Tea remains the preferred beverage for most Indians, but coffee is steadily gaining popularity, especially among younger consumers. At a time when premium café coffee costs between Rs 300 and Rs 400 per cup, Delhi entrepreneurs Vaibhav Arora and Vansh Mor saw an opportunity to make quality coffee more affordable for students and young professionals.
The childhood friends launched Kofi Kafi, a customised roadside coffee cart in Rohini, Delhi, on June 11, 2023, with an investment of Rs 3 lakh. Unable to afford commercial espresso machines, they used traditional coffee machines and premium instant coffee to keep costs low, offering cups priced between Rs 50 and Rs 85.
The idea for the business emerged from their own coffee habits. As frequent visitors to premium cafés, they eventually realised spending hundreds of rupees daily on coffee was unsustainable.
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“Spending Rs 300–400 daily on coffee wasn't practical for us as two young entrepreneurs. That experience helped us identify a clear gap in the market: while Gen Z wanted coffee to be affordable, existing café brands had made it expensive. This insight became the foundation for Kofi Kafi,” Vaibhav said in an interview with Startup Pedia.
He added that his dream is to make great coffee affordable for everyone and build a culture where choosing coffee becomes as natural as choosing chai.
About Kofi Kafi Founders: Vaibhav Arora & Vansh Mor
Vaibhav, a Bachelor of Management Studies graduate from Delhi University's Ram Lal Anand College, previously experimented with entrepreneurship through a food delivery venture, Zomble.
He later joined Big&Mor, a brand consultancy, as a Project Manager, where he collaborated with Vansh Mor, a Chandigarh University dropout and Haryanvi rapper who now leads Kofi Kafi's branding and marketing.
The response exceeded expectations. Within the first month, the startup generated Rs 3–3.5 lakh in sales, allowing the founders to recover their entire initial investment.
In November 2023, Kofi Kafi opened its first permanent outlet in Delhi's Kamla Nagar, investing around Rs 2 lakh in semi-automatic commercial espresso machines to serve freshly brewed bean-to-cup coffee.
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Current Operations, Setup & Locations
Instead of opening large cafés, the founders adopted a lean grab-and-go model with compact 150-square-foot outlets and no seating. This helped them reduce rental costs and keep their product affordable. Coffee at Kofi Kafi is now priced between Rs 50 and Rs 160.
Today, the company operates five outlets – DC Chowk Market, Rohini (Cart), Rohini Sector 16 (Store), Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station (Store), Ram Lal Anand College Campus (Store) and Vasant Vihar (Store) – across Delhi. Another outlet is currently under development in Punjabi Bagh.
The startup employs a four-member administrative team and around 20–22 ground staff who manage daily operations across all locations. Across its outlets, Kofi Kafi records a daily footfall of 1,000–1,500 customers. They have sold more than five lakh cups of coffee since its launch.
The business now generates approximately Rs 20 lakh in monthly revenue, translating to an estimated annual revenue of Rs 2.4 crore.
Looking ahead, Vaibhav and Vansh plan to expand aggressively. They aim to open Kofi Kafi outlets every two kilometres in their target markets while continuing their mission of making premium coffee accessible to young Indians.