Top Coffee Startups in India

India's coffee culture has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, from a culture of tea consumption to a developing coffee-loving society. This change has led to the exponential growth of many specialty coffee startups to drive the vibrant coffee landscape of the nation. Conventionally, India was a tea-drinking country but the coffee beverage market started gaining traction in the early 2000s, partly due to the proliferation of coffee shop chains and urbanism.

The specialty coffee movement started developing in the 2010s and was driven by global trends. This modern trend focused on quality, sustainability, and special flavor profiles, which gained the attention of an expanding public of coffee lovers. Due to this fact, India's coffee startups remain key to this dynamic and changing market.

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters 
Sleepy Owl Coffee
Third Wave Coffee Roasters
Country Bean
Rage Coffee
Beanly
Nithara Coffee
The Flying Squirrel
SLAY Coffee
Toffee Coffee Roasters

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters 

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, a company founded in 2013 by Matt Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana, and Shivam Shahi, has emerged as a solid brand in the specialty coffee arena of India. They began roasting beans in Delhi at home when they were frustrated because they couldn't get any good coffee in North India. Then, in 2014, their first roastery was housed.

This brand is dedicated to premium Arabica beans that are sourced from different Indian farms, thereby bringing freshness and quality. Blue Tokai's offerings include roasted coffee, brewing kits, subscription services, and more than 80 coffee shops across major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. Thereafter, through education at a robust outreach to the customer level, the company is developing an Indian culture around coffee through better brewing experiences and education in appreciation of specialty coffee.

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Sleepy Owl Coffee

In Sleepy Owl Coffee's cocoon of life, 2016 was considered the year which bore Arman Sood, Ajai Thandi, and Ashwajeet Singh, who had once bid adieu to the careers of banking and law to start a coffee renaissance in India. Focusing on quality caffeine, they initiated Cold Brew Boxes for home brewing, bagging INR 30 lakh in the first year itself. The brand procures 100% premium Arabica beans from Chikmagalur, ensuring consistency in flavors.

Sleepy Owl Cold Brew Bags, instant coffee, ready-to-drink beverages, and traditional South Indian filter coffee are available widely. Strong engagement in communities and an efficient supply chain system for freshness created customer loyalty. Spanning over 30 products, including seasonal releases, it has wedged its innovation into Indian households with coffee solutions that are convenient to use.

Third Wave Coffee Roasters

Sushant Goel. Anirudh Sharma. Ayush Bathwal-the trio founded Third Wave Coffee Roasters in the year 2016. It has grown to play an increasingly instrumental role in the specialty coffee scenario for India. A study of the US "Third Wave Movement" has reportedly seen the founders of Third Wave selectively source high-quality Arabica beans from Karnataka, eventually launching their first café in Bengaluru's Koramangala area.

Within a short while, specialized coffee and local origin premium were met by very unique customer experiences, and Third Wave created its huge following. It is a fast-service model with a wide range of offerings from classics to signature drinks such as Lavender and Rosemary Sea Salt Mocha. With in-house roasting and designs of café spaces for social interactions.

Country Bean

Known by the tag of being the first flavored coffee brand of its kind in the country, Country Bean stands as one of those names that dominate India's coffee market today. Founded in 2017 by Aditi Somani Satnaliwala and Aneesh Satnaliwala, the brand aims to bring that café-style experience into Indian homes. It was born of Aditi's passion for coffee and began with a series of kitchen-experimental flavorings that were finally released in 2018.

From there, Country Bean managed to overcome early difficulties in sourcing and packaging and now serves over 400,000 customers. Today, it sells flavored instant coffees, hot chocolate powders, and coffee accessories focusing so much on convenience, that Country Bean has built a strong loyal customer base and grown well in itself in the past few years.

Rage Coffee

Rage Coffee has quickly made a niche for itself in the coffee industry in India with its innovative product portfolio. Founded in 2018 by Bharat Sethi, Rage Coffee operates as a digital-first FMCG company that offers coffee solutions for the modern consumer. For its flavored instant coffee in biodegradable tube shots for busy men and women who have no time but no flavor. It became a real invention when cricket megastar Virat Kohli invested and endorsed this brand, thereby elevating it in the market with younger audience segments.

Rage Coffee sells primarily through its website and BigBasket and 600+ offline retail outlets. Its vision is consumer engagement, innovation, and sustainability in shaping the future of the instant coffee market in India.

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Beanly

Beanly is a Delhi-raised company with a noble aim of bringing into the lives of its loyalists the experience of fresh brew coffee. Foundered in 2018 by Rahul Jain and Samayesh Khanna. Beanly's approach is to achieve product innovation that offers fresh coffee beans to customers in a more convenient manner. The finest coffees are sourced by them from Indian plantations. Beanly was the coffee startup to have introduced nitrogen-infused coffee.

