Meet the Husband-Wife Duo Behind Blue Tokai’s Rise from Home Roasted Coffee to 135+ Outlets That Clocked ₹216 Cr Revenue in FY24

India has always been a tea-first country, but over the last decade,that has changed, especially in its urban centers. 

A new generation of consumers began demanding more than just convenience in their cup. They wanted better quality, transparency, and flavor. This change didn’t happen by accident.

The rise of specialty coffee in India was driven by a handful of early believers - and at the center of this transformation was Blue Tokai Roasters. By focusing on traceable sourcing, fresh roasting, and direct-to-consumer sales, the company created a model that appealed to evolving preferences and filled a glaring market gap.

This is the story of how Blue Tokai turned a personal frustration into a ₹216 Cr business, helping define what coffee means to a new wave of Indian consumers.

Meet the Founders

In 2013, husband-wife duo Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana founded Blue Tokai Roasters with a simple goal: bring fresh, high-quality coffee to Indian consumers. 

Matt, originally from the U.S., graduated from NYU Stern with a background in finance and later completed a master's in economics. He worked in economic research and development finance before moving to India. 

Namrata, on the other hand, studied Psychology at Vanderbilt University in the U.S. and worked in design roles in Chicago before taking on communications roles at PepsiCo India, the American India Foundation, and the Centre for Development Finance.

Together, their complementary strengths - Matt’s operational acumen and Namrata’s design and communication sensibilities - laid the foundation for one of India’s most recognizable coffee brands.

But all this aside, it was simply their love for coffee that drove the idea forward, long before it became a business.

Identifying the Market Gap 

India is one of the world’s top coffee producers, but most of its high-grade beans were being exported. 

Within the country, coffee largely meant instant blends or heavily sugared café drinks. For consumers looking for fresh, high-quality coffee with traceable sourcing, there were few, if any, options.

“There was this latent demand that nobody else was meeting,” Matt explained. 

Estate-level sourcing, transparent roasting, and direct-to-consumer formats simply didn’t exist at scale. That gave them a rare opportunity to lead the specialty segment from the ground up.

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Their Journey

While living in Chennai, Matt and Namrata found it difficult to get freshly roasted coffee. 

Despite India being a major coffee producer, most of the high-quality beans were exported, and the domestic market lacked freshness and transparency.

After some time, they moved to Delhi - partly because Namrata’s family lived there, and partly because they both felt connected to the city. It was only after settling in that they decided to start roasting coffee themselves, operating initially out of a room in Namrata’s parents’ house.

They had no formal experience in the coffee or F&B business. It was a bootstrapped experiment, driven by observation, curiosity, and a clear gap in the market. 

India is one of the world’s top coffee producers, yet the majority of premium beans were being exported. Back home, consumers were stuck with instant coffee or overpriced café chains that lacked freshness or quality.

“There was this latent demand that nobody else was meeting,” Matt explained.

No one was talking about estate-sourced, freshly roasted beans. That gave Blue Tokai a first-mover advantage in a neglected niche.

Roasting Coffee in a Bedroom

With ₹10 lakh in savings, Matt and Namrata purchased a Taiwanese tabletop roaster and installed it in a spare bedroom of her parents’ house. 

The first few batches were roasted in tiny quantities and packaged by hand. Sales started with friends, family, and early adopters through Facebook and local farmers’ markets.

“We were just two people roasting coffee in a bedroom and putting labels on by hand,” Matt recalled. 

At the time, Namrata was pregnant, and they were juggling everything from production to customer service themselves.

The coffee stood out immediately. 

“People started telling us they’d never tasted coffee like this in India,” Matt said.

That early feedback confirmed they were tapping into something the market had been missing.

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Challenges Faced

Demand for freshly roasted coffee kept rising, but they were still operating out of a residential home in Gurgaon. 

Their small tabletop roaster couldn’t keep up. To scale production, they invested in a Probat roaster from Germany - a significant cost of around ₹40 lakh including duties.Transporting it into a regular house was another hurdle.

