BADMAASH

What BADMAASH does

BADMAASH is a privately held, family-owned restaurant group based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2014 by brothers Nakul and Arjun Mahendro. The company operates three full-service restaurants specializing in Hakka-style Indian-Chinese cuisine, located in Downtown LA (108 W. 2nd Street), Hollywood/Fairfax (418 N. Fairfax Avenue), and Venice (1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd). Each location maintains its own menu and operating hours, with the DTLA site also functioning as the venue for ticketed chef collaboration dinners priced at $100-$149 per person. Beyond dine-in, BADMAASH generates revenue through a direct-to-consumer Shopify storefront selling a proprietary Butter Chicken Sauce (a cardamom- and fenugreek-spiced tomato curry in 16oz and 24oz bottles), branded apparel designed by the founders, and event tickets. The e-commerce store ships to 25+ countries including India, UAE, UK, Canada, and Australia, although per-order shipping is capped (6 jars ground / 2 jars next-day), and the 24oz bottle is currently sold out.

The business is structurally a multi-format food and lifestyle brand rather than a pure restaurant operator. Revenue streams include in-restaurant dining, packaged sauce retail, apparel (including a co-branded line with Kids of Immigrants), and a recurring chef collaboration series featuring names such as Neal Fraser, Timothy Hollingsworth, Evan Funke, Michael Voltaggio, and Jon & Vinny's. The brand also operates HAKKA HAKKA, a ticketed pop-up sub-brand dedicated to Hakka Indian-Chinese classics such as chili chicken and Hakka noodles. Marketing is concentrated in organic social channels, particularly Instagram (@badmaashla) and YouTube (@badmaashla, home of 'The Butter Chicken Sauce Show'), with no disclosed paid acquisition, app, or programmatic AI tooling. The company is private, family-controlled, has no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or executive leadership beyond the two co-founders, and shows no patents, regulatory actions, or awards in the source material.

Name

BADMAASH

Legal name

BADMAASH (legal name not disclosed on website)

Website

https://badmaashla.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BADMAASH is a family-owned Los Angeles restaurant group operating three locations serving Hakka Indian-Chinese cuisine, while also selling a proprietary Butter Chicken Sauce, branded apparel, and ticketed chef collaboration dinners through its direct-to-consumer Shopify storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Full-service restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Mayonnaise, Dressing, and Other Prepared Sauce Manufacturing (311941)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Asian Fast Casual (Pan-Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean) (THAFABAE), Wet Seasonings & Pastes (Curry Pastes, Harissa, Gochujang, Spice Pastes) (AFAJANAI)

Keywords

• Indian-Chinese restaurants
• Hakka cuisine dining
• Consumer packaged sauces
• Branded apparel merchandise
• Chef collaboration events

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: In-restaurant dining at three Los Angeles locations (DTLA, Fairfax, Venice) serving Hakka Indian-Chinese cuisine. Each location has its own operating hours and menu.
2. Consumer Packaged Goods - Butter Chicken Sauce: Direct-to-consumer sales of Butter Chicken Sauce in 16oz ($13) and 24oz ($18) bottles. Maximum 6 jars per order by ground shipping, 2 jars by next day shipping. Ships within 5 business days.
3. Merchandise: Branded merchandise including t-shirts ($40-$69), hats ($40), and limited edition apparel. Products include Badmaash 10 Year Anniversary Shirt, Hakka Hakka Shirt, Maggi Shirt, Chutki Baby Tee, and BADMAASH x Kids of Immigrants collaboration.
4. Ticketed Chef Collaboration Events: Special ticketed dining events featuring collaborations with notable chefs (Neal Fraser, Timothy Hollingsworth, Evan Funke, Michael Voltaggio, Jon & Vinny's, Hakka Hakka). Ticket prices range from $100-$149 per person for exclusive multi-course menus.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BADMAASH operates three family-owned Hakka-style Indian-Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles (DTLA, Fairfax, Venice), serving dine-in and online-order customers with bold, spice-forward Indian-Chinese cuisine. Beyond restaurant service, the company sells a proprietary Butter Chicken Sauce in 16oz and 24oz bottles, limited-edition branded apparel including t-shirts and hats, and hosts ticketed chef collaboration dinner events.

