This episode of Two by Two was first published on 08 May 2025.

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The coffee culture in India has come far today. But has it reached the point where daily commuters grab their cup of joe from their favourite cafe on their way to work? Or do they get it delivered in minutes? Or is the cafe only a destination for meetings?

The cafe ideally serves all three use cases. But the bigger reason has more to do with what we as Indians associate with cafes when we walk into a cafe. Some answer lies in the split between food and beverages in India. Food is as big a component as coffee and coffee beverages in a cafe in India. While globally, most numbers suggest the split for food is ~10%.

But there are more fundamental reasons why the cafe business is hard to crack at scale. From volume of transactions happening to catching up on the ‘grab and go’ coffee culture.

But even with all the troubles, more players seem keen to enter the market. Why?

Hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan have a fun and insightful conversation about India’s coffee culture and its coffee drinkers’ tastes in the latest episode of Two by Two. And joining them for the discussion are Abhijeet Anand, founder and CEO, Abcoffee, and Deepak Shahdadpuri, managing director and founder of DSG Consumer Partners.

Welcome to episode 41 of Two by Two.

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Additional listening:

Google Pay: Big. Successful. Vulnerable – https://the-ken.com/podcasts/two-by-two/google-pay-big-successful-vulnerable/

Airtel fights spammers. And Truecaller’s business model – https://the-ken.com/podcasts/two-by-two/airtel-fights-spammers-and-truecallers-business-model/

Ather Energy was a pioneer. Can it also be a leader? – https://the-ken.com/podcasts/two-by-two/ather-energy-was-a-pioneer-can-it-also-be-a-leader/

Additional reading:

Angel One got what it wished for. That’s the problem. – https://the-ken.com/story/angel-one-got-what-it-wished-for-thats-the-problem/

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If you are an existing Premium subscriber, you already have full access to ALL our premium audio. They are available exclusively via The Ken’s subscriber apps. If you don’t have them, just download one and log in to unlock everything. 

Not a Premium subscriber? You can subscribe to The Ken Premium on Apple Podcasts for an easy monthly price (Rs 299 in India). The channel includes ALL our premium podcasts.

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This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.

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