Success Story Of Chaayos: A Startup Launched By Two ‘Chai Lovers’

It doesn’t matter how many great beverage choices we have, tea is the all-time favourite and most comforting drink for every Indian. Our generations have dabbled with tea and its flavours and, as a matter of fact,  there is a distinct meaning of a fine balance for every ‘chai lover.’ Despite the fact that tea is such an important and well-known beverage in India, we had yet to come across a well-known label or chain dedicated only to tea. This was the main agenda behind the launch of Chaayos.

There are hundreds of Starbucks joints in every town but people couldn’t get a vibrant and pleasant place or a cafe for having a cup of tea. Therefore, the founders of the company – Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma wanted to open a clean and aesthetic outlet which makes tea according to your preferences with a nice and cozy setting. 

How Did It Begin? 

Chaayos is the brainchild of two IIT grads, Nitin Saluja (IIT Bombay alumnus) and Raghav Verma (IIT Delhi alumnus) who left their well-paying job and decided to take the plunge for their own business venture. Before launching Chaayos, the two men were working in a US consulting firm Opera Solutions. Nitin met Raghav through a mutual friend who also used to work in the same company. 

During their stint in Opera Solutions, Nitin, who was a “chai lover”, shared the idea of launching a really unique and interesting startup with Raghav. Trusting in each other’s skills and passion to step into the entrepreneurial world, both Nitin and Raghav quit their top-paying IT job and decided to give every ounce of their blood to their own company. They named their startup – CHAAYOS and their first outlet was opened in Gurgaon in November 2012. 

Success Of Chaayos

Chaayos began its journey of success by opening its first and single store in DLF Cyber City in Gurgaon. However, like every other new startup, Chaayos also had to face its fair share of struggles in the beginning. The needed funding to begin operations, and Zishaan Hayath agreed to help him raise funds in the angel round. You might be surprised to know that Chaayos secured a whopping amount of $5 million in funding from Tiger Global Management. 

Despite all the obstacles, the company was able to reach the pinnacle of success. Today, they have around 16 stores in Delhi as well as Mumbai. And they are planning to expand their business in other metro cities. They sell approximately 500 plus orders every day per outlet.