking capability were constrained by weak brand visibility, low margins and underutilised capacity. The company was set up as a technology-enabled food brand business rather than a conventional restaurant chain, designed to let existing restaurants scale without heavy capital outlay.
Business model
Dil Foods builds and owns virtual food brands and licenses their operation to third-party restaurants, which prepare and dispatch orders from their existing kitchens. The company supplies menus, standardised recipes, ingredients and packaging specifications, branding, quality-control processes and operational guidance, and pays partner restaurants on a per-dish basis for fulfilled orders. Because kitchen infrastructure is not owned, expansion is asset-light and depends on onboarding additional partner kitchens rather than capital expenditure.
Revenue is generated from orders placed for Dil Foods' virtual brands on food delivery aggregators and fulfilled by partner restaurants, with restaurants compensated per dish. The company reported revenue of INR 89.6 crore in FY25, up about 180% from INR 31.9 crore in FY24, and has stated a target of INR 500 crore annualised revenue by FY28.
Traction
The company grew from more than 50 partner restaurants and eight brands in Bengaluru and Hyderabad in July 2023 to over 300 partner restaurants and nine to ten brands across six cities and 340 pincodes by May 2026, passing 100 operational outlets in its early phase. Reported revenue rose from INR 31.9 crore in FY24 to INR 89.6 crore in FY25. Cumulative funding reported at roughly INR 113 crore. Management targets 600 locations and INR 500 crore annualised revenue by FY28.
Latest developments
In May 2026 Dil Foods closed a INR 72 crore ($7.5 million) Series B led by the Bikaji Foods family office, with proceeds directed at new cities, additional cuisines and supply chain capability. About two months later, reports described the company in talks to acquire FreshMenu — which had suspended operations nationwide in April following a cash crunch — in a distress sale. The founder confirmed that discussions were ongoing and confidential and that what exists at present is a brand licensing and operator agreement enabling Dil Foods to restart select FreshMenu kitchens, not a completed company acquisition.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Dil Foods describes itself as India's largest chain of virtual brands specialising in regional Indian cuisine, and is positioned in the cloud kitchen and QSR segment against operators such as Rebel Foods and EatClub. Investor V3 Ventures noted the company grew roughly 30-fold from about 30 locations at the time of its early investment. Its potential absorption of the FreshMenu brand would add an established cloud kitchen name to its portfolio.
Unlike operators that build and run their own cloud kitchens, Dil Foods uses partner restaurants' existing infrastructure, keeping the model asset-light and allowing a partner kitchen to run several of its brands simultaneously. Its brand portfolio is deliberately region-specific and centred on everyday Indian comfort food, and it emphasises recipe standardisation and quality control so that output is repeatable across independent fulfilment partners.
Technology
The company provides partner restaurants with a technology layer delivering operational insights and standardised operating procedures, supported by data analytics and supply chain systems. Earlier funding was directed toward supply chain standardisation, data analytics and R&D aimed at improving product shelf life, with the goal of delivering a consistent product regardless of which partner kitchen prepares an order.
Go-to-market
Distribution runs entirely through third-party food delivery platforms, where each of the company's brands appears as a separate listing fulfilled by nearby partner kitchens. Growth comes from onboarding local restaurants city by city — beginning in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with stated plans in 2023 to enter Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and the NCR — and from adding new cuisine-specific brands. The Series B plan targets further expansion into tier-II and tier-III markets. The founder's 2024 appearance on Shark Tank India Season 3 provided national visibility.
Two constituencies: online food delivery consumers in Indian urban markets ordering everyday regional Indian meals through Swiggy and Zomato, and small and mid-sized restaurant operators with underutilised kitchen capacity, weak brand visibility and thin margins that want additional order volume without investing in new outlets.
Geography
Headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Operations began in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and extended to six cities covering 340 pincodes by 2026, with stated plans to enter Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and NCR and to expand into tier-II and tier-III markets.
History
Founded in 2022 in Bengaluru under the legal entity Nutnbolt Business Solution Private Limited, the company raised INR 1.5 crore in a seed round before securing $2 million in a pre-Series A round announced in July 2023 led by V3 Ventures and Mount Judi Ventures. Founder Arpita Aditi appeared on Shark Tank India Season 3 in early 2024, receiving a joint offer of INR 2 crore for 2.67% equity from four investors at an implied valuation of about INR 75 crore. In May 2026 the company announced a INR 72 crore ($7.5 million) Series B led by the Bikaji Foods family office with Alteria Capital, V3 Ventures and MJV Ventures participating. Shortly afterwards it entered a brand licensing and operator agreement with the distressed cloud kitchen pioneer FreshMenu, with wider acquisition discussions reported as ongoing.
Risks & controversies
The prospective FreshMenu transaction involves a business that suspended nationwide operations after a cash crunch and reportedly delayed payments to vendors and employees; Dil Foods has stated that FreshMenu's prior obligations remain governed by the existing contractual and legal relationships of the parties and are not assumed under the current licensing arrangement, and no acquisition has been finalised. The company also depends on third-party delivery aggregators for demand and on independent partner kitchens for fulfilment and quality consistency, in a food delivery market described as having gone through plateaued growth. Reported employee counts differ across sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsRound led by the Bikaji Foods family office with participation from Alteria Capital and existing investors V3 Ventures and MJV Ventures. Proceeds are earmarked for expansion into new cities including tier-II and tier-III markets, additional cuisines, and supply chain strengthening. Total capital raised to date reported at INR 113 crore.
$7.5M source ↗
Dil Foods entered a brand licensing and operator agreement with cloud kitchen brand FreshMenu, restarting operations at select FreshMenu locations under the FreshMenu brand using Dil Foods' operating platform, supply chain, technology and restaurant partner network. Founder Arpita Aditi said broader acquisition discussions with FreshMenu were ongoing and confidential, and that the arrangement was not a company acquisition; FreshMenu's prior obligations remain governed by existing contractual relationships.
Arpita Aditi pitched on Shark Tank India Season 3 in early 2024, seeking INR 50 lakh for 0.5% equity. Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal, Radhika Gupta and Ritesh Agarwal made a joint offer of INR 2 crore for 2.67% equity, valuing the company at approximately INR 75 crore.
The virtual restaurant operator raised $2 million to standardise its supply chain, launch six new brands during the financial year, and invest in data analytics and product shelf-life R&D. The company had earlier raised INR 1.5 crore in a seed round.
$2M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Startup Funding: Virtual restaurant operator Dil Foods raises $2 mn, ETRetailretail.economictimes.indiatimes.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Dil Foods do?
- Bengaluru-based operator of virtual restaurant brands that partners with existing kitchens to cook and deliver regional Indian food.
- Who are Dil Foods's investors?
- Dil Foods's investors include Mount Judi Ventures, V3 Ventures.