What began as a cosy café in Colaba with gooey brownies and butter-laced croissants is now a ₹2,410 crore headline deal. Private equity firm ChrysCapital is acquiring a 90% stake in Theobroma Foods, cementing the Mumbai-born bakery’s rise from family kitchen to pan-India phenomenon.
Founded in 2004 by sisters Kainaz Messman Harchandrai and Tina Messman Wykes, Theobroma was born from resilience. After a back injury derailed Kainaz’s pastry career at Oberoi Udaivilas, the Le Cordon Bleu alum teamed up with Tina, inspired by their mother’s home-based baking. With ₹1.5 crore in seed capital from their father, they launched their first café during Dussehra-on bustling Colaba Causeway.
The brand’s name, Theobroma, means “food of the gods”-and its brownies quickly became just that for a generation of dessert-loving Indians.
Now boasting 225 outlets across India, Theobroma has become synonymous with indulgent, affordable treats. But its secret ingredient? Operational smarts. From centralised commissaries to shelf-life tweaks, the brand evolved its menu for scale-keeping brownies, sandwiches, and puffs fresh while ditching overly perishable items.
ChrysCapital’s acquisition includes buying out ICICI Venture, which invested ₹130 crore in 2017. The founding Messman family will retain a 10% stake. Theobroma is expected to clock ₹525–550 crore in revenue this year, with up to ₹100 crore in EBITDA.
The deal is also part of ChrysCapital’s wider bet on India’s booming QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) segment-it’s eyeing other rising stars like The Belgian Waffle Co. too.
While bakery chains like Au Bon Pain fizzled out, Theobroma scaled with quality, consistency, and heart. It may have started without a business plan, but it ends up as a case study in how passion and product-market fit can create magic.
From a single café to one of India’s most beloved dessert chains, Theobroma proves that when your recipe is right, the world will come back for seconds-and investors will follow.
