Blue Tokai raises $30 Mn in Series B led by A91 Partners

Coffee brand Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has raised $30 million in its Series B funding round led by A91 Partners. White Whale Ventures and existing investors including Grand Anicut Fund, 8i Ventures, and several family offices also participated in the round.

According to the company, the Series B fundraise marks the largest investment round in the Indian specialty coffee industry so far. In August 2021, it raised $2 million in a pre-Series B round led by Anicut Angel Fund.

With this investment, the firm will continue scaling the business and expand its presence in the specialty coffee markets globally, Blue Tokai said in a statement. The firm is also working towards introducing new FMCG products and supporting small scale independent farmers.

Blue Tokai has partnered with several retail outlets, luxury hotels & restaurants, top corporates, and co-working spaces amongst others. The company claims to have 4 roasteries, and over 60 physical outlets including Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Pune, as well as international operations in Japan.

Over the next three years, Blue Tokai plans to add 200 new stores, taking the overall count to well over 250 cafes.  As per the company, it will also invest in its B2B arm and plans to introduce vending machine-based offerings.

It competes with Rage Coffee, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and  Seven Beans Co., among others.

Blue Tokai's revenue from operations surged 80.6% to Rs 74 crore in FY22 from Rs 40.96 crore in FY21. As per the annual financial statement with the RoC, its losses also jumped 72.2% to Rs 12.33 crore in FY22 against Rs 7.16 crore in FY21. The company saw a flat growth in FY21 as it registered  Rs 40.2 crore in revenue in FY20 with Rs 9.47 crore loss.

The Gurugram-based company claims that it is clocking a revenue run rate of Rs 150 crore for the ongoing fiscal year and eyes profitability by next year.