Subko, a speciality coffee roasters and bake house has raised $10 million to add new talent pool, enriching tech-enabled customer experiences, fortify research and development in product design. The funding will also enable the firm to scale farm-level infrastructure for speciality green coffee and fine cacao beans, and introducing new ready-to-drink coffee products.
Furthermore, Subko revealed it is evaluating to establish flagship experience cafés in multiple formats in a calibrated manner across select cities in India and globally.
“It is paramount that a distinctive Indian brand like Subko leads the way in delivering our unique, curated experiences to the world. My journey with Subko, transitioning from a customer to an investor, has given me unique insights into the brand’s evolution and potential,” Kamath said.
Subko’s competitors include Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Starbucks, SLAY Coffee, and Hatti Kaapi. Kamath has also invested in Third Wave Coffee.
“His (Kamath’s) genuine desire to enable the growth of homegrown Indian brands and ability to intertwine complex value judgments in consumer markets aligns perfectly with our mission,” noted Rahul Reddy, Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Subko.
Subko to add more experiential cafe in its chain
The Mumbai-based coffee roastery, bakehouse, and experiential café aims to spotlight the intricacies of Asia’s speciality coffee value chain while presenting a contemporary representation of the Indian subcontinent for global appeal.
The Coffee Brand operates through direct trade partnerships with coffee estates and smallholder farmers harvesting and processing coffee and cacao, roasting and transforming agricultural produce into finished goods.
“We are committed to facilitating the careful, calibrated and quality-first expansion of Subko’s unique craft café experiences to select Indian cities and potentially to global capitals, showcasing South Asian craftsmanship and the might of the region’s agricultural raw material,” Reddy added.
The funding was led by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath at a post-money valuation of about $34 million. Other investors which participated in the latest funding round included Blume Founders Fund, The Gauri Khan Family Trust, Priya and John Abraham, Sangita Jindal, Srinivas and Pallavi Dempo, and The Mehta International Mauritius Limited also participated in the round.
