At just 23, Hong Kong entrepreneur Nikita Kuwadekar is building a coffee brand around a simple problem she struggled to solve herself: finding a convenient canned coffee made with plant-based milk.
Kuwadekar, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, is the founder of Busy Brew, described as the city’s first plant-based canned coffee brand. Its oat milk lattes are now stocked by major retailers and have attracted a growing following.
The idea came from her own experience. Kuwadekar was born with a congenital condition and underwent open-heart surgery while she was still in high school. During her recovery, she changed her diet, cutting out dairy and sugar. She said the changes made a noticeable difference to her energy and overall wellbeing.
She subsequently realised that she was lactose intolerant and began noticing how difficult it was to find dairy-free alternatives in Hong Kong’s everyday drinks market. Bubble tea, café drinks and canned coffees were often built around dairy, leaving fewer convenient options for consumers seeking plant-based alternatives.
That gap became the starting point for Busy Brew. Instead of waiting for an existing brand to fill the space, Kuwadekar decided to create the product she wanted herself. The result was an additive-free canned oat milk latte designed to offer the convenience of ready-to-drink coffee without dairy.
Turning the idea into a business, however, was far from straightforward. Kuwadekar faced rejections and the uncertainty that came with giving up the security of a conventional nine-to-five career to build a brand from scratch. Her polished social-media presence, she says, does not capture the difficult work behind the business.
Her determination has helped the company move beyond its beginnings. Busy Brew has secured incubation support and expanded into some of Hong Kong’s major retail channels, giving the young entrepreneur a growing platform in the city’s competitive food and beverage market.
Kuwadekar’s story also reflects a wider path taken by young entrepreneurs: turning a personal frustration into a business opportunity. Rather than starting with a large market strategy, she began with a product she could not find for herself and built the brand around that unmet need.
For Busy Brew, the challenge now is to turn that initial market gap into a lasting consumer brand. For Kuwadekar, the journey from recovering teenager to founder of a growing coffee company shows how a personal experience, combined with persistence and a willingness to take risks, can become the foundation of a business.
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