Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, recently took to social media to highlight the global success of Indian brands. The entrepreneur specifically mentioned the speciality coffee brand Subko, which has opened a flagship store in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue. He praised Subko's premium positioning in the competitive Dubai market and spoke about India's potential to build globally recognised brands.
In a post shared on X, Nikhil Kamath wrote, "People said Indians can't build premium brands that work abroad, well here's Rahul at Subkos flagship store at Dubai Alserkal, Superyou now sells in Dubai, 11.11 sells in New York and Brad Pitt wears it in a movie (unpaid), Nappa Dori is on the parallel street to Subko in Alserkal (ps I have nothing to do with Nappadori, just proud) @jointhefoundery will hopefully create a few brands like this too. Premium, artisan, COOL, Indian brands to the world."
The Story Behind Subko
Subko Speciality Coffee Roasters is a Mumbai-based craft brand founded in 2020 by Rahul Reddy. The name "Subko" is derived from the word "Subcontinent" and the Hindi word "Sabko", which means “For all”. The name reflects the brand's mission to bring speciality coffee from the Indian subcontinent to a global audience.
Subko opened its first outlet in a restored 1925 Goan bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai, in March 2020. Reddy partnered with Daniel Trulson, founder of Bread & Chocolate in Puducherry, to build a craft baking programme that became a cornerstone of the brand.
Subko launched The Craftery in Byculla in August 2021. It opened its first dedicated craft chocolate factory and experiential café, The Cacao Mill, in Colaba in 2023. The following year, the brand raised $10 million (INR 90 crore) in Series B funding led by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. Since then, Subko has opened large flagship experience centres in Bengaluru and Delhi.
Talking to Livemint, Kamath said his intermittent fasting routine is the reason he invested in the company.
Kamath begins his day with a cup of coffee at 9am when the pre-market session begins. He pushes the day without food till 2 PM, except for a second coffee at 12pm to "suppress his appetite".
The Zerodha CFO also said, "the coffee tastes better than Starbucks".
“I used to order chocolates from so many different brands but their [Subko] chocolates, they have something which is like almond covered with podi powder (spicy powder)... stuff like that even the quality of their coffee. They were kind enough to give me a Subko machine at home. It does taste better than Starbucks,” he told the outlet.
“Coffee should not taste like the standard thing where coffee everywhere is the same. Subko has taste, and a lot of other Indian brands as well,” Kamath added.
It earns revenue by selling coffee and bakery products through its cafes and website – and earned most of its income (INR 13.4 Cr) from the sale of coffee products in FY23. Total expenditure jumped 176% to INR 23.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 8.5 Cr in FY22.
Earlier this month, Subko officially launched its first international flagship in Dubai, located at Alserkal Avenue. The 5,000-square-foot space includes a speciality café, a dedicated cacao room, and an artisanal bakehouse.