The business has received a fresh round at a post-money valuation of INR 286.92 crore ($34 million). NKSquared invested INR 70 crore ($8.3 million) of the total raised funds and acquired a 25% interest in Subko Coffee. Subko Coffee provides caffeinated beverages, baked pastries, and coffee roasters.
Subko Coffee Roasters, a Mumbai-based specialty coffee and chocolate firm, has raised INR 85.10 crore (about $10 million) in Series B fundraising at a valuation of INR 286.92 crore ($34 million).
Subko is a play on words. In Hindustani, the word ‘Sabko’ means ‘for everyone’ or ‘for all’. They then chose to change the spelling of ‘Sabko’ to a ‘U’ to reflect pride in the Indian subcontinent as a territory, resulting in the portmanteau phrase ‘Subko’: from the subcontinent.
Rahul Reddy is the founder of Subko, a specialty coffee roaster and craft bakehouse in Mumbai, India. Reddy brings a varied skill set to the Indian coffee sector, having worked as a Starbucks barista in California, a software sales and marketing career in New York, and geopolitical risk consulting.
NKSquared, an investment business founded by Zerodha cofounders, led the round, with participation from Subko’s existing investors, including Pallavi and Srinivas Dempo, Jay Mehta, Gauri Khan Family Trust, and John & Priya Abraham, via a rights issue.
Aside from that, Blume Ventures and Progressive LLP participated in the most recent funding round.
According to Entracker, NKSquared invested INR 70 crore to acquire a 25% interest in the coffee company.
Subko Coffee serves caffeinated beverages, baked products, and coffee roasters. According to documents, celebrities including Gauri Khan and Tiger Shroff invested in the company between June 2022 and December 2023.
The company had substantial development in the preceding fiscal year, with revenue jumping by 94% to INR 13.57 crore in FY23 from INR 7 crore the previous year. However, it posted a loss of INR 9.86 crore over the same time.
Subko Coffee competes with Third Wave Coffee, Blue Tokai, Rage Coffee, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Company, among others.
This comes months after Third Wave Coffee raised $35 million in Series C funding from private equity company Creaegis and previous investors such as WestBridge Capital and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar.
Meanwhile, Bharat Sethi, the founder and CEO of Rage Coffee, has stated that the company’s cumulative brand sales have surpassed INR 100 crore since its launch in December 2023.
