Deepika Padukone, a well-known Bollywood actress, has invested a sizeable sum in Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, a well-known speciality coffee company in India. Her investment, whose precise value is yet unknown, is a part of Blue Tokai’s extended Series B funding round, in which the business was successful in raising $30 million in January.
Padukone made this investment via her company, Ka Enterprises, and is now a part of the elite group of backers of Blue Tokai. A91 Partners, Anicut Capital, 8i Ventures, DSP Blackrock, Negen Capital, Mauryan Capital, and White Whale Ventures are a few of the well-known companies on this list.
Blue Tokai declared in January that it intended to use the money to boost its global footprint in the speciality coffee industry and expand its commercial operations. The business also stated that it intended to launch new Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) items.
Deepika Padukone, the founder of Ka Enterprises, highlighted her excitement about investing in Blue Tokai by saying, “Investing in Blue Tokai was an evident option as someone who is enormously enthusiastic about homegrown products and genuinely values authenticity and transparency…We are thrilled to collaborate with them as they popularize specialty coffee around the world.
The range of Padukone’s investments in Indian businesses, from the cosmetics brand Eighty Two East to the cab-hailing app BluSmart, is notable for its diversity. Additionally, she has invested in the yogurt company Epigamia and the pet care startup Supertails.
Deepika Padukone, a Bollywood actress, invests in Blue Tokai Coffee
The co-founder of Blue Tokai, Matt Chitharanjan, praised Ka Enterprises and said, “We are excited to have them join us on our next phase of growth because of their thorough understanding of the D2C space and strategic investments.”
With the entry of numerous domestic and foreign brands, the speciality coffee market in India has been expanding significantly. Other significant competitors to Blue Tokai include Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl Coffee, Hatti Kaapi, as well as global brands like Starbucks and Cafe Coffee Day.
With four roasteries and over 80 physical locations across key Indian cities and regions, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Mohali, and Pune, Blue Tokai was founded in 2013 by Matt Chitharanjan, Shivam Shahi, and Namrata Asthana. The business now has a presence in Japan as part of its international expansion.
