From Kala Khatta to Masala Cola: Bombay Banta Raises Rs 8 Crore to Disrupt India's Soft Drink Market

NewsVoir
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 13: Building on its strong market momentum, Bombay Banta -- the country's fast-growing homegrown beverage brand reimagining the most beloved Indian flavours for today's modern consumer has raised Rs 8 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round led by DSG Consumer Partners, which also led the company's seed round in late 2023. This marks a major milestone, as Bombay Banta aggressively accelerates its rapid expansion journey across India's booming beverage and quick commerce ecosystem.
The company has also attracted strategic investment from hospitality entrepreneur Kapil Chopra, founder of EazyDiner and The Postcard Hotel. In the brand's formative years, the founders were also supported by close hospitality industry collaborators and early investors including Simrita Arora and Chef Deep Mohan Arneja, who contributed to Bombay Banta's product development and brand-building journey.
Akkshita Malhotra and Meet Singh Malhotra, Co-founders at Bombay Banta, shared, "This fundraise marks a significant inflection point for Bombay Banta. It reaffirms our conviction to disrupt the Indian beverage market as a brand that uniquely interprets flavour memories that generations have grown up with. Reimagined for today's modern consumer with better ingredients, a distinctive range, premium branding, and world-class packaging - this capital with the backing of our investors will enable us to accelerate our vision across India and on a global stage over time."
"Bombay Banta is building a highly differentiated Indian beverage brand at the intersection of nostalgia, flavour and modern consumer relevance. Meet and Akkshita have demonstrated exceptional product instinct and brand-building capability in a highly competitive market, while creating strong resonance with consumers across channels. We are excited to deepen our partnership with them as they continue scaling Bombay Banta into a large and enduring consumer brand," added Hari Premkumar, Partner, DSG Consumer Partners.
Bombay Banta: Growth story so far
Founded in 2021, by the husband-wife duo - Akkshita Malhotra and Meet Singh Malhotra, Bombay Banta was built on a simple but ambitious belief that India's most iconic local flavours deserved world-class branding, packaging and scale. What began as an attempt to modernise the nostalgic Indian banta experience has rapidly evolved into one of the country's most exciting beverage brands that is challenging both established and emerging market players.
Today, Bombay Banta's has eight distinctive variants in its current product portfolio of bold, distinctly Indian flavours. Its carbonated range includes - Masala Cola, Masala Soda, Kala Khatta, Jeera Soda, and Lemon Soda, while its non-carbonated range has low-sugar, vitamin-rich lemonades for the health-conscious consumer - Masala Shikanji, Nimbu Shikanji and Jamun Shikanji.
Bombay Banta first gained widespread visibility after becoming the featured beverage onboard Vistara Airlines, introducing the brand to premium urban consumers across India. Since then, the brand has rapidly expanded its presence across leading airlines, restaurants, cafes, delivery-first food brands and hospitality groups.
As on 2026, Bombay Banta is being served across hundreds of hotels and restaurants across India, including several premium and luxury hospitality brands that now stock the beverages across minibars, in-room dining and restaurant menus. A growing number of restaurant chains and food brands have also begun moving away from traditional global soft drink offerings in favour of Bombay Banta's modern Indian beverage portfolio. Further, its product range is available across all leading quick commerce and e-commerce platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and BigBasket, where the brand has emerged as one of the fastest-growing players in its category.
Next phase of rapid growth and expansion:
This Pre-Series A raise will fuel Bombay Banta's next phase of growth. The latest funding will be deployed toward - accelerating Bombay Banta's pan-India expansion, strengthening distribution, deepening quick commerce penetration, and significantly expanding the product portfolio over the coming months. Bombay Banta is also preparing to launch Diet Vanilla Cola later in May, marking its entry into the zero-sugar, zero-calorie carbonated beverage segment.
The company has also seen sharp momentum in business performance. Even before the funding round formally closed, Bombay Banta recorded nearly 50 percent growth in sales during the course of investor discussions, with the founders now targeting a doubling of revenues over the next six months driven by strong summer demand and new product launches.
The Pre-Series A round values Bombay Banta at Rs 80 crore, marking a remarkable rise from the company's early-stage valuation in a relatively short span of time. The rapid acceleration in both customer adoption and investor interest reflects the growing success of Bombay Banta's vision to build a modern, globally relevant beverage brand rooted in Indian flavours and nostalgia.
At its core, Bombay Banta is building far more than a beverage company. The founders believe the next great global beverage brand can emerge from India, rooted in nostalgia, authenticity and local flavour, yet designed for a modern global consumer.
As the company enters its next phase of growth, Bombay Banta aims to challenge an industry long dominated by global giants - one Indian flavour at a time.
For more information on the brand, visit: Instagram handle @bombaybanta
Additional Notes
About the founders: Since its inception in 2021, Bombay Banta has become the country's fastest growing, Indian beverage brand reimagining India's most-loved nostalgic flavours for today's modern consumer. Co-founders and husband-wife duo - Akkshita Malhotra and Meet Singh Malhotra, bring deep hospitality and consumer experience backgrounds to the business. Akkshita Malhotra leads brand and consumer strategy at Bombay Banta, she was formerly associated with prestigious hospitality and consumer brands like Nestle and PVR. Meet Singh Malhotra, fronts the crafting of the unique recipes behind Bombay Banta's signature flavours, he is a Gold Medallist from The Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development, and among the youngest Executive Chefs within the Oberoi ecosystem.
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