Premium coffee craze in cities; 1,200+ cafes in Bengaluru:New race of coffee startups; celebs investing, foreign brands also enter Indian market

In India, people are now looking not just for coffee, but for high-quality coffee. Specialty coffee means premium coffee made from select beans, which is identified by its taste, quality and method of preparation. Due to this changing preference, this market has reached approximately ₹11,000 crore in value in the last 10 years. More than 100 new specialty coffee brands have been launched since 2016. The biggest strength of specialty coffee is millennials and Gen-Z. This is the demographic that is at the forefront of trying new things, spending on premium products and using cafes as social spaces. This is why many celebrities are now entering this business. From Virat to Deepika, these celebrities are betting on coffee startups – Virat Kohli is an investor and brand ambassador in Rage Coffee. He is helping to rapidly grow the brand. – Deepika Padukone has invested in Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters. It is a big name in specialty coffee brands. – Nikhil Kamath has invested in Indian startups like ‘Subko’ and ‘Third Wave Coffee’. – Rana Daggubati is among the early investors in Hyderabad’s coffee startup Katha Coffee. – Rakul Preet Singh has partnered in the India expansion of Canada’s famous cafe brand Blenz Coffee. Market expanding from South India to the North Bengaluru – Over 1200 cafes, the highest in the country
This is the country’s coffee hub. There are more than 1200 cafes here, meaning one cafe for every 11,000 people, which is the highest in India. Chennai – Leading in per capita coffee consumption
Here, approximately 2.4 kilograms of coffee is consumed per person annually, which is the highest in the country. It is also the country’s ‘Filter Coffee Capital’. Delhi – Becoming the fastest growing coffee market of the future The coffee market here is growing at a rate of 22% annually, which is the highest among major cities. This is the fastest growing market of the future. Major coffee companies now have their eyes on India -In the 2000s, Cafe Coffee Day, Starbucks and Costa Coffee introduced Indians to the habit of going to cafes. Now new generation brands have popularized specialty coffee. – In the past 10 years, at least 6 major foreign coffee brands have come to India. Canada’s Tim Hortons (2022) and Greece’s Coffee Island (2025) are prominent brands among these. (Source: Blue Tokai, Secondary Research, Inc42)