Blue Tokai, a specialty coffee and bakery brand, has raised $35 million in a fresh round led by Belgium’s Verlinvest, a family-backed investment firm and will utilize fund to expand.
Existing investors Anicut Capital and A91 Partners also participated in the round which now values the startup at around Rs 1,500 crore (about $180 million).
The company’s valuation was up from around Rs 700 crore at the beginning of 2023.Now the startup will use the fresh funds to deepen its presence in existing metro markets and expand into new Tier I & II cities in India over the next 3 years.
This is second investment the company has made in under 2 years as investors. In January 2023, the company raised $30million in a round that was funded by A91 partners.
Blue Tokai was founded in 2013 by Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana and Shivam Shahi, and the company has doubled its store count in the last year to 130 outlets.
Together, we are committed to elevating Blue Tokai to new heights, creating India’s leading coffee chain and delighting consumers with unparalleled quality and service,” said Arjun Anand, Managing Director & Head of Asia, Verlinvest.
“We will utilise these funds to accelerate our expansion across all channels – from our own cafes to B2B and B2C platforms.
By introducing innovative coffee product offerings through new producers, we will enable ourselves to reach new consumers with varied offerings and continue delivering consistent coffee experiences,” Matt Chitharanjan, Co-founder and CEO, Blue Tokai, said.
