In the Series B round of funding, which was led by A91 Partners, Blue Tokai was able to raise funding of about $30 million. Several existing investors participated in the seed funding round which included White Whale Ventures, Grand Anicut Fund, 81 Ventures, and several others. A91 Partners is a venture capitalist that provides support to startup founders to help them build businesses that last.
India’s largest and fastest-growing coffee roaster Blue Tokai is a Gurgaon-based firm launched in 2013 and Co-Founded by Mat Chitharanjan. It is a specialty coffee brand and is known globally. It has successfully implemented its business model and has managed to expand over the years. Blue Tokai has seen rapid growth in India and is among the largest and fastest-growing specialty coffee brands. It has its head office in Gurgaon and was initially launched in the year 2013 as a roastery (where coffee beans are roasted).
In the year 2022 Blue Tokai saw an increase in revenue which totaled ₹ 74 crores as compared to 2021 where they managed only ₹ 40.96 crore. In the month of August 2021, the company received funding of $2 million in a pre-series B round which was led by Anicut Angel Fund. Blue Tokai stated that the Series B round is the largest investment round held in the ‘Indian specialty coffee industry’ till now.
Previously Blue Tokai collaborated with hotels, retail outlets, restaurants, corporates, co-working spaces, and other such institutions. According to the website Blue Tokai has a presence in cities such as Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Pune with 60 outlets and 4 roasteries. It also has an outlet in Japan.
Blue Tokai plans to follow a roadmap where over the next 3 years they plan to add 200 new outlets which will make the total number of outlets reach 250. The company will further look into investing in its B2B arm and will be installing vending machines at multiple locations soon. Currently, it is neck and neck with its competitors, which include companies such as other coffee outlets such Rage Coffee, Slay Coffee, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Sleepy Owl, Seven Beans Co, etc. It aims to invest the capital raised to grow the business and spread it across the globe. They are also looking to introduce new FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products while continuously working with small-scale farmers and helping them also grow in the process.
