Third Wave Coffee’s biggest business isn’t coffee anymore.
In FY24, it made 7240 crore in revenue but lost 7110 crore, with 70% of cafes bleeding money.
So it brought in former KFC India CEO Rajat Luthra, fixed store economics, and went beyond beverages, adding pizzas, wraps, and a dessert brand called Third Rush with 200+ desserts.
Why desserts? Higher margins. More evening footfall.
Customers who stay longer and spend more.
It worked. FY25 revenue hit z285 crore, losses narrowed to 794 crore, and 90%+ stores turned EBITDA positive. Now it’s raising $100M to expand further.
The real product was never coffee. It was how long they could keep you in the store.
#ThirdWaveCoffee #IndianStartups #BusinessStrategy #StartupIndia #MotilalOswal #ThirdWaveCoffee #IndianStartups #BusinessStrategy #StartupIndia #MotilalOswal
Posted On: 23 Aug 2026 7:30 PM