The specialty coffee roaster and café chain has leveraged its established ecommerce channels in Japan to open its first international outlet – following in the footsteps of fellow Indian coffee chains Roastery Coffee House and Nothing Before Coffee in venturing overseas this year.
India’s Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has opened its first international venue in Tokyo, Japan.
The Gurgaon-based specialty coffee roaster and café chain has operated an online business and pop-up stores in Japan since 2021 and opened a roastery in 2022.
“We’re thrilled to announce the opening of our first café in Hiroo, Tokyo, where you can now enjoy authentic Indian specialty coffee,” Blue Tokai wrote on Instagram.
World Coffee Portal’s Project Café East Asia report found the total Japanese branded coffee shop market grew 3% last year to exceed 7,780 outlets – making it the fourth largest in the region behind China, South Korea and Thailand.
Blue Tokai is the third Indian coffee chain to launch overseas this year, following Hyderabad-based Roastery Coffee House opening an outlet in Finland in March 2024 and Jaipur-based Nothing Before Coffee debuting in Portugal a month later.
Founded in 2013, Blue Tokai opened its 100th store with a new outlet in Kolkata in March 2024 and is seeking to reach 200 venues within the next 12-18 months.
In January 2023, the specialty coffee roaster and café chain raised $30m in Series B funding to scale its café footprint, develop its B2B channel and explore opportunities in the Indian coffee vending machine segment.
Blue Tokai is also reportedly in talks with private equity firms Verlinvest and ChrysCapital to raise a further $30m, according to economic media group CapTable.
Source: World Coffee Portal
