Blue Tokai Bags $25 Mn To Enter Dubai, Japan Markets

Speciality coffee chain Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has raised $25 Mn (around INR 220 Cr) in a bridge funding round from existing backers, including A91 Partners, Anicut, Verlinvest, and 12 Flags.

In a statement, the startup said it plans to deploy the capital to scale its retail operations, strengthen back-end infrastructure and enter international markets, including Dubai and Japan.

It also plans to use a part of the freshly raised capital to open more stores in India and expand its roasteries and bakery facilities in Bengaluru and Gurugram.

“We are on track for our initial plan of INR 1,000 Cr in revenue and INR 100 Cr EBITDA by 2027, but with recent market response, we have revised our plans to accelerate growth and have started thinking about 800 + stores and INR 2,000 Cr revenue in the next four years. In addition to this we are also putting effort to grow our business in the UAE and Japan,” Blue Tokai cofounder and COO Shivam Shahi said.

The fundraise comes a year after the B startup raised $35 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Verlinvest. Back then, Blue Tokai said it would use the funds to deepen its presence in existing metro cities and expand its footprint to new tier I & II cities over the next three years.

Founded in 2013 by Shahi, Matt Chitharanjan, and Namrata Asthana, Blue Tokai Blue Tokai operates four roasteries and more than 100 physical outlets across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, among others.

Including the latest funding round, the startup has raised a total funding of about $97 Mn to date.

On the financial front, the startup, which competes with the likes of Nothing Before Coffee, Third Wave Coffee, Subko, Rage Coffee, Starbucks, among others, saw its net loss widen 46% to INR 62.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 43 Cr in FY23 due to rising operational costs and aggressive expansion.

Its operating revenue jumped 69% to INR 215.8 Cr during the year from INR 127.5 Cr in FY23. 

With rising disposable incomes, increasing popularity of cafe culture, and changing preference of consumers, India’s coffee shops / cafes market is expected to cross $1 Bn by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 11.5%.

As a result, investors are aggressively backing coffee chains. Earlier this year, Nothing Before Coffee bagged $2.3 Mn in its pre-Series A funding round led by Prath Ventures to set up 150+ retail outlets across India by March 2026.

Last year, First Coffee also raised $1.2 Mn in its seed round to scale its retail network.