Ep #22 | WTF are Craft Beverages? Nikhil ft. the Founders of Blue Tokai, Subko, Svami, and Mossant

India has long been a tea-drinking nation, but in recent years, a new wave of craft beverage brands has started reshaping the way the country drinks. Specialty coffee, kombucha, and premium mixers are carving out space in an industry dominated by mass-produced options. While the demand for high-quality, homegrown beverages is growing, breaking into this space isn’t as easy as it looks. Import duties drive up costs, fragmented supply chains make scaling difficult, and price-sensitive consumers often hesitate to pay a premium. Unlike mass-market beverages, where marketing muscle can drive sales, craft brands have to build awareness, educate consumers, and create demand from scratch. In episode #22 of “WTF Is” Podcast, Nikhil Kamath sits down with some of the biggest names in India’s craft beverage industry—Rahul Reddy (Subko), Matt Chitharanjan (Blue Tokai), Aneesh Bhasin (Svami), and Adithya Kidambi (Mossant). They share their journey of navigating regulations, shifting consumer habits, and competing with legacy brands to bring high-quality, locally made beverages to the mainstream. Is premiumization the future of India’s beverage industry? Can homegrown craft brands scale while maintaining quality? And what does it take to challenge decades-old consumer habits? With this conversation, we break down the craft of building a beverage business in India. Resource doc: https://www.notion.so/Resource-Craft-Beverages-19d26a5adf3180b68f1adbbbd2eea2f5 #NikhilKamath : Investor & Entrepreneur Twitter: https://x.com/nikhilkamathcio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilkamathcio Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nikhilkamathcio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikhilkamathcio #MattChitharanjan Co-founder of Blue Tokai LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/mchitharanjan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt_chit #AdithyaKidambi Co-founder of Mossant Fermentary LinkedIN - https://in.linkedin.com/in/adithya-kidambi-8866b1269 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kidambiadithya/ #AneeshBhasin Co-founder of Svami Twitter: https://x.com/aneeshb LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneesh-bhasin-252b661/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/aneeshb/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/gentlemenlisten/ #RahulReddy Co-founder of Subko Coffee Twitter - https://x.com/rahulreddysc LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulgreddy/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/raah_hool Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rahul.gurram.reddy/ Time stamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:48 - Matt’s Intro | Childhood & Family 00:05:13 - Starting Blue Tokai & Career Journey 00:07:29 - Adithya’s Intro | Growing up in Bangalore 00:09:06 - Educational Background | Family & Getting into Culinary 00:14:13 - Starting the Kombucha Journey | Building Mossant 00:17:54 - Challenges in the Industry 00:20:05 - How big is Blue Tokai? | India & Japan 00:21:39 - Aneesh’s Intro | Growing up across India 00:25:36 - Starting Career Path leading to Beverage Industry 00:27:38 - Rahul’s Intro | Family & Childhood 00:30:35 - Experience of Growing Up Abroad as an Indian 00:39:26 - Relation between Passion & Talent | Building Subko 00:42:40 - How are Subko & Blue Tokai different? 00:47:54 - Hacks for a 25 year old to Compete with Subko & Blue Tokai 00:50:30 - Cafe Offerings of both Coffee & Food | Consistency, Subculture, Distribution 00:58:09 - Waves of Coffee - Shift to Coffee 01:04:27 - How Big is the Craft Industry in India 01:10:21 - How to Influence the Crowd at a Coffee Shop 01:12:31 - Difference between Good & Bad Coffees 01:18:13 - Starbucks | Difference in Coffee Culture of India and USA 01:24:11 - Opportunities in Tier-2 Cities | Price Sensitivity 01:28:59 - Recent Consumption Trends | Health-Conscious Trends 01:33:21 - What’s Kombucha? | Fermentation | Health Benefits 01:41:28 - First Kombucha Billionaire | Difference of Flavour Palette in India and Abroad 01:44:01 - How Big is the Kombucha Market? | Consumption Patterns in India 01:49:24 - Awareness of Kombucha as a Product | Hard Kombucha | Substituting Alcohol 01:58:21 - Craft Beverage Taxation Policies 02:05:47 - Steps into Starting a Beverage Brand | Mossant’s Journey 02:09:27 - East Asian Beverage Markets 02:10:12 - Building a Global Indian Beverage Brand | Bottling & Distribution 02:19:12 - How to Compete as a New F&B Brand 02:21:57 - Non-Alcoholic Industry | Svami’s Journey 02:30:20 - Differentiating as a Tonic & Non-Alcoholic Brand 02:31:59 - Is Quick Commerce Sustainable in India? 02:41:12 - Approaching Restaurants | Svami, Mossant vs Schweppes 02:47:32 - Effects of Coffee as a Commodity 02:49:13 - Steps to Starting a Cafe | Space, Equipment, Beans, Hiring 02:58:07 - Learning from Abroad Beverage Markets 03:01:12 - Favourite Coffee Shops, Kombucha Brands, Non-Alcoholic Beverages 03:14:59 - Beverage Industry as an Investor | Effects of Tech Advancements #WTFiswithnikhilkamath

