Akshay Kedia is the co-founder behind Nothing Before Coffee, a homegrown QSR brand born in Jaipur and built around a clear market gap in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Before entering hospitality, he completed his MBA in Marketing and spent time in the bullion business during college, which gave him early exposure to trade and entrepreneurship.
Akshay later ran an advertising agency from 2014 to 2020, working with around 150 to 200 brands across Rajasthan, Mumbai, Delhi, and parts of Europe, helping them shape their branding and communication.
Reflecting on how the journey started, Akshay says,
“We identified that the coffee market in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities was largely underserved. At that time, there were a few big chains, but international and national chains had not really entered these markets in a meaningful way. We saw a clear gap. Local players were present, but there was room for a brand that offered a better interior, a better environment, standardized operations, and quality ingredients in a compact format. That is what led to Nothing Before Coffee, which we started in 2017.”
That gap pushed him to build a brand that could educate customers about real coffee and introduce formats like espresso, cappuccino, latte, and iced coffee in a more accessible way. His earlier advertising agency also shaped that thinking, teaching him the value of premium positioning, consistency, and brand-led growth.
Since then, the brand has grown from one outlet to 110+ outlets, raised its first funding round in 2025, and built a strong digital ecosystem with more than 3.5 lakh app members and a 90 day repeat rate of over 50+ percent
Innovation at Nothing Before Coffee
The brand adapts fast to new trends like matcha, bubble pops, and Cloud Series, while also keeping customer feedback at the centre of product evolution. Its signature thick “SHRAPPE” segment, Variety of thick frappe have become a clear crowd favourite, giving the brand a recognisable identity.
What also sets NBC apart is its strong training and standardisation model, where team members are trained across functions instead of working in silos. Akshay adds,
“We also have a coffee pass, which offers 30 coffees a month for around ₹1,800, while the actual value is around ₹4,000. That creates strong value for customers and helps us retain them.” Because we know the pain the point of customer who needs the daily coffee kick in his journey of becoming.
Balancing Roles
Akshay’s daily role spans three core areas. He handles Business devolopement, studying market potential, and deciding where NBC should open next. He also oversees projects, working with a small team on launches, interiors, fit-outs, budgeting, machinery, electrical work, and getting each store operational.
Once the store is ready, he moves into marketing, covering launches, branding, PR, product promotion, and the performance of both new and older outlets. He further explains,
“All four founders had different strengths, which helped shape the team. I looked after marketing and business development, Ankesh handled finance, Anand handled operations, and Shubham took care of procurement. This structure worked well for us and helped us build a strong foundation.”
Toil, Trouble and the Wins
The biggest challenge during scaling was COVID. At that point, NBC had only four outlets and was preparing to grow through company-owned stores, but the disruption forced the team to rethink the model. That shift pushed NBC toward franchising, and it became the turning point that helped the brand expand from four outlets to nearly 70 stores in three years.
Today, one of NBC’s biggest achievements has been scaling to 110+ outlets across India, including 47 franchise units, and opening the 100th store in Akota, Vadodara, on the same day his first child was born. Akshay shares,
“We started with one outlet and grew to four outlets by 2019. Then COVID changed the landscape for everyone. That period became a turning point for us, and we moved toward a franchise model. From 2020 to 2022, we expanded rapidly and reached nearly 50 outlets. We opened our 50th outlet in 2022.”
Raising the first round of funding was another major milestone, along with building a brand that has been featured in outlets such as The Economic Times Hospitality, Outlook Business, Retail4Growth, BW Retail World, and Yahoo Finance. Reflecting on the achievements, he says,
“Another major milestone came in 2024, when we opened our 75th outlet in Connaught Place, Delhi. In 2025, we raised our first round of funding with Prath Ventures, amounting to around $2.3 million. Since then, we have focused on expansion, company-owned outlet growth, and building a strong brand system.”
What’s Next?
“Our vision is to reach 1,000 outlets by 2031 and become the first brand to achieve that. What we want to do is become part of our customers’ everyday lives, a place where they can explore, connect, and belong.”
Akshay’s future plans are focused on scaling Nothing Before Coffee aggressively while continuing to innovate. Outside India remains an open opportunity, with Dubai, the Gulf, and Southeast Asia on the radar, but the immediate focus is still India, where coffee consumption is low and the growth potential is huge.
The brand is working on a product launch cycle every one and a half to two months, with new experiments in cloud-based drinks, Southeast Asia-inspired fruit beverages, matcha, and more food offerings like bowls and meal options.
On the expansion side, NBC plans to keep growing its company-owned outlets, moving from 20 last year to 60 this year, and aiming for another 80+ new company-owned stores next year FY 2027, while continuing to double in size, strength, and market presence.
Words of Wisdom
Interviewer: If you were to give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Akshay Kedia: “I would say, do more experiments to find the right product-market fit, and do not shy away from looking at your numbers. The numbers tell the story, even the smallest ones. The patterns show you where you should be expanding, where you should be investing, and where the business is truly headed. I believe that paying attention to numbers and patterns would have shortened our journey and helped us achieve even more, even faster.”
As Akshay signs off, he highlights that people often rush into an idea, which is the wrong approach. Businesses never grow in one or two years. It always takes time. The foundation has to be strong. It’s crucial to take your time, build your foundation, get the basics right, make it scalable, and only then move into scale mode. Otherwise, the wagon will fall off.
Bharat ke super founders.
