This startup makes India’s first single-serve coffee capsules so that you have a better brew

Advertisement
This startup makes India’s first single-serve coffee capsules
so that you have a better brew
Advertisement

Bonhomia’s journey into revolutionising the way India views and drinks its coffee started way back in 2012 when Kunal Bhagat, the CEO of Indulge Beverages, the Delhi-based company that owns and distributes premium coffee and tea brand Bonhomia, moved back to the country from U.K.

At that point, all Bhagat was armed with was the love for single serve coffee capsules and his desire to start a company of his own. In November 2013, he got Tuhin Jain, an ex-Pepsi executive on board as the company’s COO. Both the co-founders realised that they had to get their technology in place before anything else and thus the first two years were entirely dedicated for the same.

It was only in 2014 that the duo decided to test out the market and launched with two flavours. Today, they house 12 flavours.

Needless to say, they were a big hit. Bonhomia soon became not only a category leader, when it came to premium single-serve coffee capsules, but also a category creator.

Advertisement

Elaborating on the reason behind the success, Bhagat makes an interesting analogy. “Single serve consumption has done to coffee what internet has done to the world,” he says.

What more, they have also brought to India the Nespresso-type experience of capsule beverages with individual coffee machines which are available on their website.

This startup makes India’s first single-serve coffee capsules
so that you have a better brew


“Bonhomia has redefined coffee consumption in India and our figures show that the trend is here to stay. We were the first people to launch single served capsules in the country. What’s special about our Indian angle is that the entire product portfolio is India sourced. All our coffees and teas are 100 pc Indian origins since India is the world largest producer of coffee and tea combined. Another Indian angle is that all our products are manufactured here locally in New Delhi, using state-of-art machinery and technology,” Bhagat further reiterates.

Apart from measuring success in the form of an ever-increasing base of customers hungry for their products, the duo have also managed to raise USD 2 million in two tranches last year from a group of super angels including Kanwaljit Singh, Shripad Nadkarni, Apurva Salarpuria, Ashok Dhingra, Nita Mirchandani, Sarvesh Sahara , Ramrod Advisors, Gidwani family, Tolmolbol and Nitesh Kripalani.
Advertisement

Bonhomia’s target audience, according to Jain are both, the older well-travelled consumers and also the younger generation who can’t do without their daily dose of coffee and will pay for quality coffee.

At the moment, Bonhomia’s distribution presence has expanded to all major cities in the country and their capsules and brewing machines are widely available across outlets, such as Croma, Foodhall, Hypercity & Nature’s Basket.

The founders believe their brand not only provides a coffee solution, but also, a lifestyle solution.