Busy Brew Lattes: How a dairy allergy led to an innovative type of canned coffee

Born in 2003, young entrepreneur Nikita Kuwadekar from Hong Kong faced a unique challenge while looking for a way to enjoy one of her favorite beverages, coffee. Kuwadekar realized lactose intolerant after a life changing surgery she faced high school. She wanted a way to be able to still enjoy coffee and its benefits, just without the added dairy.

Seeing that it became a problem to find a canned coffee without tons of sugar and dairy in it led the young entrepreneur to do some research on the market. She was able to see that close to 70% of the world who lacked the ability to drink dairy was in the same situation as her. Another factor that drove her to want to develop this product was the fact that oat milk lattes have a rather annoying upcharge on them for the different product. All of this together eventually led to the brand Busy Brew.

Studying technology and sciences at Hong Kong University, Kuwadekar was given ample opportunity to pitch and develop idea. Pitching the Busy Brew brand to universities allowed her to gain the initial internal funding she needed Then, she was able to secure funding through a government owned industry that saw potential in her drink idea. Also, due to the fact that she was studying sciences, she had access to a number of equipment and resources to be able to prototype and develop the canned coffee that contained oat milk and zero additives. She was able to include the public in this process by offering prototype samples to allow the drink to become more well known.

Today, the Busy Brew brand is well known in Hong Kong and is available in most drink retailors for purchase. The success of her brand is due to her determination on turning her dream into a reality.

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3367151/how-hong-kong-gen-z-coffee-entrepreneur-filling-market-gap-her-can-do-attitude