Brewing a Rs.1500-crore Business: The Story of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters’ Rise as a Premium Coffee Company

When Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana, a husband-wife duo and coffee connoisseurs from Chennai moved to New Delhi in the early 2010s, they discovered more than just a change in language, climate, and culture. They noticed a stark difference in how coffee was consumed.

Unlike in southern India, where freshly ground and roasted coffee was the norm, Delhi's coffee culture largely revolved around pre-packaged beans roasted months earlier. This gap sparked a vision: to improve the coffee experience by selling high-quality, freshly ground coffee. Thus, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters was born.

Since its foundation in 2013, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has become one of India’s leading names for home-grown specialty coffee. The brand has partnered with over 80 coffee farms in India and established physical outlets in over 130 locations and a pan-India online delivery network. Its revenue surged from Rs. 74 crore in FY22 to Rs. 240 crore in FY24, and with a Series C funding round valuing the company at Rs 1,500 crore, Blue Tokai is gearing up for even more growth.

As Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters plans to triple its revenue to Rs. 1000 crores by 2027, let’s understand how the company managed to reach where it is today.

The journey from a 1-kg Roaster to 4 Roasteries

In 2013, Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana teamed up with Shivam Shahi to start the operations with just one small 1-kg coffee roasting machine. Back then, roasting coffee beans was a labor-intensive 14-hour task.

While the company began its operations via online orders, it set up a physical café in New Delhi and secured its first seed funding in 2016, enabling an expansion to Mumbai. Over the next few years, Blue Tokai worked on building its network of partner coffee farms, convincing coffee farmers across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh to supply their top-tier coffee beans.

The efforts paid off as the company’s growth caught investors’ attention, leading to its Series A funding of Rs. 23.5 crores in 2019. This significant funding round gave the company the boost it needed for more vigorous expansion.

Completing its Series C funding round and raising ?293 crore ($35 million) in August 2024, the company has cemented its position in major Indian cities while making inroads internationally, including in Japan.

The Unique Strategy Behind Blue Tokai’s Growth

1. Unmatched Focus on Quality?

Despite the prevalence of big domestic and global coffee brands such as Starbucks and Café Coffee Day, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters carved a niche by focusing on specialty coffee. By offering premium-quality products, the brand appeals to a discerning audience that values an exceptional coffee experience.

2. Making the process as appealing as the product

Blue Tokai differentiates itself by sharing the journey of its coffee; right from cultivation to roasting. Every packet of Blue Tokai Coffee mentions not only coffee-related details such as roast level, acidity, and bitterness but also the location and altitude of the coffee farm. This transparency builds trust while educating its customers, enhancing its reputation as a credible brand.

3. Strategic Nation-Wide Expansion?

Rather than spreading itself thin across smaller cities, Blue Tokai has strategically focused on major urban centers like Bengaluru, where it already operates 15 cafés and plans to open more. This targeted approach enables the brand to tap into markets that value and can afford a premium café experience. The company aims to expand to 350 physical locations within the next three years.

4. Omnichannel Approach

The coffee market in India is largely divided into two categories—packaged coffee and the café experience. However, Blue Tokai offers the best of the two worlds by offering both. The company operates via three revenue streams: cafés, packaged coffee, and B2B partnerships.?

While cafés account for around two-thirds of its revenue, its packaged coffee sold via its website and e-commerce platforms ensures a steady stream of income. This hybrid model enables the company to cater to varied customer preferences.

With consumer interest rising in high-quality coffee, Blue Tokai is steadily reshaping coffee habits in a country traditionally dominated by tea. The brand stands as a prime example of how success stems from connecting the right product with the right audience.