The company's product range comprises Instant Coffee, Pour Over Coffee, Nitro Coffee in cans, Cold Chocolate, and Coffee Spread. It sells these products from its website as well as other online stores. Beanly is a D2C brand and currently operates in Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Delhi, with plans to expand to Mumbai and Kolkata.

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Nithara Coffee

Nithara Coffee is a specialty coffee company based out of Salem, Tamil Nadu, which is very good in the things it does about growing, harvesting, curing, roasting, and blending its coffees: The 'Nithara' literally translates to 'Deep Rooted' in Sanskrit, which stands for those qualities the company pledges for: Quality, Consistency, and Service. For the Delhi local people, it has two segments: Filter Coffee Blends for the home brewers, with multiple grind sizes, chicory blends, and more used for Economy Blends which can be utilized in hotels and restaurants built to sustain chemistry and low cost.

Nithara Custom Blends which are made for wholesale and major hotel chains would source 100% Arabica beans, directly from the home estates-runs previously known as Ramagiri and Krishnagiri Estates, situated in Chikmagalur. It has R&G( (Roast and Ground)) outlets that are located in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, and Chennai, and also gives services in this area across the other states in India. 

The Flying Squirrel

The Flying Squirrel is an artisanal coffee brand from Bengaluru, founded in 2011 to remedy the coffee quality issue in India. In 2013, it began making premium coffees from Tej's farm in Coorg more accessible. The brand grows the coffee and interplants it with vanilla, citrus, banana, and spices. The Flying Squirrel processes dries, and roasts its coffee expertly and has gained particular recognition for its premium coffee and fine brewing accessories like Chemex and Moka Pot makers. It mainly operates online and steers away from the big supermarket brands, targeting curated gourmet stores and institutional sales instead. While it faces increasing competition and rocketing digital acquisition costs, the brand is determined to be niche but not too exclusive.

SLAY Coffee

Established in 2015 by Chaitanya Chitta and Lakshmi Dasaka, SLAY Coffee has earmarked its focus on premium coffee at an affordable price and has popularized the concept of "coffee out of café". This coffeehouse is functioning through SLAY Cloud for e-orders, SLAY Coffee Bars for off-the-counter purchases, and SLAY Packaged Coffees for in-home consumption way it started has been through the cloud kitchen model with Rebel Foods.

It has over 160 stores across 19 cities: SLAY offers superior Arabica and Robusta blends sourced from Karnataka's coffee estates by bringing them a little closer to home. Among the available items are instant coffees, protein bars, and innovative products like SLAY-X and DIY HomeBrewing Kits. Using the spill-free SLAY Case 1.0 packaging, SLAY aims to take its business internationally to Dubai and Southeast Asia. They were featured on Shark Tank India Season 3.

Toffee Coffee Roasters

Toffee Coffee Roasters is a Mumbai-based venture that began in 2019 in Bandra by Nandini Shrivastava and Rishabh Nigam, as a getaway from bandy-peddling toilet water. They felt the need to commit to selling coffee within 48 hours of roasting while making sure that the beans they use are sourced responsibly. Their online offerings include single-origin coffees and signature blends, either through partners or private label customers, always keeping in mind small-batch roasting.

Coffees include specialty instant coffees coming from Colombia, Ethiopia, and Brazil; cold brew bags; coffee from Baarbara and Baba Budangiri estates; and specialty blends such as Blonde Caramel and Blueberry Mocha. The roads include a plethora of devices for the brewing of coffee to connect people with genuine experiences of artisanal roasting with fresh coffee. They feature on Shark Tank India Season 3 and got investment from Ritesh Agarwal.

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Conclusion

India's coffee landscape is transforming, driven by innovative startups. Specialty coffee brands are redefining specialty coffee through a broad range of varieties, from single-origin beans and flavored coffees to beverage-ready-to-drink, to meet changing consumer desires.

Set in quality sourcing, sustainability, and ethical business practices, they appeal to the "conscious consumer" mass market, building trust and loyalty. Using e-commerce these companies target wider markets and have communities participating through social media and experiential marketing.

Using direct-to-consumer business models and technology-based tactics, they improve customer experience and redefine the coffee culture in India. With the backing of investment and market demand, these startups are ready to become the champions of the Indian specialty coffee revolution, adding quality and innovation to the market.

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FAQs

What is driving the growth of coffee startups in India?

A growing coffee culture, increased disposable incomes, and a desire for premium and unique coffee experiences are fueling the rise of coffee startups.

What types of coffee are these startups typically offering?

These startups often focus on specialty coffee, single-origin beans, unique roasting methods, and ready-to-drink options.

How are these startups reaching their customers?

These startups use a mix of channels, including online platforms (their own websites and e-commerce marketplaces), physical cafes (though less common for all), partnerships with other businesses, and delivery services.