“We had to crane it into a residential home. That’s how scrappy things were,” Matt said.

The challenges didn’t stop there. The strong aroma of roasting coffee would drift through the neighborhood.

“Some neighbors loved it. Others... not so much,” he recalled. 

Power cuts were another issue. One day, the electricity went out mid-roast. Without backup power, they lost the entire batch. 

“We just stood there watching an expensive roast get ruined. There was nothing we could do,” Matt said.

At the same time, Namrata was pregnant with their first child. The couple was juggling growing demand, a massive equipment upgrade, and major life changes at home.

 “It was a lot — the machine arriving, the pressure to fulfill growing orders, and planning a family,” Matt said. “But we felt the growth was steady enough to bet on it. But we felt the growth was steady enough to bet on it.”

Introducing Blue Tokai Roasters

At this stage in their journey, Matt and Namrata were still running a small roasting operation from a bedroom but they hadn’t yet named their venture. As demand started picking up, they formalized the brand and launched it under the name 'Blue Tokai Roasters’.

The name "Blue Tokai" is derived from the South Indian word "tokai," meaning the tail of a peacock - a symbolic nod to Indian heritage.

By 2014, Blue Tokai had gained steady traction. 

Their core offering included single-estate coffee, roasted fresh and shipped directly to consumers. The couple focused on transparency - each bag listed the estate name, roast profile, and tasting notes, something entirely new for Indian coffee drinkers.

The brand set up its first dedicated roastery in Saidulajab, Delhi. 

“We moved into this area called Saidulajab, which was sort of on the outskirts of Delhi… there was literally a cow shed behind our roastery,” Matt shared.

While the surroundings were far from polished, their focus on quality and consistency helped demand grow through word of mouth.

Challenges Faced While Expanding

As Blue Tokai expanded to Mumbai, the team ran into their first serious regulatory issue. They had hired a consultant to help with the FSSAI licensing process -but it backfired.

“We went to Bombay, hired a consultant who gave us a fake FSSAI license, and the police came and shut us down,” Matt said.

The incident highlighted deeper issues. They had grown quickly, but their backend systems hadn’t caught up. The team was relying on trust and makeshift processes, which left them exposed.

“That was a big wake-up call,” Matt admitted. “We were vulnerable. We didn’t have real systems in place.”

How Shivam Shahi Joined Blue Tokai

That’s when Shivam Shahi joined, initially applying through a cold LinkedIn email. He was hired for operations - but three months in, Matt nearly fired him.

After a tough conversation, Shivam realigned, and over time, became indispensable. He handled supply chain, compliance, and store build-outs.

“This business wouldn’t be where it is without him,” Matt later admitted.

Shivam was eventually named co-founder.

Becoming a Cafe Chain

The first Blue Tokai café wasn’t even supposed to be a café - it was just a few chairs set up inside their roastery in Saidulajab, meant for walk-in customers curious about their coffee.

“There was no food, no vibe, just coffee. And people loved it,” Matt said. 

Office-goers from nearby buildings began stopping by regularly, and the informal setup started to look more like a real café.

That unexpected traction encouraged them to open a second location in Mumbai. Unlike their Delhi roastery, this was a deliberate step toward retail. The Mumbai café served as proof of concept: people wanted more than just packaged coffee — they wanted the full experience.

From there, the café model evolved. 

Initially viewed as a brand-building tool, cafés quickly became a core part of Blue Tokai’s business - offering high-margin revenue and bringing new customers into the brand.

“We didn’t know it at the time, but cafés would become one of our strongest channels,” Matt later admitted.

As of 2025, Blue Tokai operates over 135+ cafés across India.

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Marketing Strategies

Blue Tokai’s marketing has focused on transparency, education, and product storytelling — rather than lifestyle branding or mass campaigns.

The packaging itself became a key tool. Estate names, roast profiles, and tasting notes were printed clearly, helping customers understand what they were buying.

