Pune Inc: With no-nonsense coffee, this entrepreneur couple targets those who know their beans – and those who don’t

Aeka started with filter coffee on their e-commerce site and an outlet at the co-working space, Daftar, in Baner, and moved to espressos and speciality single estate cafes from regions and roasters across the country.

Aeka launched three months ago after taking almost a year to set up their backend processes, source beans and a roaster, and train baristas. “We are a bootstrapped company. We have been growing 100 per cent month-on-month,” says Sunanda.

India is Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, sending out 3.93 lakh tonnes of shipment in 2021 and raising it to 4 lakh tonnes in 2022. Coffee plantations spread across Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Hassan; Kerala’s Wayanad, Travancore and Nelliyampathy; Pulneys, Nilgiris, Salem and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu; and non-traditional areas such as Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and states in the northeast.

India, a traditionally tea-drinking country, consumes only a small amount of the coffee it produces. But, according to Statista, the coffee market in India is expected to grow annually by 2.06 per cent by 2025 and reach $4.05 billion by 2027, largely, on the back of a growing population that has a higher disposable income, travels internationally and follows the latest coffee experiments across the globe.

The company is working aggressively to be among the frontrunners in the new, growing market of coffee drinkers. One of the ways is through physical outlets, but they plan to go low on real estate, manpower and resources and focus only on coffee. “We don’t want to create a cafe but a coffee bar, where the focus is only on coffee. Our positioning is that we have ‘no-nonsense coffee’. We do not give desserts, syrups or loaded coffee. We see our coffee is a drink that can be consumed on a daily basis, like work coffee,” says Sunanda.

The other part of the business is building a community. The Aeka outlet wants to turn into a centre of coffee lovers of Pune through events that bring home brewers, coffee drinkers and other aficionados under a roof. “We can simplify coffee and make it accessible. People, who are already brewing at home, or who have professionally achieved things with coffee, can come together and be a source of inspiration for others who want to venture into this subject,” says Amit. The company is looking to raise funds, around a million dollars at the beginning, to set up four outlets and a complete experience centre with a roasting unit.

A challenge for the new venture is the rise in the number of coffee chains and commercial and artisanal brands, besides old-world shops. “Instead of being alone talking about coffee, it is positive if there are more people discussing the drink, choosing beans and so on. This, in turn, attracts people who are from different walks of life but have coffee as their passion. Other people, who are on the fence, can make a choice,” says Sunanda