Chai Thela, a Noida based startup and quick service restaurant chain, has raised a seed round of funding amounting to 1.5 Cr. from Quarizon. Aditya Gupta, Quarizon’s Chairman, led the round of funding and will also be taking a position on the board to mentor them.
There are not very many players disrupting the hot market of tea, despite it being consumed up to eight times a day and all across India. in addition to this majority of the tea that people consume is from a road-side vendor and likely unhygienic, whereas the teas offered in corporate are produced in vending machines and are hardly satisfactory. That’s when serial entrepreneur, Pankaj Judge, came up with the idea of Chai Thela. To address these issues, Chai Thela serves tea made in purified water, using sulphurless sugar and in ITC Food graded cups. They serve corporates, malls and more places and all of it at the starting price of Rs. 10.
They currently have 9 outlets in Delhi-NCR and offer 30 different varieties of tea and 25 of snacks.
Commenting on the funds raised, Pankaj Judge, Founder at Chai Thela, said, “People in India, bond the most over tea and snacks. Everyone has some memories of their tea sessions at a roadside thela but no one pays much attention to their hygiene standards. With Chai Thela, we provide freshly brewed tea and made to order snacks at a very reasonable price whilst maintaining the hygiene levels. By creating a vast presence in the country and maintaining the quality of the food & beverage we serve, we intend to be world’s most preferred tea joint. We are happy to have Quarizon on board as an investor and strategic partner. Quarizon understands scale, strategy and has the right approach for growth and we look forward to a successful association with them.”
“The quick-service restaurant industry is highly competitive with respect to price, service, location, personnel and the type and quality of food being served. In India, people don’t have easy access to hygienic tea available at a reasonable price. Majority of the time, tea is sold through road side thelas which is quite unhygienic. Chai Thela is creating a separate market within this unorganized segment by providing made to order freshly made tea at an affordable pricepoint. We at Quarizon were kicked to have come across this modernized (hygienic and branded) version of a roadside thela which has all the capacity to build quick connects with its direct consumers.” Commented Aditya Gupta, Principal Advisor at Quarizon.
