First Coffee, a grab-and-go specialty coffee brand, has raised $1.2 million in a funding round spearheaded by venture fund Beenext, which focuses on South Asia and India. Several notable investors also participated, including Ashish Gupta (Helion Venture Partners), AngelList India, Ritesh Malik (Innov8), Sahil Malik (Da Milano), Aman Arora (Keventers), and Agastya Dalmia (Keventers).
The funds will be used to expand First Coffee’s presence across key urban areas in New Delhi, NCR, and tier-I cities in northern India. The company also plans to invest in hiring and marketing initiatives to drive growth.
“We’re proud to introduce specialty coffee scoring 91% on the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) scale to the Indian market. At First Coffee, we’re not just offering coffee but creating a premium experience tailored to our customers’ fast-paced lives,” said co-founder Shiv Dhawan.
Founded in 2024 by Dhawan and Sohrab Sitaram, First Coffee sources its beans from the Harley Coffee Estate in Chikmagalur. The brand is set to focus on small-format quick-service restaurants (QSR) in high-traffic areas like malls, corporate parks, high streets, and metro stations, with plans to launch 35 stores nationwide by the second quarter of the next fiscal year.
Anirudh Garg, partner at Beenext, commented, “First Coffee is not just selling a product but delivering a coffee experience, blending technology, sustainability, and quality coffee.”
This announcement comes as the specialty coffee market in India sees increasing interest from investors. In March, AbCoffee raised $3.4 million in Series A funding, while Subko, a coffee roaster and craft bakehouse, raised $10 million led by Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath. Other players in the space include Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, Hatti Kaapi, Blue Tokai, and Rage Coffee.