5 Top Chai Startups Of India Beating Starbucks When It Comes To Being Unique & Popular

Business Innovation By Riddhi Agrawal | 5 min read

top chai startups

“Chai Tapri” is one of the most loved hangout destinations for many of us. For most of us – with tea, the day begins. We drink tea when we get to the office. We conduct our attempts at relationship-building over a cup of tea. Tea is a necessity in our lives. And we say it or not the new touch to a chai Thela has done this for us. These young Entrepreneurs have penned their names under top chai startups and in our hearts.

India is the second-largest producer of tea, according to an IBEF survey. As every business startup needs to focus on some basic criteria, like – finding your target audience, exploring the market, knowing about your competitors, and so on. These young entrepreneurs will astound you with their original concepts of tea startups in India and their ways of making enterprises profitable, and sustainable.

Some Top Chai Startups

1. Chai Sutta Bar

Like every other Indian middle-class boy,  Anubhav Dubey and Anand Nayak planned to pursue master’s. Unfortunately, the marks of competitive exams were not up to the mark. Anyway, the universe had different plans for these two friends. So, they went back to pursuing the business dream they had for a long time.

In search of their chai dream, they used to fill their bike tanks up and started to explore. As a result, they found that almost everyone is chai enthusiast. Chai is like a basic necessity after water. A certain age group that consumes most tea in India is 18-36. Dubey & Nayak hardly had about Rs 3 lakh as their capital and they decided to invest it all and started one of the top chai startups in India “Chai Sutta Bar”. They might have little money to invest but what they actually had was a young mind’s observation.

Source:Instagram

The duo knew that location will be the essence of their Chai startup. So, they decided to start their business near a girls’ hostel. They chose this location because they knew that it would be a place where youngsters would hang out. To make the place look busy Nayak & Dubey called their friends and, asked them to hang around. Curiosity increased and customers flocked to the location once they noticed a crowd. The plan was a huge success and they are one of the top chai startups in India.

First, the duo had different plans for serving the Chai. But Dubey suggested that Kullhad has an essence to it as it’s a long-lost idea of serving tea. The first tea they served in Kullhad (tea serving cup made of clay) was “Chocolate Chai” for Rs 7 and, the customers loved it. With affordable products and different ideas, they decided to keep the vibe alive of place. Now they are running one of the most famous tea shops in India

In addition to helping to eliminate plastic use by using kullhad, they also provide work for potters by placing orders for about 93 lakh kullhad every month from various regions of India. Approximately 1500 potter families have found work. And all thanks to his struggles that he ended up getting on our list of top chai startups.

2. The Chai Wallah

A Pop-Up Chai Cart named “The Chai Wallah” circulated across the streets of India and offered hygienic cups of freshly brewed chai. The success story of a high school dropout, Faisal Yousaf. He was raised in an orphanage in Alappuzha, Kerela. He used to distribute newspapers in his neighbourhood after high school. He took over the news agency after his employer passed away suddenly and operated it for a few months.

Faisal had a few marketing jobs and travelled extensively both domestically and abroad. His visit to England proved to be a life-changing moment for him. Faisal, who had always wanted to launch his own company, knew right once that manufacturing tea was his area of expertise.

Source: Website

In 2018, Faisal came back to India and started his own tea stall. From a small coastal town to 50-plus franchise locations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The Indian masala chai, which is the highlight of the menu, is made with 12 spices that are sourced directly from farmers all over the nation. A cup of chai can be purchased for anywhere between Rs 15 and Rs 80.

Every cup of chai brewed at the cart is made using their own house blend. In keeping with their focus on sustainable development, The Chai Wallah, one of the top chai startups, promotes fair trade policies that seek to empower small farmers by purchasing raw materials from the small farmers directly.

3. MBA ChaiWala

A Chai-Prenure, Prafull Billore from Dhar, Indore is a pretty popular name now. Like many of us, Prafull also had IIM Ahmedabad as his dream institute, he gave the entrance exam but failed. What most of us would do in such a situation is try again or just pursue MBA from some other university, right? But what Billore did makes him different from us. Against his family’s permission, Billore started a chai corner right in front of IIM Ahemdabad and named it “MBA ChaiWala”.

