Jaipur-born cafe chain Nothing Before Coffee (NBC) marked its ninth year and announced it has expanded to more than 45 cities across 12 states. Its co-founder is Akshay Kedia. Armed with affordable pricing and store design aimed at Gen Z, it is targeting more than 170 stores by the end of FY27. Its store-opening model — targeting university clusters in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities rather than prime metro locations — offers a concrete model for Japanese food and beverage brands seeking to capture young consumers in regional areas.
According to trade outlet Business of Food, Nothing Before Coffee was founded in Jaipur in 2017 and marked nine years in August 2026. It now operates stores in more than 45 cities across 12 states. Revenue grew roughly 52% year over year, from about 59 crore (590 million rupees, about 980 million yen, based on the September 2026 rate of ₹1≈¥1.66) in FY25 to about 90 crore (900 million rupees, about 1.49 billion yen) in FY26. It is targeting expansion to more than 170 stores by the end of FY27. To mark its ninth anniversary, it also ran a commemorative promotion offering drinks for 99 rupees on August 30-31. It has made clear its approach of penetrating regional cities' young consumers with an affordable cup.
Cafes in India are broadening their customer base not only in the high-price tier of big cities, but also in the affordable tier of regional cities. NBC targets Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, placing stores centered especially on university clusters. It keeps prices low enough for students and young working people to visit daily, with a design that extends dwell time in a comfortable interior. Prime metro locations come with high rent and fierce competition, but a university town in a regional city makes it easier to build a loyal customer base and spread word of mouth. Through affordable pricing that drives turnover and visit frequency, it has built up its city count over nine years.
Growth of roughly 52%, from about 59 crore in FY25 to about 90 crore in FY26, underlies the plan for 170 stores. If revenue growth continues, the math works out that each store's burden can be covered even at a faster store-opening pace. The affordable price tier means thin profit per cup, but the structure compensates through visit frequency and turnover. A university-town location makes the customer base easy to read and standardized small stores easy to replicate quickly. That said, a low-price format can quickly lose profitability if cost and labor management slip, and the difficulty of keeping supply and quality consistent rises as the number of cities grows. The figures are as announced and may change going forward.
Kedia has said in Business of Food that "coffee is no longer just a functional drink — it's becoming an accessible lifestyle choice," describing consumer psychology in smaller markets. What can be confirmed here is limited to the announced city count, state count, revenue, growth rate, and the company's own store-opening target of 170. Figures on per-store profitability or the likelihood of hitting the target have not yet been shown. The commemorative 99-rupee offer, too, is best read as no more than one example reflecting the intended price positioning.
NBC's growth is part of a broader trend of homegrown coffee and chai concepts penetrating regional areas at affordable prices. Read alongside the simultaneous expansion of the two homegrown coffee leaders, Third Wave Coffee and Blue Tokai, and the strength of Chai Sutta Bar, which is conquering regional cities with budget chai,, it becomes clear that differentiating by price tier has become the focus of competition. For Japanese beverage, confectionery, and syrup makers, there is an entry point in supplying the ingredients and secondary materials used by regional budget cafes. It's worth designing proposals not just for the high-price tier, but also for affordable formats that drive volume.
Formats that grow their store count through affordable pricing are spreading beyond coffee. There is the case of Boba Bhai which reached 100 stores in two and a half years — cases like this, of youth-oriented beverage formats stacking up stores in a short period, keep appearing. Because such chains replicate standardized small stores quickly, they concentrate their purchasing of ingredients and materials. From a supplier's perspective, the earlier you secure a chain in its expansion phase, the more your transaction volume can grow alongside its store count. The spread of formats targeting regional young consumers is pushing the base of wholesale customers further out into regional areas.
NBC's expansion reflects a phase in which regional budget cafes are growing steadily. The first move Japanese beverage, confectionery, and ingredient makers can make is to prepare one dedicated proposal of ingredients and secondary materials for affordable formats that drive volume, not just the high-price tier. Chains that expand regionally concentrate their ingredient purchasing to keep costs down while maintaining consistent flavor. It's worth listing chains that grow around university towns like NBC and working through, company by company, which ingredients can be proposed that also work on cost.
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