Orissa’s 23-YO Hotel Management grad starts a Dahibara brand that clocks ₹1.8 Cr annual revenue

Sambalpur’s Sourabh Khandelwal graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar, in 2019 with a head full of entrepreneurial dreams. His father passed away when he was preparing for his 12th board exams, so he shouldered the responsibility of his family. Though he joined the service industry immediately after graduating, he was always keen to learn the upcoming trends in the hospitality industry.

In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, Dahibara Express founder Sourabh Khandelwal shared his journey of making the most popular food in Orissa a global brand. 

“I wanted to build a business that creates landmarks,” the Orissa entrepreneur shared. “I always wanted people will say I’m standing in front of my brand!” 

Dream to build a brand that would serve as landmark for people

As a student, Sourabh had been a part of Jagriti Yatra, which helped him network with entrepreneurs who were already in the ecosystem and doing well.

“Though I started my career in the hospitality industry as an employee, it was always in my mind to launch a brand,” Orissa’s Sourabh Khandelwal shared with Startup Pedia. 

He entered the food business for a brief period but endured losses during COVID-19 and a cyclone.

“I started working in the service industry again,” Sourabh said.

Though he was earning a compensation of Rs. 35 LPA at the time, the hotel management graduate felt restless. 

“I thought that at the age of 25, I could leave the comfortable job to build a brand of my own,” Sourabh Khandelwal told Startup Pedia. “If it wasn’t then, probably I won’t be able to leave the service sector ever, I thought.”

Journey of building a ‘Dahibara’ brand

He left his Delhi job and returned to Orissa. He wandered around the streets and researched food items. Sourabh felt Orissa’s famous street food, Dahibara-aloodam, had a huge scope to be built as a brand. It was mostly served in the roadside stall without maintaining any hygiene standards. 

“Dahibara is quite popular in Orissa,” Sourabh said. “It is tasty, though not prepared in a hygienic way on the streets.”

Sourabh decided to research Dahibara in particular for a month to learn the ropes.

“I walked all day long tasting dahibara for a month to understand the different taste, texture,” the food entrepreneur told Startup Pedia. “Even I went to a few dahibara sellers’ homes and stayed with them to learn how they prepare the food, do the business.”

From his research, Sourabh realised the struggle of the men doing this business. For plates costing around Rs. 40 only, the dahibara sellers get up early in the morning, and usually their family assists in the preparation.

As the dahibara sellers are not doing a profitable business, most of the new generation in their families are not keen to step into the trade.

“So, what will happen with Dahibara?” Sourabh asked. “Maybe there’ll be a day when Orissa’s famous dahibara won’t be sold anymore!” he thought.

Sourabh caught a severe cold at this time while doing market research, which involved gulping “dahi” all day long. 

“I was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia,” he shared in the interview.

However, lying on the hospital bed, Sourabh reflected on his research. He realised the huge demand for dahibara, and an existing gap to serve it in a healthy, hygienic way.

“I wanted to start a dahibara brand, a first-of-its-kind in the world,” he opened up to Startup Pedia. “Though I realised that it is a challenging business because we have to identify ourselves as a niche food!” he added.

Founding Dahibara Express

In December 2022, Sourabh went on a business trip to Dubai, and after sharing his plans about starting a food brand with Dahibara, he got an Orissa-origin investor who offered him a cheque of 30 Lakh.

In January 2023, Sourabh started his brand, Dahibara Express. He registered the food company as THQ Food & Beverages.  

“THQ stands for Traditional, Hygiene and Quality foods,” he shared with Startup Pedia.

The food entrepreneur started the business with great enthusiasm and a seed funding of Rs. 30 Lakh. However, just after six months, the business ran out of cash.

“We were drained out, there was nothing in our account,” Sourabh admitted.

He further shared with Startup Pedia that at the time, he was a new entrepreneur with zero knowledge about financial planning.

“Suddenly, we were all out with cash!” Sourabh said. “As a new startup founder, I had no clue about where to invest, how much. And at that point, the investor backed out. He said he won’t be able to fund anymore, plus he wants his funding back!”

Sourabh felt an all-time low. He did not know how to continue without cash and loans to pay, but all the same, he did not want to give up.

Also read: At 27, this young entrepreneur teamed up with mom to launch a semi-free-range chicken startup — today, it's valued at ₹45 Cr (startuppedia.in)

The franchisee plan with Dahibara Express

A friend he made while doing Jagriti Yatra in Gujarat called him suddenly and gave him an idea to start selling a franchise.

