A2B Becomes South India’s Next Investor Magnet

Bodhi Tree's reported talks for A2B, alongside Anandhaas, Nandhana and Haldiram's funding deals, reveal how investors now value South Indian restaurants and sweets chains.

South Indian cuisine is among the largest segments of India’s food services market, and investors now want regional champions that combine daily dining with festive sweets.

Chennai’s Adyar Ananda Bhavan, popularly called A2B Sweets, operates over 140 outlets, with restaurant meals and sweets contributing nearly equal revenue shares.

Mint newspaper reported on 16 July 2026 that Bodhi Tree Systems, co-founded by Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, is in advanced talks for a stake valuing A2B at INR 3,000-3,500 crore.

By our estimate, an A2B bill averages INR 300-400, implying roughly 400 customer bills a day per restaurant outlet, a footfall engine that sweets, snacks and gifting can monetise further.

For diners, the test is consistency: A2B customers trust its taste and freshness, so scaling beyond southern neighbourhoods must preserve quality, hygiene and value without losing that familiar festive warmth.

Coimbatore’s Shree Anandhaas has already closed its first institutional round, raising INR 175 crore from A91 Partners in August 2025, with Spring Marketing Capital also joining as a minority investor.

CRISIL’s 2023 rating showed Anandhaas earning INR 129 crore in FY22 from ten Coimbatore restaurants, suggesting strong per-outlet productivity before its Chennai entry.

Bengaluru’s Nandhana Foods followed in September 2026, as L Catterton agreed to invest about USD 30 million for a minority stake, reportedly implying a valuation near INR 2,000 crore.

Nandhana’s revenue rose from INR 218 crore to INR 316 crore in FY25, about 45% growth, the kind of momentum investors reward.

Haldiram’s restaurants, by our estimate, command higher bills of INR 400-550 and roughly 750 daily customers per outlet, showing how format, location and larger family group orders lift productivity.

Editor’s Note

Investors are paying for growth and focus, not just size; Nandhana’s multiple is far higher than A2B’s reported valuation implies, yet A2B’s scale and national reach remain rare.

A2B’s clearest lever is ticket value: moving bills towards Haldiram’s range through combos, sweets and gifting could add meaningful revenue without adding tables, a path Anandhaas is also building.

Haldiram’s, valued near USD 10 billion after Temasek’s 10% investment, shows where this road leads: packaged reach, disciplined restaurants and global ambition. A2B’s overseas outlets already hold those seeds.

With patient capital, tighter operations and unchanged taste, A2B can turn heritage into scale, and South India’s kitchens could become India’s next great consumer success stories, meal by meal.