SALAD DAYS
Founded 2013 · 207 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Indian healthy-food brand selling salads and grain bowls through a network of cloud kitchens in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Also known as Salad Days
Founders & leadership
SALAD DAYS was founded in 2013 by Varun Madan.
Investors · 2
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Salad Days is an Indian healthy-food brand founded in 2014 in Delhi-NCR by Varun Madan, a former consultant. The company prepares and delivers salads alongside grain bowls, sandwiches, oatmeal bowls, soups, cold-pressed juices, smoothies and desserts, operating through a network of cloud kitchens as well as its own outlets. As of January 2025 it ran 25 cloud kitchens: 12 in Delhi-NCR, nine in Bengaluru and four in Mumbai. The company is headquartered in Gurugram and also operates an organic farm in Delhi for fresh produce.
The business expanded beyond its home market of Delhi-NCR into Bengaluru in 2023 and Mumbai in 2024, with management attributing growth to stronger post-pandemic demand for healthy eating. After more than a decade as a bootstrapped venture, Salad Days raised its first institutional round in January 2025, earmarking proceeds for omnichannel expansion, additional cloud kitchens, technology infrastructure including its own ordering platform and subscription services, hiring, and marketing.
Founding story
Varun Madan, a former consultant, started Salad Days in Delhi-NCR in 2014. He has described the initial years as a period of testing the market and finding product-market fit before becoming confident in the size and growth of the healthy-food category and shifting to scaling the business.
Business model
Salad Days prepares food in a network of company-operated cloud kitchens and outlets and sells it for delivery, targeting scale through kitchen density in existing cities rather than dine-in real estate. The company has stated it operates at a profit-after-tax positive level with what investors describe as scalable unit economics.
Revenue comes from sales of prepared healthy meals ordered through third-party food aggregators (Swiggy, Zomato, ONDC), the company's own website, and centralised phone lines. Aggregators generate most of the revenue, and the company has said it intends to shift more orders to its own channels and to introduce subscriptions.
Traction
The company reported an annual revenue run rate of Rs 60 crore and roughly 100% year-on-year growth as of January 2025, operating 25 cloud kitchens across three cities at a PAT-profitable level.
Latest developments
In January 2025 Salad Days raised Rs 30 crore in a Series A round co-led by V3 Ventures and Client Associates Alternate Fund, its first institutional capital. Plans announced with the round include adding roughly 15-20 cloud kitchens per year, about 20 additional stores within the year, deeper pincode-level penetration in existing cities, launching an in-house ordering platform with subscriptions, and expanding technology, talent and marketing while maintaining profitability.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Salad Days operates in the healthy-food segment of India's food services market, which was valued at $80 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 10-11% CAGR through 2030 according to Redseer Strategy Consultancy. Within cloud kitchens it competes with brands including Salad Studio, FreshMenu and WeFit. Investors have characterised it as a category-defining brand built through more than a decade of bootstrapped, profitable operation.
Go-to-market
Distribution is split between major food-delivery aggregators, which account for the majority of orders, and the company's direct channels (website and phone). Management has said it plans to launch its own platform to support subscriptions and new services, alongside marketing and branding investment.
Urban Indian consumers in metro markets seeking healthy prepared meals, with a customer base described by the company as having high repeat order rates.
Geography
India: headquartered in Gurugram, with 12 outlets in Delhi-NCR, nine in Bengaluru and four in Mumbai as of January 2025, plus an organic farm in Delhi. Bengaluru operations began in 2023 and Mumbai in 2024.
History
Founded in 2014 in Delhi-NCR by Varun Madan, the company spent its early years testing product-market fit and then prioritised scaling over the following three years. It expanded to Bengaluru in 2023 and Mumbai in 2024, remained bootstrapped for over a decade, and closed its first institutional funding round in January 2025.
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 · 3
launches, deals, and filingsHealthy food brand Salad Days raised Rs 30 crore in a Series A round co-led by V3 Ventures and Client Associates Alternate Fund (CAAF), its first institutional round after more than a decade of bootstrapped operation. Funds earmarked for omnichannel expansion, new cloud kitchens and sales channels, technology, hiring and marketing.
Salad Days expanded beyond Delhi-NCR, opening in Bengaluru in 2023.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Salad Dayssaladdays.nyc · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does SALAD DAYS do?
- Indian healthy-food brand selling salads and grain bowls through a network of cloud kitchens in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
- Who founded SALAD DAYS?
- SALAD DAYS was founded by Varun Madan in 2013.
- Who are SALAD DAYS's investors?
- SALAD DAYS's investors include V3 Ventures.