“We’re not trying to market coffee as a lifestyle; we’re trying to talk about where it’s from, how it’s made, and why that matters,” Matt said.

Much of their early content was educational.

“People didn’t know what pour-over was. So we started writing blogs, making brew guides — stuff that made it easier to understand,” he added.

Namrata emphasized the importance of brand clarity:

“We were always clear — our product is only as good as the story we tell with it,” Matt explains.

The cafes themselves acted as physical touchpoints where customers could learn, ask questions, and see the product being brewed — reinforcing trust and quality.

Delhi Police Seals Blue Tokai Locations

In 2019, just two days before the planned launch of their Defence Colony café, Blue Tokai was hit with an unexpected setback. 

The Delhi Police sealed the location, citing local zoning and compliance issues. Their Saidulajab roastery, which served as the operational backbone of their business, was also sealed shortly after.

“We were growing fast, and hadn’t built the kind of systems you need to navigate this scale,” Matt admitted in an interview.

Caught off guard, the team scrambled to keep operations running. They shifted production back to Namrata’s parents’ house — the very place where the company had first started.

“It was surreal - going back to where we began, but with 10x the pressure,” Matt said.

For a company already managing rapid growth, the incident was a stark reminder of how fragile operations can be without the right regulatory foundations. 

“It forced us to professionalise a lot of things quickly - paperwork, compliance, legal things we had underestimated,” he added.

Funding Raised

Blue Tokai’s growth has been backed by consistent investor interest. While the company began as a bootstrapped operation, it gradually raised capital to support scaling, infrastructure, and its growing café network.

• Total funding: Over $50 million (~₹415 crore)

• Seed round (2016): ₹3 crore from Snow Leopard Ventures

• Pre-Series B (2020): Led by Anicut Capital

• Series B (2022): Led by A91 Partners

• Series C (2023): $30 million led by A91 Partners, with participation from 8i Ventures, Grand Anicut Fund, and others

Funds have been used for:

• Expanding the café footprint across metros

• Building out backend operations and supply chain

• Strengthening D2C channels and international presence

“Once you raise money, there's no going back. It forces you to grow up fast, in a good way,” Matt shared.

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Revenue

Blue Tokai reported ₹215.8 crore in revenue in FY24, up 69% from ₹127.4 crore the previous year. The café business contributed the largest share at ₹128 crore, followed by online sales at ₹40 crore and B2B revenue at ₹38 crore.

While losses widened to ₹62.2 crore, the EBITDA margin improved from -27.1% in FY23 to -16.6% in FY24 — indicating better cost control and stronger unit economics.

“We're not just chasing top-line growth. We're trying to build a business that lasts,” Matt said.

Blue Tokai in Japan

In 2024, Blue Tokai took its first major step outside India by opening a store in Tokyo, Japan.

This marked the brand’s official international debut. Japan, with its discerning coffee culture and focus on quality, was a natural testing ground.

The Tokyo café brings Blue Tokai’s core offerings - estate-traceable Indian coffee, small-batch roasting, and a transparent supply chain to a global audience. By introducing Indian beans to a market traditionally dominated by Latin American and African origins, the brand positioned itself as an ambassador for Indian specialty coffee.

Matt described Japan as a tough but rewarding market to break into a step that could help build Blue Tokai’s credibility internationally.

Road Ahead

With revenue crossing ₹215 crore and a nationwide café network, Blue Tokai is now focused on long-term sustainability and measured expansion.

Key priorities include:

• Increasing store-level profitability

• Expanding into Tier 2 Indian cities

• Scaling international operations beyond Japan

• Strengthening D2C and subscription offerings

• Exploring new verticals like ready-to-drink coffee and brewing gear

The company also aims to improve backend efficiency through better tech and logistics infrastructure.

While the road ahead includes challenges like real estate costs and operational complexity, Blue Tokai’s focus on quality, traceability, and community gives it a durable advantage.