JumboKing Story: How Dheeraj Gupta Transformed Vada Pav into the Burger of India

Branding is something that makes ordinary things extraordinary. Today in India, right from the small cup of tea to tall buildings, everything got branded. We now see multiple brands selling tea in the outlets. What even makes this story interesting is that they all are minting crores in revenue every single year and sometimes in months.
In the same direction, there is a guy who found a gap in the food and snack market and decided to organize that particular item way back.
He selected Vada pav and branded it. Interesting, right? Just by selling vada pav, he made millions in revenue, and later they diversified and also sold burgers.
But how did this guy we are talking about make a successful brand just by selling vada pav?
Usually when we think of vada pav, it is a simple street food of Mumbai, which is a deep-fried potato patty tucked inside a pav, spiced with chutneys and chilies, and sold at every corner of the city. For decades, it was food for the masses, simple, unpretentious, and unbranded.
So, in 2001, a guy decided to change that narrative.
What if this iconic snack could be given the discipline of global fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King? What if the vada pav could be branded, standardized, hygienic, and aspirational?
That question gave birth to JumboKing, which is a quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand that started with vada pav and eventually reinvented itself as India’s own homegrown burger chain. Today, JumboKing is a case study in how to build a successful QSR brand in India and how resilience, innovation, and branding can turn a street snack into a scalable business.
The story begins with Dheeraj Gupta, a young entrepreneur from Mumbai. Inspired by reading the book McDonald’s: Behind the Arches, Gupta was fascinated by how McDonald’s transformed a humble hamburger into a global phenomenon through consistency, branding, and operations.
And then he realized that even in Mumbai there are 2 million vada pavs being sold daily, so that is a huge market.
With ₹2 lakh borrowed from his father, Gupta leased a small 200 sq. ft. shop near Malad Railway Station in August 2001. The mission was simple but bold: to brand the vada pav.
When he started this outlet and started selling, one of the major challenges that he faced was pricing, as we all know whenever we buy the same product from a normal store, it would be cheaper, but when we buy from a brand, it would be higher.
Compared to the normal vada-pav, it was priced higher, and people thought, “Who would pay more?”
Guess what? Because of the hygiene and creating an experience with clean packaging, they maintained high standards.
Surprisingly, in the first year itself, they made a revenue of over ₹40 lakh. With that, he understood that the concept worked.
From there, JumboKing slowly expanded, opening more outlets across Mumbai. By 2024, they nearly have 200 outlets and generate a fascinating revenue of ₹110 crore, and they also have some ambitious plans for 1,000 stores by 2030.
But what actually worked, and what are the key lessons that we should learn from Jumboking?
One of the underpenetrated points is their marketing. They marketed it as Mumbai’s largest-selling vada pav in their campaigns, but later they changed their identity to “The Burger of India.”
While international chains pushed chicken and beef burgers, JumboKing stayed vegetarian, resonating with a large Indian customer base.
This is a game-changer here because it is creating a cultural connection and also elevating the local street food.
The second important reason for its success can be attributed to its franchise model. With the help of franchises, they built the scale and distribution at lesser costs. And with that, they built a strong supply chain.
But this all worked well in Maharashtra because it was local food for them. But people outside Maharashtra don’t have that cultural resonance. That’s the next biggest challenge they faced. Moreover, margins were tight, and customers increasingly associated “burgers” with aspiration.
So, JumboKing pivoted from vada pav to burgers. They didn’t move away or stop their roots; instead, they Indianized the burger. Schezwan burgers, crispy veg burgers, and corn-and-cheese burgers: these gave customers something new yet familiar.
They also rebranded themselves with the tagline “The Burger of India,” positioning JumboKing not just as a snack chain but as India’s answer to McDonald’s and Burger King.
And this worked again and helped Jumboking to reposition itself well in the market.
Slowly revenues started growing and the customer base widened. As a result, even in Hyderabad, when you go through the metro or any mall, you will see a store of Jumboking.
That’s the scale they achieved over the years. As of 2025, JumboKing is eyeing international expansion starting with Dubai. The goal is to double revenues in 2–3 years and eventually become a 1,000-store brand by 2030.
Just as McDonald’s made the hamburger an American icon, JumboKing might one day make the Indian burger a global favorite.