Not long ago, The Croffle Guys were pitching a croissant-waffle hybrid to India's most famous panel of television investors. This week, the Mumbai-based food brand closed a ₹14 crore funding round at a ₹100 crore post-money valuation, double its previous valuation. The deal marks one of the fastest valuation climbs among recent Shark Tank India alumni.
The round, announced on November 3, was led by V3 Ventures, which is backed by global consumer investor Verlinvest, with participation from N.A.N Partners. The company plans to use the money to open more than 40 new outlets, primarily in Mumbai and Delhi.
What exactly is a croffle?
A croffle is what happens when croissant dough meets a waffle iron. The result is pressed into a crisp, caramelised, grid-patterned pastry that keeps the buttery layers of a croissant with the crunch and shape of a waffle. The format became a café trend in South Korea and spread globally through social media, helped by its photogenic look and endless sweet and savoury topping combinations.
The Croffle Guys bet that the same formula would work in India's fast-growing café and dessert culture. Their menu builds on the base with toppings ranging from chocolate and fruit to savoury fillings, positioning the brand as an indulgent but affordable snack for young urban consumers.
Who is behind it
The company was founded in 2025 by Rahul Vohra, Annanya Agarwal, Amay Thakkar and Veer Pinto. The young founding team took the brand from a concept to a growing chain in a short time. It expanded from two outlets to eight in roughly a year, according to StartupTalky.
Its national moment came on Shark Tank India, where the founders raised ₹2.5 crore. The show has become a powerful launchpad for Indian consumer brands. A successful appearance brings instant national visibility, a surge in online searches and sales, and validation that can help in later fundraises. A deal does not guarantee long-term success, however, and several brands that impressed on screen have struggled to scale afterwards.
Doubling the valuation
The new round's headline number is the valuation. At ₹100 crore post-money, The Croffle Guys are now valued at twice their earlier mark, according to India IPO. For early backers, including the Shark Tank investors, that represents a quick paper gain.
The participation of V3 Ventures is significant. V3 is a consumer-focused investment platform backed by Verlinvest, the Brussels-headquartered investment firm with a long track record in food, beverage and consumer brands globally. Its involvement brings sector expertise in scaling food brands, building supply chains and managing store economics, which are critical capabilities for a quick-service restaurant (QSR) business moving from eight outlets to nearly fifty.
The 40-outlet plan
Expanding from eight outlets to more than 48 is a major operational leap. Each new outlet requires a site in a high-footfall location, trained staff, consistent product quality and a supply chain that can deliver fresh dough and ingredients reliably.
The focus on Mumbai and Delhi is logical. India's two largest metros have the highest concentration of the brand's target audience: young professionals, students and families who spend on cafés, desserts and food experiences. They also offer dense clusters of malls, high streets and commercial districts where kiosks and small-format outlets can generate strong sales per square foot.
Clustering outlets in a few cities also brings efficiencies. Central kitchens can supply multiple stores, marketing spend is concentrated, and management can keep tight control over quality during a rapid expansion phase.
A crowded, competitive plate
The Croffle Guys are entering a fiercely competitive arena. India's QSR and café market includes global giants such as Starbucks, McDonald's and Domino's, home-grown chains such as Third Wave Coffee, Blue Tokai and Chaayos, and a wave of dessert and bakery startups competing for the same customers.
Trend-led food formats carry an additional risk. A product that becomes popular on social media can fade just as quickly. Long-term success depends on whether croffles become a regular habit for customers rather than a one-time novelty, and on whether the brand can broaden its menu without losing its identity.
Unit economics will be the real test. Rent, labour and ingredient costs, particularly butter and dairy, determine whether each outlet can turn a profit. Investors will be watching same-store sales growth, average order values and payback periods on new outlets.
The bigger trend
The deal is part of a broader wave of investment into Indian food and beverage brands. On the same day, Unify Foodworks, which holds the India franchise rights for Moe's Casa Mexicana and Carvel, raised ₹5 crore in seed funding to expand in Delhi NCR. Investors are betting that India's rising disposable incomes, young population and appetite for new food experiences will support a new generation of branded restaurant chains.
## The Shark Tank effect
Shark Tank India has become a significant force in the country's consumer startup ecosystem since it launched in 2021. Dozens of brands featured on the show have gone on to raise institutional funding, and appearances often trigger spikes in website traffic, app downloads and footfall that would otherwise cost crores in marketing. For food brands, the visibility is especially valuable, because trying a new product is a low-cost, impulse decision for viewers. The harder part, as many Shark Tank alumni have discovered, is converting a burst of curiosity into repeat customers once the episode stops trending.
Why it resonates
For many Indian viewers, The Croffle Guys' story has all the ingredients of a modern entrepreneurial fairy tale: young founders, a quirky product, a televised pitch and, now, a ₹100 crore valuation. The story highlights how consumer brands in India can be built quickly when a distinctive product, social media buzz and mainstream television exposure come together.
The next chapter will be less glamorous and more demanding. Scaling a food chain is about operations, real estate and relentless consistency, not just viral moments. If the founders can turn their Shark Tank moment into a profitable network of 50 outlets, The Croffle Guys could become a case study in how India's new-age food brands grow up. If not, the brand will join a long list of trends that flared brightly and faded.
For now, investors are betting the croffle is here to stay.
