In a recent interview with Ashu Agrawal of Snackfax, Varun Madan, the founder of Salad Days, shared the inspiring journey of his brand, which has grown to become a leader in the healthy food space in India. From its humble beginnings in 2014 to expanding across multiple cities with over 25 cloud kitchens, Salad Days has reshaped the way Indians perceive and consume nutritious meals.
From Crunching Numbers to Crunching Greens: How Salad Days Was Born
Varun Madan, an engineer from NSIT Delhi and an MBA graduate from XLRI Jamshedpur, started his career in corporate strategy and M&A at Wipro. However, his passion for food and health led him to launch Salad Days in February 2014. At the time, the idea of salads as a full meal was virtually non-existent in India. The market associated healthy food with bland, unsatisfying meals, and the only widely available “healthy” option was Subway.
Madan saw a gap in the market and decided to fill it with fresh, nutritious, and tasty salads. But building a business around this concept came with its own challenges. “Back then, there was no demand for salads as meals. We had to educate customers, create the category, and solve major supply chain issues,” he explained.
Turning Over a New Leaf: Conquering Early Challenges
The biggest hurdle was sourcing fresh ingredients, particularly iceberg lettuce and other greens, in large volumes. To ensure consistent quality, Madan took the unusual step of setting up his own farm. Over the years, this farm evolved from a small kitchen garden to a 17-acre operation and now stands at a focused 3-acre facility used for community-building activities like strawberry picking.
The business also had to navigate the early days of online food delivery in India. When Zomato and Swiggy entered the scene in 2014-15, Salad Days was already operating, making it one of the first brands to adopt the cloud kitchen model seriously.
Growing the Green Empire: Scaling Up the Right Way
For years, Salad Days focused on perfecting its operations in Delhi-NCR, running a handful of cloud kitchens while fine-tuning its processes. However, three years ago, with increasing customer demand and a growing market for healthy food, Madan decided it was time to scale.
From just four kitchens, the brand expanded to 10, then 23, and eventually 25 across Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. This expansion was entirely bootstrapped, with Salad Days remaining profitable throughout—a rare achievement in the food tech space.
“We have been growing ourselves, and we have been profitable while bootstrapped. That gave us the liberty to choose our investors carefully,” Madan noted, highlighting his strategic approach to fundraising.
Smart Money, Smarter Growth: The Investor Playbook
With the latest round of funding, Madan aims to strengthen Salad Days internally before further expansion. “Scaling up internally is just as important as external growth. We want to invest in talent acquisition, technology, and better operational controls,” he said.
Over the next year, the company plans to open 15-20 more cloud kitchens, focusing on deepening its presence in existing markets before entering new cities. Profitability remains a top priority, and every new location will be chosen based on data-driven decision-making rather than aggressive expansion for the sake of numbers.
Beyond Bowls: Reinventing Healthy Eating One Bite at a Time
While the core of Salad Days will always be healthy meals, the company is looking at expanding its menu strategically. Madan is particularly interested in snacking options, an area he sees as a “low-hanging fruit” for growth.
The brand already introduces seasonal and local specialties, such as its well-loved Kanji, and will continue experimenting with innovative, nutritious offerings. However, the fundamental philosophy remains unchanged: “We are not a diet food brand. We don’t want customers to think of us only when they’re on a health kick. We want to make healthy eating a lifestyle choice—something they order as frequently as pizza or biryani.”
The Road Ahead: Bigger, Better, and Always Fresh
With profitability, strategic funding, and a clear vision for the future, Salad Days is well-positioned for its next phase of growth. As Madan put it, “We’ve done things our way, patiently and sustainably, and now we’re ready to take things to the next level.”
For Indian consumers looking for convenient, delicious, and genuinely healthy food, Salad Days continues to set the benchmark—and it’s only just getting started.