Nikhil KamathhostMatt ChitharanjanguestRahul ReddyguestAdithya KidambiguestAneesh Bhasinguest

Mar 2, 20253h 25mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Founders unpack India’s craft beverages: coffee, kombucha, tonics, growth.

Nikhil Kamath hosts founders/leaders from Blue Tokai (Matt Chitharanjan), Subko (Rahul Reddy), Mossant (Adithya Kidambi), and Svami (Aneesh Bhasin) to define and demystify “craft beverages” in India.
They trace personal journeys into beverages, then get highly practical: how to open a café, where profits come from (food vs beverages), what differentiates brands once “good coffee” becomes baseline, and why Tier-2 India is still underserved.
The conversation expands into kombucha and mixers: fermentation basics, consumer education, the role of quick commerce, market sizing, export potential, and why India’s beverage GST/tax rules can discourage innovation.
A recurring theme is that enduring moats come from product quality + distribution + authentic storytelling (not “India’s first”), while culture (community events, subculture, design) increasingly drives footfall as younger consumers drink less alcohol and spend more time in cafés.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

In India, cafés are food businesses as much as coffee businesses.

Both Blue Tokai and Subko cite ~50/50 revenue splits between food and beverages, meaning menu design and operational consistency matter as much as roast quality for unit economics.

Differentiation is shifting from “better coffee” to culture, identity, and experience.

Subko argues that as coffee culture matures, good coffee becomes the minimum; brands win via subcultural hooks (vinyl, events), design language, and unique beverage formats (coffee “speakeasy” cocktails).

A hot kitchen can raise average checks, but talent/consistency become the real bottleneck.

Blue Tokai notes hot kitchens can increase APC, yet retaining strong kitchen staff and maintaining consistency is hard—hence central kitchens + make-lines are often preferred.

India’s coffee market is still shallow relative to demand—especially outside metros.

Matt estimates ~5,000 branded coffee shops (plus a similar number unbranded), implying a large whitespace, particularly in Tier-2 cities where options are fewer and the category is underpenetrated.

Opening beside incumbents can help—coffee clusters can expand total demand.

Blue Tokai observes that when multiple cafés open near each other, the area can become a destination and all players may benefit (unlike restaurants where queues concentrate demand).

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Anybody who wants to learn or who's keen on starting a coffee shop, a kombucha brand, sell tonic… should learn something here and go away with that.

— Nikhil Kamath

We’re at a four hundred crore run rate.

— Matt Chitharanjan (Blue Tokai)

We try to be more accessible… they’re more niche premium.

— Matt Chitharanjan (comparing Blue Tokai vs Subko)

You have to have a key focus on shit that has nothing to do with coffee or food.

— Rahul Reddy (Subko)

Kombucha is essentially vinegar. It’s tea vinegar.

— Adithya Kidambi (Mossant)

Craft definition: authenticity, innovation, qualityBlue Tokai scale, growth, Japan expansionSubko differentiation: design language, bakehouse, cultureCafé economics: food-beverage split, kitchens, deliveryCoffee “waves” and maturation of Indian coffee cultureHow to compete: multi-roaster, subculture hooks, menu strategyKombucha basics: SCOBY, fermentation, ABV regulationKombucha market sizing, pricing elasticity, quick commerce relianceNon-alcoholic mixers: tonic origins, product upgrading vs SchweppesIndia beverage taxation: 40% on sweet + carbonatedPackaging & supply chain constraints: bottles, cans, co-packersQuick commerce sustainability, commissions, data powerIndia vs US coffee behavior: sit-and-stay vs grab-and-goContent/branding philosophy: organic, founder-led vs performance adsExport logic and ‘global Indian beverage’ opportunityCoffee commodity price shocks and impact by channel

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