Harajuku Tokyo Café, a Delhi-based chain that runs Japanese-themed cafés and bakeries, has raised $3 million (about Rs 28 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Zero W.
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Existing investors Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Samved VC made follow-on investments in the round. New backers include Blume Founders Fund, Brijesh Parekh Family Office and Epigamia co-founder Rahul Jain, among others.
The money will go towards opening new outlets, setting up central kitchens and strengthening the company’s teams and operations.
“Harajuku is targeting Rs 100 crore in revenue in the current financial year,” said Gaurav Kanwar, founder and CEO.
Founded in 2021 by Kanwar, a London School of Economics alumnus, the business is run by Craftpac Hospitality. It operates two formats: Harajuku Tokyo Café, a casual dine-in chain, and Harajuku Bakehouse, a quick-service bakery format. The brand is known for conveyor-belt sushi, jiggly pancakes and ramen.
Its outlets are currently in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. The company said it processes more than 1,000 orders a day across dine-in and delivery.
Harajuku Bakehouse now contributes more than 30% of the company’s total revenue. In Delhi-NCR, its products sell more than 1,000 loaves of bread a week on quick-commerce platform Blinkit, and the company plans to take the bakery business to more metro cities.
A year after the seed round
The startup raised its seed round of $2 million in August 2025. That round was led by IAN and Samved VC, with LetsVenture and Capitar Ventures participating.
At the time, Harajuku had seven outlets across Delhi-NCR and Mumbai and annual recurring revenue of more than Rs 30 crore. It had just opened in Mumbai in July 2025 with a dual-format space at Jio World Drive, combining a 72-seat café and bar with a 12-seat bakehouse.
Since then, the startup said it has doubled both its outlet count and its revenue, which would put its network at roughly 14 outlets. Mumbai now accounts for 25% of revenue.
The Rs 100 crore target for this financial year would be roughly three times the annual recurring revenue figure the company reported at the seed stage. In August 2025, it had set a goal of 90 outlets across 20 cities and more than Rs 200 crore in revenue by 2027.
“Our focus has been to build the operational infrastructure required to support consistent quality as we expand,” Kanwar said.
Expansion plans
Harajuku plans to open 10 outlets over the next two quarters across Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, and to enter Bengaluru and Chandigarh for the first time.
It also plans to start central kitchens in Mumbai and Bengaluru by December 2026. These will supply its bakery outlets and support packaged food production for western and southern India.
“Japanese food in India is increasingly becoming part of everyday dining, creating an opportunity for brands that can deliver a consistent customer experience across locations,” said Pruthvi, director at Zero W.
Hari Balasubramanian of Indian Angel Network said IAN backed Harajuku at the seed stage and the company’s progress since then had reinforced its confidence in the business.
“The response in Mumbai has been particularly encouraging and demonstrates the brand’s potential beyond its initial market,” he added.
The market Harajuku is betting on
India’s food services market was worth about $78 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $120-125 billion by 2030, according to the How India Eats report by Kearney and Swiggy. That is growth of about 60% over five years.
The report, as summarised by IBEF, expects the organised segment to grow at 12-14% a year, against 5-7% for unorganised players. Organised players are projected to take about 55% of the market by 2030, up from 45-50% in 2025, with quick-service restaurants growing at 15-17% a year.
