Blue Tokai strengthens UAE presence with new distribution deals

A range of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters packaged coffee | Photo credit: Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has strengthened ties with the UAE after signing new distribution deals with food delivery platforms Talabat and Noon. 
 

Blue Tokai, which has distributed packaged whole bean, ground and ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee in the UAE via e-commerce giant Amazon since 2019, signed the deals at World of Coffee Dubai, where it exhibited for a third successive year. 

The move could set the stage for the Gurugram-based specialty coffee group to open its first bricks-and-mortar coffee shop in one of the world’s fastest growing coffee markets. The UAE is also home to one of the largest Indian expat populations in the world, with Indian nationals making up around 35% of the country’s 11.2 million population. 

“Dubai is more like another city in India than an international market. We have been approached by many people there. It seems there’s a lot of interest in Indian coffee,” Blue Tokai CEO Matt Chitharanjan told Indian business publication Mint in September 2024. 

Founded in 2013, Blue Tokai currently operates 138 stores across India and opened its first international venue in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2024.  

The specialty coffee roaster and café chain has raised $81m to date to support outlet growth, including a $35m investment round in September 2024, led by private equity firms A91 Partners and Verlinvest. Most of the funding will focus on supporting the specialty coffee group’s domestic growth as it seeks to reach 350 outlets across India by 2027.  

In November 2024, Chitharanjan said the specialty coffee group was targeting yearly revenues of Rs 10bn ($118.5m) in two years’ time – up from previously projected Rs 3.7bn ($43.8m) sales in 2024. Blue Tokai is currently on a run revenue rate of Rs 4bn ($46m) with 70% of total sales coming from café operations and the remaining 30% split between B2B and D2C channels. 

Blue Tokai currently operates roasteries in Gurugram, Mumbai and Bangalore – as well as Tokyo, Japan.  

The specialty coffee group is developing a new 28,000sq ft roasting facility in Bangalore to support an expected rise in domestic demand across its café, B2B and D2C channels.