24-hour coffee people – the rise of India’s late-night café culture

Late-night cafés catering to an all-hours workforce are proving popular across India’s largest cities – opening a new competition front in the country’s booming coffee shop market

India is famous for its fast-paced streets and hustle culture – and the country’s booming coffee shop market is now wide awake to late-night trade.

Market leaders Starbucks, Barista and Café Coffee Day already open until midnight or even later at some locations. These stores cater to India’s millions of call centre and corporate support workers, who often work into the early hours to align with international headquarters in different time zones.  

Indian coffee consumers, too, show a penchant for later beverage consumption. World Coffee Portal research shows that more Indian consumers ordered from a coffee shop after 5pm on their most recent visit than during any other daypart (33%).