Exclusive: Boba Bhai’s Revenue Zooms 6X To INR 30 Cr In FY25, Eyes 3X Growth Next Year

Bengaluru-based Boba Bhai, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand specialising in bubble tea, saw its net revenue surge 500% to INR 30 Cr in FY25 from INR 5 Cr in the previous fiscal year, its founder Dhruv Kohli said. 

The startup is currently generating INR 4 Cr in monthly revenue, Kohli told Inc42, adding that it is seeing strong traction from the quick commerce channel. 

Boba Bhai joined Blinkit in February with its packaged bubble tea – a ready-to-drink variant featuring a 270-day shelf life and a spill-proof seal, specifically designed for quick commerce.

Founded in 2023, Boba Bhai offers bubble tea in 45 flavors. Its other offerings include Korean fusion burgers, ice cream, and fries. It sells these products via its stores, foodtech platforms Zomato and Swiggy, and Blinkit.

While the startup earned about 50% of its revenue from sales of bubble tea, it got 10% of its revenue from ice cream and quick commerce in FY25. The remaining revenue came from its Korean offerings.

The QSR brand posted a net loss of INR 4 Cr in FY25 as against INR 2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Talking about expenses, Kohli said, “In FY25, marketing was the biggest expense as the brand focussed on building awareness across India.” 

It is pertinent to note that Boba Bhai raised INR 30 Cr (about $3.4 Mn) in its Series A funding round, led by 8i Ventures, in January this year. The round also saw participation from existing investors Titan Capital Winners Fund, Global Growth Capital, DEVC, among others. Overall, it has raised about INR 42.5 Cr ($4.9 Mn) till date.

Store Expansion, Quick Commerce To Drive Revenue Growth

Boba Bhai currently has over 50 stores in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, among others. These are a combination of dine-in and delivery-only stores.

Kohli said that the startup is profitable at store level and is looking to aggressively expand its store network by taking its store count to 150 by the end of this year.

In FY25, Boba Bhai got 20% of its revenue from dine-in stores while delivery accounted for 80% of the revenue. With the expansion of its store network, it is looking to increase the revenue from dine-in stores to 40% to 60%.

The QSR brand recently entered Pune and is now focussing on deepening its presence in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad, It also plans to enter new cities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

Kohli said that Boba Bhai is eyeing a revenue of INR 70 Cr to INR 100 Cr in FY26. Besides store expansion, it expects quick commerce to be a major contributor to its top line.

“Quick commerce is expected to contribute 40% of our total revenue next fiscal. We are also aiming to achieve a monthly run rate of INR 8 Cr within the next two quarters,” he added.

The startup is looking to go live on Swiggy Instamart and Zepto in 10 cities by next month, and will also expand its presence on Blinkit to 18-19 cities.

Boba Bhai competes with brands like Dr Bubbles, The Bubble Tea Junction, Bubble Bee, Cha Bar, and Got Tea. Established players like Chai Point have also joined the bubble tea race. At the heart of this is the Indian bubble tea market, which generated a revenue of $67.4 Mn in 2022 and is expected to cross the $140 Mn revenue mark by 2030.