DRDO Scientist’s Automated Momo-Making Machine Earns Rs 25 Cr a Year

When NIT graduate Shouvik Dhar could not find home-like momos in Hyderabad, he decided to make his own!

Born and raised in Silchar, Assam, momos have been a staple for this engineer and a former DRDO scientist. Shouvik founded Prabhati Foods Private Limited, and under his brand ‘Zomoz’, he started selling momos in Hyderabad.

Beyond delighting hundreds of momo lovers, the brand harbours another secret — it has pioneered an automated momo-making machine! After opening its first outlet in 2016, Shouvik started to gain more popularity and more outlets started to spring up.

He got his big break a year later when he was approached by a cinema chain to supply momos in all their theatres in Hyderabad, Kerala, and Vijayawada. While he was excited about the offer, he knew that his current capacity would not be able to meet the demand.

“The process of hiring and training felt lengthy and repetitive to me, so I decided to innovate something new. This set me on a quest to explore different types of machines used for making food items to eventually invent my own,” he shares.

After months of research and several trips to China and Korea, he was ready with his machine. From chopping the vegetables, and making the dough to making the momos, everything is done using machines at the Zomoz production centre.

“Each production line consists of three different units, and each line can produce around 8,000 pieces in an hour. Each machine can produce 2.25 lakh momos every day,” he informs.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)