Homegrown coffee chain Third Wave Coffee said Monday it has raised a Series D round of Rs 408 crore ($43 million), which was a mix of primary and secondary capital.
The round was led by existing investor and private equity firm WestBridge Capital, and saw participation from another existing PE investor Creagis and other individual investors.
The company didn’t disclose the breakup of the primary and secondary transactions. It also didn’t reveal who the selling shareholders were.
Third Wave said in a statement it plans to use the fresh capital for its next phase of expansion, including increasing its geographic spread in existing markets, building greater density in high-potential cities and accelerating the reach of Third Rush Desserts, the new dessert segment that it launched earlier this year.
“We currently operate more than 240 cafés across India and are aiming to reach 320 cafes by fiscal-end. By next month, we will be entering eight new geographies,” said Rajat Luthra, chief executive of Third Wave Coffee.
Third Wave was founded by Ayush Bathwal, Anirudh Sharma and Sushant Goel in 2016. It operates quick-service restaurants across major Indian cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Pune, Hyderabad and Noida. Over the past year, it has also entered Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Agra and Kolkata among others.
“Over the years, we have built a strong consumer proposition, and our focus remains on scaling [up] the business sustainably, with strong unit economics, healthy store payback economics, operational discipline and a consistent customer experience. This fundraise will help us accelerate our expansion across the country while strengthening new categories, with desserts being an important part of the journey,” said Luthra.
The latest fundraise comes about three years after its Series C round. It secured $35 million (then Rs 291 crore) in a Series C funding round led by Creaegis, with participation from existing backers WestBridge Capital and Udaan founder Sujeet Kumar.
WestBridge led the company’s $21 million Series B round in 2022, following its $6 million Series A in 2021.
