Daalchini’s FY26 Revenue Doubled YoY To ₹140 Cr: CEO Kalra

Posted On | From Lokesh Choudhary

Retail tech startup Daalchini’s operating revenue for the fiscal year FY26 doubled to ₹140 Cr from ₹70 Cr in FY25, cofounder and CEO Prerna Kalra told Inc42. 

Kalra said that Daalchini’s EBITDA for the fiscal surged by 5.7X to about ₹21 Cr in FY26 from ₹3.7 Cr in FY25. She did not disclose the exact PAT numbers for the fiscal. The startup turned profitable in the fiscal year FY25, reporting a net profit of ₹2.5 Cr against a loss of ₹8.6 Cr.

Daalchini ended FY26 with about 5,500 vending machines, up 62% from 3,400 machines in FY25. Moving forward, the startup is targeting aggressive expansion and aims to scale its network to 8,000-11,000 machines by FY27.

To this extent, Kalra claims that Daalchini has already deployed over 500 such machines in recent months and is ramping up inventory to meet demand.

Besides, as per Kalra, Daalchini is also witnessing a new demand tailwind following a recent Supreme Court ruling around human hygiene product vending machines in workplaces, which has led to a surge in enterprise orders. 

Although the startup did not raise any fresh equity funding in the fiscal to fuel the expansion, it is planning to raise fresh capital in a mix of equity and debt moving forward. In the previous fiscal, Kalra said that Daalchini secured around ₹7 Cr in debt from institutions including the State Bank of India. 

The startup has raised over $5 Mn in funding from investors like Unicorn India Ventures, Artha Venture Fund, ICICI Securities and VSS Investco. 

Founded in 2017, Daalchini operates a network of fully cashless smart vending machines offering snacks, beverages, and other products. The startup claims its payment and software stack is more advanced than global peers, even as it continues to learn from markets like China and Japan on hardware innovation. Daalchini has deployed its vending machines across 4,100 stores in 110 Indian cities till date.

The post Daalchini’s FY26 Revenue Doubled YoY To ₹140 Cr: CEO Kalra appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Latest from Inc42 News

RBI Floats New Draft Rules To Govern Prepaid Payment Instruments

Posted On
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday issued the draft framework to regulate prepaid payment instruments (PPIs). Called the draft…

JFS Inks Agreement With Allianz To Formalise Insurance JV

Posted On
Jio Financial Services Invests INR 190 Cr In Jio Payments BankMonths after announcing a partnership with Allianz, fintech major Jio Financial Services’ (JFS) board has approved and signed a joint…

Kabeer Biswas’ M Raises ₹102 Cr From Peak XV, Blume

Posted On
Former Dunzo cofounder Kabeer Biswas’ new startup, M, is looking to net ₹102 Cr (about $11 Mn) from Peak XV…

Manufacturing Startups To Watch: 5 Startups That Caught Our Eye In April

Posted On
India’s manufacturing story is entering a complex, but defining phase. In recent times, the sector has seen both momentum and…

Gramophone Cofounder Navneet Singh Batra Quits, Joins Superplum

Posted On
Gramophone Cofounder Navneet Singh Batra Quits, Joins SuperplumNavneet Singh Batra, cofounder of Info Edge-backed agritech platform Gramophone, has quit the startup to join fruit supply chain startup…

Online Gaming Act To Come Into Effect From May 1

Posted On
online gamingMonths after the approval of the Online Gaming Act, 2025, the MeitY has notified the new regulatory framework for the…

M2P Fintech Appoints Ex-Hitachi Payments Executive Vivek Seshadri As Group CFO

Posted On
m2p fintech appoints CFOChennai-based soonicorn M2P Fintech has onboarded Hitachi Payments’ chief financial officer (CFO) Vivek Seshadri to take over as the startup’s…