Making high-quality and sustainably sourced Indian coffee accessible

With a focus on reaching consumers across touchpoints, Bili hu began by bringing single-estate coffees to retail locations such as hotels, cafes, restaurants and other public spaces to increase brand recall.

The startup began in 2019 with the proposition of making high-quality and sustainably sourced Indian coffee accessible and more visible to everyone stepping out of their homes. The founder says the company’s coffee story is inspired by the massive agricultural wealth in India, which is renowned the world over but not accessible to many in the country. With an agriculture-first approach, the brand is focussed on showcasing the characters of terroir through its focus on manual brewing, rather than instant coffee or mixes.

The company claims to have served over 18 Lakh consumers across its multiple touchpoints, with over 1 Lakh products sourced till date. In FY2021, Bili hu achieved INR 63 Lakh in revenue, and it plans to grow this through its new operations. It has started delivering freshly brewed coffee in a limited radius in Noida and Delhi.

Bili hu works with coffee plantations across Chikmagalur, in Karnataka, which is known as the coffee belt of India. The biggest challenge in procurement, Singhal claims, is that some coffee plantations are not yet chemical free, which does not align with the sustainability goals for the company. It has looked to differentiate itself with experiments such as double fermentation, aerobic and anaerobic fermentation, fermentation with or without yeast in air tight containers, carbon maceration, among other techniques like fermenting in fruit juices.

While it has expanded retail presence from metros to Tier 3 cities, the next step for Bili hu is bolstering its D2C platform with newer blends, coffee-adjacent lifestyle products and brewing equipment. Currently, it offers 95+ SKUs across these three categories on its website. Founder Singhal tells us, “We will be reaching customers via departmental stores by giving them added sensory experiences. While that is still for the gourmet segment, we will be able to reach masses with coffee dip bags.”

Next out of the pipeline will be a range of instant brew dip bags, which are becoming more commonplace among Indian coffee brands and are big sellers on ecommerce marketplaces and hyperlocal platforms. The company has also recently launched bottled cold brew which is also a format that’s selling well online. To scale up, Bili hu is looking to go big on its D2C operations after setting up multiple physical retail formats, and will also tie-up with channel partners on the B2B side.