Sleepy Owl, the Delhi based cold brew coffee company, announces that it has raised INR 35 million (US$500,000) in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP), India’s leading early-stage consumer fund.
Founded in June 2016, Sleepy Owl pioneered the direct to consumer Cold Brew Box, offering a convenient way for consumers to enjoy fresh cold brew made using 100% Arabica coffee.
Sleepy Owl directly sources the best Indian beans from plantations to offer the Indian consumer the freshest and most flavorful coffee at their convenience.
Deepak I. Shahdadpuri, Managing Director, DSG Consumer Partners commented “We believe that cold brew coffee segment, with its rising popularity around the world, presents a great opportunity in the Indian Market. We are very impressed by Ashwajeet, Arman and Ajai and their clear vision for the brand, product and category. We look forward to working closely with the team to build this new category of cold brew coffee, bringing premium Indian coffee to customers in a convenient format.”
The company promises the joy of cold brew coffee customized to suit the palate of Indian consumers.
Sleepy Owl’s distribution presence has expanded to all major cities with the recent launch of their Brew Packs available on order through their website.
The classic Brew Box is now available across modern trade formats such as Foodhall, Le Marche and Modern Bazaar among others in Delhi NCR. Sleepy Owl’s current focus is to capture the Delhi NCR market with their Cold Brew Box.
The company plans to use the funding to leverage their strong product development and manufacturing capabilities to expand their product portfolio and grow nationally to gain a share of the rapidly growing Indian retail coffee market, estimated at Rs 5000 crores.
Commenting on the expansion in their current portfolio, Ashwajeet Singh, Co-Founder, Sleepy Owl added, “We recently launched Brew Packs online which is our Brew-It-Yourself Cold Brew Coffee. It is available across the country. It is the most convenient, hassle free way to cold brew a delicious cup of coffee without dabbling with complex brewing equipment. We want to scale the Brew Packs and reach out to the consumers across the country.”
Over the past decade, the appeal for coffee has grown across the country, particularly in urban areas.
Factors such as globalization, an expanding middle class, rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyle have all contributed to the increase in coffee consumption in the country.
According to Arman Sood, Co-Founder Sleepy Owl, “India is witnessing that with an increase in corporate culture in the metros, consumers face an unfavorable choice when it comes to caffeinated beverages – either drink a sugary milky tea or coffee or a carbonated beverage with sugars and chemicals. Sleepy Owl is helping redefine this particular caffeine consumption pattern in India by offering a cold brew coffee that is both naturally sweet and healthy.”
Sleepy Owl has recently won the IREC Awards 2018 for best e-Retailer in F*B Start-up of the Year.
Sleepy Owl started as a B2B player, later it pivoted to B2C. The startup leverages the Internet, social media to increase its user base and claims to do good business in Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida. Besides, offline presence is also an essential part of the company’s growth.
Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, RAW Pressery and DropKaffe are some notable startups working in similar space.
“We are thrilled to partner with DSG on our journey to caffeinate the nation. Our main focus for the coming year is to make additions to our 15,000 existing customer base by increasing SKUs, expanding retail presence and marketing. Proceeds from the round will help us streamline operations and expand production, to ensure that we deliver on our promise of excellent user experience to our customers” Ajai Thandi, Co-Founder Sleepy Owl, remarked on the fund utilization that the brand will undertake.
The vision at Sleepy Owl is to redefine the in-home coffee experience. The brand wants consumers to have the best quality coffee as conveniently as possible.
Consumer products-focused DSG Consumer Partners is also an investor in Epigamia Yogurt and and Chai Point.
Singapore-headquartered investment DSG Consumer Partners had earlier invested in Mumbai-based Rakyan Beverages, the maker of the RAW Pressery brand of organic cold-pressed juices.
Following the capital infusion, DSG looks to work closely with Sleepy Owl team to build this new category of cold brew coffee, bringing premium Indian coffee to customers in a convenient format.
