Impulse Coffees founder Sarah Sarosh discusses brand building, flavour innovation, repeat customers, expansion strategy, and her vision to be in every Indian household
In a candid conversation with BW Retail World, Sarah Sarosh, founder of Impulse Coffees, speaks about creating India’s flavour-forward instant coffee movement, her approach to product innovation, and how personal storytelling fuels brand loyalty.
How has the entrepreneurial journey been so far?
Running a business is never a linear journey — it is rocky and unpredictable in many ways. For me, that is the part I enjoy most. On any given day, you may wake up with a plan, but unexpected challenges always find their way to you. My job often feels more like being a problem solver, and that excites me. I like thinking on my feet, adapting, and finding solutions. Entrepreneurship has suited me well because I thrive in environments where every day is different.
Impulse has built a strong youth-centric identity in an extremely crowded Indian beverage landscape. What market gaps did you identify, and how has your brand positioning evolved?
When I started, instant coffee in India largely meant choosing between just two household names — Nescafé for the masses and Davidoff for the premium segment. Instant coffee was perceived as bitter, and uninspiring. Meanwhile, a young India was curious about coffee, especially with Starbucks shaping café culture. But most couldn’t afford a Rs 400 café coffee daily, nor did they have equipment to brew craft coffee at home.
I wanted to change that. After a year of R&D across different roast profiles and production techniques, freeze-dried instant coffee stood out for superior taste, aroma, and caffeine kick. We paired this with USDA-certified organic flavours, ensuring freshness and a café-like aftertaste even months after opening the jar.
Branding was equally important — our labels are colourful, names are quirky and youthful, and packaging feels premium and fun rather than serious and traditional. We wanted to build an aspirational yet everyday product that Gen Z could proudly own. Today we have 10 flavours, and our community regularly waits for pay-day sales, saves up, and stays hooked to our flavours. That reaffirmed that young Indians are willing to pay for quality when their tastes are respected.
The quirky flavour names — especially ‘Nutkhat Hazelnut’ — have become popular. What’s the story?
The ‘Nutkhat Hazelnut’ journey was truly emotional! Hazelnut was always on my launch list, but I spent over a year trying to get it right. We tried flavour suppliers across India and even Switzerland, but nothing tasted creamy, nutty or rich enough. Every sample disappointed me — I kept rejecting them. Hazelnut became the flavour that troubled me the most, so I jokingly named it “Nutkhat Hazelnut”. It stuck! And today, it’s one of our stars.
Even investors react instantly to the names — they smile before they taste. That emotional spark matters.
How did Impulse Coffees perform in the last fiscal year in terms of revenue, sales channels and repeat customer behaviour?
Across our first three years, revenue hovered around Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.2 crore annually — without significant marketing spends. We didn’t do paid marketing, barely sent PR, and kept influencer campaigns minimal. My primary focus was on building my personal brand while Impulse ran on auto-pilot.
Even then, repeat customers accounted for 60–65 per cent of sales — proof that taste and quality drive retention. Our website remains our strongest channel. Marketplaces are newer — we entered Amazon last year and began on Blinkit recently in Mumbai. We’re still stable and profitable, and 2024-25 marks the scaling phase.
Which product categories and geographies drive momentum?
Flavoured instant coffee is our core — that’s where most of our business comes from. Hot Chocolate and Ice Tea contribute smaller shares; Hot Chocolate is popular among mothers because it has less sugar, and Iced Tea is loved by people who don’t usually buy packaged iced beverages.
Our bestseller is Mocha-Pe-Chauka, which has sold over 40,000–50,000 units alone. The roasted chocolatey balance works beautifully in every brewing style. Mumbai is our biggest market, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi. Kolkata is next. We now ship pan-India and internationally through our website, and are selectively expanding via Q-commerce and marketplaces.
Impulse is known for flavoured and limited-edition offerings. How do you balance experimentation with sourcing and consistency?
The freeze-dried coffee base remains consistent — it’s the backbone of every flavour. The experimentation comes from flavours sourced both in India and globally. I’m extremely hands-on and constantly exploring: pumpkin spice, biscoff, pistachio — if a trend catches my eye, I chase it.
For instance, when pistachio-kunafa went viral in Dubai, I knew pistachio coffee had to happen. We prototyped aggressively. With flavours, I often sample with our core team first, then send to top customers to gather feedback. They share tasting notes and even record content — it strengthens community engagement.
We also run Sampling Saturdays on Instagram, where I blind-taste new flavours and encourage customers to guess. These insights help us refine formulas through focus groups, Google forms and conversations. It’s a very interactive process — we create with our community.
Coffee is becoming an emotional experience and a conversation starter. Does that influence your product philosophy?
Absolutely. I can’t cook, but I love hosting — and the only thing I serve well is coffee. Conversations over coffee feel warm, intimate and grounding. That realisation deeply shaped Impulse. Coffee is more than a beverage; it’s a welcome ritual, a comfort hug, and a shared moment. I wanted to extend that sensibility through every jar we make.
How do you view shifting consumer expectations around convenience, premiumisation and sustainability? How does Impulse differentiate within D2C competition?
India remains a chai-first country, but younger consumers are embracing coffee. Craft coffee is amazing, but it’s expensive and time-intensive. Instant coffee solves for practicality — fast, accessible, affordable — while still offering quality.
The D2C space is competitive but not overcrowded in flavoured instant coffee. Many brands prioritise cafés or cold brews; instant isn’t always their hero. For Impulse, flavoured instant coffee is the hero — the heart of everything we do. That clarity has helped us carve a niche. There’s still a lot of headroom in India to scale this category.
What are your product, distribution and international expansion plans over the next three years?
My dream is simple — just like Nescafé, I want every home to have a jar of Impulse. To achieve that, distribution is my biggest priority. We are intensifying Q-commerce presence across cities and then moving strategically into offline retail for grab-and-go convenience.
On product strategy, we’re experimenting with thoughtful accessories. Our rechargeable, detachable frother received great love before we unfortunately lost stock in our warehouse fire; it’s returning soon. Every accessory will be built for long-term value — never a gimmicky freebie.
We’re also developing fortified coffees that pair caffeine with functional supplements — something India hasn’t seen at scale. Consumers love multi-benefit products, and this is aligned with that mindset. We’re already working with labs, and aim to launch next year.