He is the face of this franchise along with his younger brother, “Vivek Billore” who never left his brother’s side and believed in his dreams. The brother’s duo is now running one of the top chai startups in India. He oversees all internal and operational matters putting everyone at ease at MBA ChaiWala, one of India’s top chai startups, He responsibly oversees the operation of the business, putting everyone at ease.

The internet buzz was a significant turning point in the life of this contemporary English-speaking MBA ChaiWala. India began to hear about him, praising his original thoughts and, most of all, his bravery. Billore genuinely believed that he would do something noteworthy so that people would stop referring to him as a ChaiWala, despite the fact that for most people, selling tea would be their worst nightmare he chose to do it and ended up making a unique identity for himself.

Source: Facebook

It is an Indian cafe chain with locations all throughout the country. The brothers want to encourage and equip young people to understand and practice entrepreneurship. By giving young people a franchise, they not only help them become business owners but also mentor them in becoming successful entrepreneurs

4. Chai Thela

Pankaj Judge, a 33-year-old management graduate of IIT Kharagpur, his unwavering love for tea inspired him to start Chai Thela in 2015.

A good life and a prosperous business both depend on having a supportive life partner. Pankaj Judge found one in his personal life, but his professional life spoke a different tale when it came to showing support. However, he managed to remain calm and made the decision to go on, today he is running one of India’s top chai startups.

Every chai enthusiast should be able to have a clean, comfortable, and a reasonably priced cup of and now we have chai thela one of the top chai startups as our go-to place. Since the beginning of Chai Thela, they have worked hard to serve their customers with wholesome, handcrafted chai drinks, with consistency being the key.

Pankaj himself was a student once and he knew that most students prefer less costly products over quality, Chai Thela decided to fulfil the criteria by providing hygienic and higher-quality food items at primary markets like IT parks and colleges at a very reasonable price.

Source: Instagram

Everything you could possibly want from a roadside thela is available at Chai Thela but what they provide differently is hygiene. They serve excellent quality chai in the most hygienic form. Whether it be freshly brewed chai, bun maska, or maggie they have it all to satisfy your morning-evening cravings. They use sulfur-free sugar and pure mineral water to prepare the chai, which they then serve in ITC-graded cups.

5. Chaipatty Teafe

A Bengaluru-based firm, Chaipatty Teafe is renowned for being a one-stop shop for all tea lovers. Mr. Chirag Yadav, a graduate of Delhi College of Engineering, founded it on his own. The cafe has bookshelves and much more to offer to make the vibe different and homely for tea lovers. The cafe offers a “home away from home” vibe.

Chirag came from an Army background and he was a multi-tasker. After working in Delhi for a number of jobs, he eventually moved to Bengaluru and worked as a technical specialist. Afterwards, Chirag and his roommate (who was an interior designer) started an activity centre. Named “Chai-Patty”, where activities like Photography, bartending, dance and much more were offered.

Source: Instagram

The was in talk as the first kullhad chai retailer and one of the top chai startups in India. Chirag managed his expense of kullhad smartly by collaborating with a Hyderabad-based company that produces trays, glasses, and other items. The company was like a mini tribal factory, he asked if they can make Kullahad too.

They agreed to outsource Kullahad for this one of the top chai startups and instead, they consented to create moulds for Chai-Patty that are easily shelf-stable for up to three years. Consequently, the team easily obtain a kullhad for Rs 6 whereas others would pay Rs 50.

Source – ChaiSuttaBar

Chai keeps me going, and I guess that’s the case with many of us. Thanks to this involving Chai Tapri culture India has numerous chia startups, and it was really difficult to make our list of top chai startups. These are some of Mad4India’s favourites, if you have any others on your favourite list, do let us know!!

If you loved this story, you can also read Chaai Seth: Arpit Raj Quit His High-Paying Job To Launch India’s Fastest-Growing Tea Chain also one of the top chai startups of India.

Feature Image 1 Website 2 Website 3 Instagram 4 Instagram 5 Instagram

If you know more inspirational stories about a person, company, new idea, or social initiative, and want us to write it on mad4india.com, share such information with us on FacebookInstagram and LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.