CHENNAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Indian fast-food chain Wow

Momo Foods plans to go public within two years, its CEO said, as

the popular dumpling brand aims to replicate the rapid expansion

of Domino's Pizza in the world's most populous country.

India's $5 billion fast-food sector has seen significant

growth, driven by rising demand among low- and middle-income

families.

Valued at 25 billion rupees ($299.33 million) with a network

of 650 stores, Wow Momo plans to become the first major local

fast-food chain to go public, riding on this shift in consumer

behavior.

Tiger Global-backed Wow Momo, which reported revenue of

nearly 4.8 billion rupees ($57.47 million) for the fiscal year

ending in March, is aiming to double its revenue to 10 billion

rupees over the next 30 months, co-founder and CEO Sagar Daryani

told Reuters late on Tuesday.

"The public markets are really, really growing ... One

homegrown fast-food chain IPO in India will change the script

for fast-food play (in the country)," Daryani said.

India's booming stock market has hit record highs

over 50 times this year, with nearly 200 companies, including

e-scooter maker Ola Electric and telecom operator

Bharti Hexacom, raising billions.

In the restaurant sector, franchisees of Western brands like

KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, and Domino's have

gone public in the past decade. One of the most recent local

listing was of Barbeque-Nation Hospitality, which went

public three years ago.

Shares of Bengaluru, Karnataka-based Barbeque-Nation have

climbed nearly 28% from their IPO price despite seeing some

challenges with footfalls among inflation-weary consumers.

Daryani said he plans to replicate Jubilant FoodWorks

's success, which has expanded Domino's from a single

store in India in 1996 to over 1,800 outlets.

Wow Momo, which offers savory dumplings priced between

109-369 rupees ($1.31-$4.42) per serving, plans to increase its

store count to 1,000 and become profitable on the basis of a

core earnings metric within two years.

While the company experienced a dip in same-store sales from

October to May, mirroring a broader slowdown in the Indian

fast-food space, sales have recovered, turning positive from

June to September, Daryani added.

($1 = 83.5200 Indian rupees)