Product overview

BADMAASH is a family-owned and operated Indian-Chinese restaurant group with three locations in Los Angeles (Fairfax, Venice, and DTLA). The business operates as both a restaurant group and consumer packaged goods company. The core offerings include: (1) In-restaurant dining across three locations serving Hakka-inspired Indian-Chinese cuisine, (2) Ticketed chef collaboration dinners featuring guest chefs, (3) Retail consumer products including Butter Chicken Sauce sold in 16oz and 24oz bottles, and (4) Branded apparel including t-shirts, hats, and collaboration pieces. The products are unified under the BADMAASH brand identity, with apparel designed in-house by founders Nakul and Arjun Mahendro.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Butter Chicken Sauce: Consumer packaged goods line featuring tomato curry sauce spiced with cardamom and fenugreek, available in 16oz and 24oz bottles
• HAKKA HAKKA
• BADMAASH Merchandise

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Hakka Hakka Indian-Chinese CuisineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2023BADMAASH presents Hakka Hakka featuring Hakka classics like chili chicken and Hakka noodles. First event held November 13, 2023 with subsequent events in January 2024. Quote from Eater LA: 'LA is ready for Hakka food because Hakka restaurants in India resemble American Chinese restaurants here.'
• Kids of Immigrants (KOI)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBADMAASH collaborated with Kids of Immigrants (KOI) on a limited edition product line featuring co-branded merchandise.
• Jon & Vinny'sminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial ticketed dining event featuring Jon & Vinny's restaurant collaborating with BADMAASH on a unique menu. Event held May 19 at DTLA location.
• Timothy HollingsworthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTicketed chef collaboration event featuring Timothy Hollingsworth X BADMAASH on August 25. Ticket price covers food menu only.
• Evan FunkeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTicketed chef collaboration event featuring Evan Funke X BADMAASH on July 28. Ticket price covers food menu only.
• Michael VoltaggiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTicketed chef collaboration event featuring BADMAASH X Michael Voltaggio on June 30. Ticket price covers food menu only.
• Neal FraserminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTicketed chef collaboration event featuring Neal Fraser X BADMAASH on April 28 at $149 per ticket.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pijja Palace: Indian-inspired sports bar and restaurant in Silver Lake, LA, with a similar elevated-casual approach to South Asian flavors and a creative beverage program. Direct comparable on cuisine ambition, LA geography, and design-forward brand identity.
• Bhindi Indian: LA-based Indian restaurant offering a modern take on regional Indian flavors. Direct comparable on cuisine category, LA market positioning, and chef-driven full-service model.
• Adda Indian Canteen: Indian restaurant concept focused on elevated street food and casual regional cuisine in a full-service setting. Comparable on cuisine authenticity, full-service dining model, and chef-driven menu positioning.
• Sona: Modern Indian fine-dining restaurant in Pune with adjacent brand presence in the US Indian dining conversation. Comparable on contemporary Indian cuisine positioning and chef-driven identity.

Emerging players

• Diaspora Co. Direct-to-consumer South Asian spice and pantry brand selling premium single-origin Indian ingredients online. Comparable as a culturally-rooted Indian CPG brand building a DTC food business from heritage recipes.
• Mina (by Sameer Gupta): Chef-driven Indian sauces and pantry line founded by a fine-dining chef. Closest CPG peer to BADMAASH's Butter Chicken Sauce strategy of packaging a signature restaurant recipe for retail sale.
• Republic of Booza: Culturally-rooted ice cream brand from an immigrant-owned founder with strong DTC and branded retail presence. Comparable as a heritage-cuisine founder brand extending into packaged goods with strong storytelling and design.

Broad incumbents

• Junoon: Long-established, fine-dining Indian restaurant in NYC. Comparable as a high-end Indian dining concept with a strong brand reputation, but operating at larger scale and longer history than BADMAASH.
• Tamarind Tribeca: Established upscale Indian restaurant with decades of operating history. Comparable as a benchmark for premium Indian dining economics, brand equity, and customer base expectations.
• Jon & Vinny's: LA-based full-service restaurant group that has done a public chef collaboration dinner with BADMAASH. Comparable as a scaled LA restaurant operator with active event programming and DTC retail extensions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/badmaashla
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@badmaashla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BADMAASH