Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

The simplest way to feel special is to whip up a cup of cold coffee for your loved ones—that’s the central theme of Swiss consumer goods major Nestle’s latest ad campaign for its instant coffee brand Nescafe. 

The market for coffee is exploding in India. On Wednesday, the head of Nestle’s strategic business unit for coffee, Philipp Navrati, said in an interview with Livemint that India is among the fastest-growing coffee markets for Nestle globally. Both in terms of in-home and out-of-home consumption. 

Nestle has already captured a significant share of one end of the spectrum: the non-metro and semi-urban market with price points ranging under Rs 10 (US$0.12) per 7.5 grams. Working on the other end is Tata Coffee, which claims to offer a multi-sensorial experience with its premium coffee range. ASMR isn’t just a YouTube or Instagram thing anymore:

And somewhere in the middle is Rage Coffee, a Delhi-based “caffeine innovation” FMCG company which just launched a campaign highlighting the shape of its jars. They’re shaped like the letter V, for victory, which apparently symbolises the winning mentality of the brand’s consumers:

This surge in popularity isn’t just an FMCG phenomena. Just over the past few months, we’ve had Canadian cafe chain Tim Hortons and UK coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger launching in the country, and Starbucks deciding to expand to tier-2 and -3 cities.