While doing his late-night study assignments in the U.S., Ayush Bathwal always counted on coffee to keep him awake.

“That’s when I found out coffee is so much more than just a regular beverage. It can be nuanced, artisanal—even aspirational,” says Bathwal. He and childhood buddy Anirudh Sharma decided to bring that experience home.

The duo co-founded Third Wave Coffee in 2016, opening the first store in Bengaluru’s Koramangala. The mission: to flip the Indian café model on its head.

“Back then, people didn’t go to cafés for coffee—they went for the space and food. Coffee was incidental,” says Sharma. “We wanted to create a coffee-first experience.”

The shift in philosophy has paid off. Today, Third Wave Coffee has over 150 stores across India and plans to open 80–100 more this year. It is targeting ₹300 crore in revenue this fiscal. About 90% of its stores are EBITDA-positive—each handling 150–170 daily transactions.

The company sources beans directly from Indian farms and roasts in-house.

“We wanted to change the fact that India, despite being among the top 10 coffee-producing countries, exported the good stuff,” says Bathwal. “We localise parts of our food menu; we have a digital subscription model that allows you to buy a pack of cappuccino at a 30% discount.”

Their stores aren’t just for coffee breaks—they’re the new workspace.

“It’s no longer just students—also families, older folk, even solo customers,” adds Sharma.