Premium coffee brand Toffee Coffee Roasters, known for its appearance on Shark Tank India, has successfully raised ₹5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The round also saw strong participation from 66 Bridge Partners, Abhijit Vemuganti, and Invesst, marking a significant milestone in the brand’s growth journey.
Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Rishabh Nigam and Nandini Shrivastava, Toffee Coffee Roasters has emerged as a standout player in India’s specialty coffee segment. The fresh capital will be strategically deployed to scale operations, enhance backend capabilities, improve packaging quality, and accelerate new product development as the brand expands its footprint across the country.
Toffee Coffee Roasters’ Strategic Use of Funds
The ₹5 crore funding will be allocated across several key areas.
A large portion—around 60%—will support working capital, allowing the brand to keep pace with rapid growth. Another 10–15% will be used for roastery expansion, enabling stronger backend infrastructure. The company plans to assign around 10% of the funds toward packaging improvements, ensuring better product quality and presentation. The remaining 10–15% will drive new product innovation, helping diversify the brand’s offerings.
This balanced allocation highlights the company’s commitment to both operational efficiency and creative product development, setting the stage for its next phase of scale.
From Café Roots to D2C Specialty Leader
Toffee Coffee Roasters began its journey as a specialty coffee café in Mumbai, but during the pandemic, it pivoted to a direct-to-consumer delivery model, allowing it to ship freshly roasted coffee across India. Today, the brand operates out of a 10,000 sq ft roastery, where it sources, processes, and roasts high-quality beans with an emphasis on freshness and flavour.
The company has grown a loyal customer base, serving more than 150,000 coffee lovers through online marketplaces, quick commerce platforms, and its own website. It currently produces over 5 tonnes of coffee per month, amounting to nearly 40,000 monthly units—which convert into millions of cups brewed in Indian homes.
Ambitious Growth and Market Expansion
With this new infusion of capital, Toffee Coffee Roasters aims to boost production to 50 tonnes per month. This scale could help the company achieve an annualised revenue of ₹8–10 crore, while expanding its consumer base to 8–10 lakh coffee drinkers across India.
The brand also plans to strengthen its presence on quick-commerce platforms, diversify its distribution network, and increase reach across both metro and non-metro cities. This strategy aligns with India’s evolving coffee consumption landscape, where more consumers are shifting toward premium, at-home brewing experiences.
Founders’ Vision and Industry Outlook
Co-founders Rishabh Nigam and Nandini Shrivastava bring a strong mix of digital expertise and operational competence. Nigam’s experience in scaling consumer internet brands, combined with Shrivastava’s focus on process efficiency and product development, has played a key role in building Toffee Coffee Roasters into a prominent D2C player.
According to Shrivastava, India’s coffee culture is undergoing a transformation, with a clear gap between mass and premium offerings. Their vision is to create a mass-premium coffee brand that offers high-quality artisanal coffee at accessible price points for both at-home and out-of-home consumers.
Closing Thoughts
Toffee Coffee Roasters’ latest funding round reflects growing investor confidence in India’s premium coffee market and the broader direct-to-consumer ecosystem. With its strategic capital deployment, strong founding team, and sharp focus on innovation, the brand is well-positioned to play a leading role in India’s specialty coffee revolution.