Analysis · Commerce & Consumer Brands

Sleepy Owl Coffee's journey from 2016 to present

By Startup Enthusiast · 11 February 2026

What they do

Sleepy Owl Coffee is a Delhi-based at-home coffee brand founded in 2016

The company has raised $8M from DSG Consumer Partners and Rukam Capital

It competes with Nescafé, Bru and Tata Coffee in the Indian coffee market

Sleepy Owl Coffee was founded in 2016 by Arman Sood, Ashwajeet Singh and Ajai Thandi.
The company started with a ready-to-drink Cold Brew Box as its first product.
It now sells cold brew packets, hot brew bags, instant coffee, cold coffee cans, South Indian filter coffee, ground coffee, coffee merchandise, protein coffee (Profee) and RTD Matcha.
The brand is available in over 15,000 retail stores across India.
Sales channels include online marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart), quick commerce (Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto) and its own D2C website.
Revenue split is 55% from dry coffee powder and 45% from other coffee beverages.
Channel-wise, 65% of revenue comes from online and 35% from brick-and-mortar stores.

The founders identified a market gap between expensive coffee chains like Starbucks and the lack of variety in instant coffee brands.
The first 1,000 customers acted as brand ambassadors through word-of-mouth.
Sleepy Owl competes with established players like Nescafé (Nestlé), Bru (Hindustan Unilever) and Tata Coffee.

Sleepy Owl is a Delhi-based at-home coffee brand founded in 2016.
Its initial product was a ready-to-drink Cold Brew Box.
Current product range includes cold brew packets, hot brew bags, instant coffee, cold coffee cans, South Indian filter coffee, ground coffee, coffee merchandise, protein coffee (Profee) and RTD Matcha.
Coffee beans are high-quality Arabica sourced from single-origin Grade A plantations above 5,300 ft in and around Chikmagalur, Karnataka.
The company has an in-house R&D team; coffee is roasted in-house in small batches with no artificial flavours or preservatives.
Flagship product is cold brew with flavours like mocha, cinnamon, hazelnut, caramel.
B2B partnerships supply hotels, restaurants, cafés, corporate houses and airlines.
Marketing is disruptive, via F&B and corporate events, and collaborations (e.g., Goa Brewing for breakfast stouts and coffee-based gin).