Sourabh was not very sure about the plan, but his friend made and circulated a video about Dahibara Express, which got around 4 million views in just 12 hours. The Dahibara Express founder got around 3000-4000 calls for the franchisee.

“I thought if someone has the cash to run the idea, why not?” he said. “I started the franchisee model, and the company got revived.”

But only some of the franchisee partners were great. Gradually, the franchisee model for Dahibara Express grew, and it was a big lesson for Sourabh.

“Initially, however, I was cheated,” Sourabh told Startup Pedia. “We got partners not serious with their investment, as the franchisee fee was low of around 50K.”

Major challenges

According to the food entrepreneur, there were mainly 3 main challenges while building the brand. First was staffing. It was that the skilled staff would demand a salary that was beyond Sourabh’s range at the time.

1. Staffing - Demand for salary was high for skilled staff, and the ones who did not have the necessary skills said they would learn, but they quit after some time.

“Building the right team was tough in the initial phase, but now we have a good team,” the Orissa entrepreneur shared with Startup Pedia.

2. The second big challenge he faced was not having the right financial planning in the execution of his business.

3. And the third one was choosing the right franchisee partners, those who will invest time, not just money.

Current operations

Dahibara Express started with 18-19 outlets. A few were shut down by franchisee operators. Now 12 outlets are operating, with most running in a profitable mode.

“We don’t sell franchises, we don’t spend more than 25 K per month in marketing, which is our social media brand manager's salary,” Sourabh Khandelwal informed Startup Pedia. “New franchisee enquiries mostly come through existing franchisee owners.”

Food variety at Dahibara Express

At present, Dahibara Express serves around 10 varieties of vadas, and they keep changing the dishes in different seasons.

Initially, they started with 5 items: Dahivara-aloodam, Dahivalla, plain dahibara, and sambar bara.

At Dahibara Express, each vada has a story to share, upholding a unique recipe from a region in India.

“We have the first mover advantage in the business in the entire world, we are the first brand to sell dahivara,” Sourabh said proudly.

Annual revenue and profits

Dahibara Express clocked an annual turnover of Rs. 1.8 crore in FY 2025. The profit and loss statements are in expansion mode currently.

Targets

As shared by Sourabh, his brand has 2 main targets:

1.  Serve Indian traditional food

2. Serve in a hygienic manner

Hygiene and health standards

Foods at Dahibara Express are freshly prepared in the right oil medium, and strict standards are maintained uniformly in kitchens and outlets.

Sustainable model

Skilled staff availability is a big challenge throughout the hospitality industry, claims food entrepreneur Sourabh Khandelwal.

“I have removed the problem by stationing a central kitchen everywhere - Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Siliguri, Thane, Himmatnagar,” the Dahibara Express founder told Startup Pedia.

Sourabh further explained that a master franchisee is selected in every city where Dahibara Express operates, whose central kitchen provides the dishes to all the outlets in that city, so that the taste and the quality are maintained across places alike.

Staffing

“We are empowering women by selecting them as our chefs, also women staff are more trustworthy!” Sourabh said. “We don’t ask for a trained, high-standard chef; we hire anybody ready to learn, and we train them in our recipes,” he added.

Dahibara Express stores

For stores, franchisee owners can start with a small space of 150 square feet only, which can operate as a food kiosk. 

“We prefer outlets, though, as when people sit and eat, the order value gets increased,” Sourabh informed Startup Pedia.

The brand has done tie-ups with Swiggy and Zomato for online food delivery of dahibara.

“I wanted to build a brand which is by India, for India, which goes across the globe,” the Dahibara Express founder declared.

Though Sourabh’s company is receiving daily franchisee calls but they are now more cautious about accepting a franchisee partner.

“You’ll find cafes and outlets across India selling pizzas and burgers, but very less selling Indian recipes. So, I wanted to come up with a desi brand,” the food entrepreneur remarked.

Future plans

Currently a company with 80 team members, Sourabh Khandelwal’s Dahibara Express is set to launch a store in Dubai in a month. Another store in Nepal is under construction.

“So, this will be the first time that Orissa’s popular Dahibara will move out of Orissa, out of India, and we are super excited!” the Bhubaneswar-based Dahibara Express founder said, smiling.

Awards and recognitions

Sourabh Khandelwal received the Biggest Vada Award and also an opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who appreciated his efforts in the food industry.

Also read: 2 Microbiologists build an animal nutraceuticals startup that clocks around ₹50 L annual turnover in FY25 (startuppedia.in)