Uday Srinivas Tangella must have had a lot of guts and courage to leave a high-paying job in Dubai and return to India to do business and then open a simple tea shop, of all things.
After graduation from TRR Engineering College in Hyderabad with a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering in 2006, Uday worked for several software firms. His most recent position was in Dubai, where he lived in luxury and drove a Jaguar.
Uday’s Idea To Start A Business After Returning From Dubai
His family was not pleased when he resigned from that profession at the age of 29 and went to India.
They believed he had made a blunder in his career. Uday is currently a co-founder of Tea Time, one of the country’s fastest-growing tea franchises.
His ayurvedic doctor wife Bakul Tangella was the only one who believed in him.
In 2016, Uday returned to India and built his first branch of Tea Time in Rajahmundry, a tiny town in Andhra Pradesh, with a budget of Rs 5 lakh and a 150-square-foot area.
Six years later, he has not only thrived as an entrepreneur, but he has also generated nearly 3,000 small business owners by opting for a franchising model to extend his tea chain. It had 100 stores and sales of Rs 2 crore in its first year.
Tea Time Made A Turnover Of Rs 35 Crores and having 3,000 Franchises
Desi Tea Time Pvt. Ltd has a turnover of Rs 35 crore and has over 3,000 Tea Time stores in India. The rest of the outlets, except the first, are all franchises.
The company, which began with just three employees, now has 45 staff who manage franchises, source and provide raw materials to various locations and handle marketing and R&D.
Uday’s 25,000-square-foot workplace in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, is lush with greenery, with plant pots sharing a room with staff and desks.
An outlet employs about three people on average. In their stores, they provide ten various types of tea, starting with their Dum Tea, which costs Rs 10, Ginger Tea, which costs Rs 15, and Green Tea, which costs Rs 25.
Masala tea, lemon tea, badam tea, kulhad tea, black tea, Kashmiri tea, and a few other flavours are also available. Soft drinks, milkshakes, and munchies including Samosas and biscuits are also available at the locations.
Another selling point for the company is that they use their tea powder, Tea Time, in all of their locations.
Here Is How They Source Tea
Tea leaves are sourced from Assam plantations. Before reaching the outlets, the tea is tested and approved by tea tasters. This is referred to as the ‘farm to glass’ method by Uday.
The tea will be delivered to the stores within a month of being purchased from the plantations. Other brands on the market aren’t likely to be as fresh.
However, Uday’s franchise model, which he picked from the start for development, is the key to Tea Time’s quick growth.
The franchise cost is Rs 4.25 lakh per location, and he includes a start-up package with mobile equipment such as refrigerators, deep freezers, stoves, utensils, and an initial stock to get the firm up and running.
The corporation collects 5% of the sales from the outlets in addition to the franchise fee.
An outlet only requires two to three persons to look after it. They also provide employee training to ensure that the taste is consistent throughout all Tea Time locations.
Uday is from Kadiyam village in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district. He attended Shiridi Sai Vidya Niketan in Kadiyam and graduated from St Mary’s School in Karaikal, Puducherry, with a Class 12 degree.
His father was indeed a government civil contractor, and when he obtained a contract in Karaikal, the family moved there.
He worked in a few IT organizations after graduating from TRR Engineering College in Hyderabad till 2013, when he moved to Dubai to work for a company that paid him well. He left his job in 2015 and returned to India.
Because of his strategy of establishing many small business owners rather than seeking to acquire an individual fortune, Uday has achieved his ambition faster than anyone thought.
Instead of investing in homes and stock markets that can only help me develop, he prefers to invest in goods that can add value to people’s lives.
His ambition is to open Tea Time locations in every nook and cranny of India, without sacrificing quality, taste, or fair pricing.
If you want to know more about Tea time – Instagram, Facebook
If you loved reading this inspiring story of Chaiwali of Rajkot who is selling varieties of chai, you can also read Meet ‘MBA Chai Wala’ Who Dropped Out Of MBA To Sell Tea, Now Has 4 Cr Turnover Business
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