STARTUP STORIES

From Missing Chai in the US to Building a ₹300+ Cr Brand — The Chaayos Story

From Missing Chai in the US to Building a ₹300+ Cr Brand — The Chaayos Story

Some startups are born out of technology.
Some are born out of market research.
And some begin with something incredibly simple—a daily habit that millions of people love.

Chaayos belongs to the third category.

It started with one craving: good Indian chai.

Today, it has grown into one of India’s largest premium chai café chains, crossing ₹300+ crore revenue, operating hundreds of outlets, and creating an entirely new category in India’s café culture.

This is the long story of how a simple cup of tea became a national brand.

The Beginning—A Cup of Chai Missing in America

Before Chaayos existed, its founder, Nitin Saluja, was living in the United States after graduating from IIT Bombay.

He had the kind of life many Indian students dream of:

Everything looked perfect on paper.

But there was one small daily problem that kept bothering him.

He couldn’t find good Indian chai.

Coffee was everywhere—Starbucks, cafés, vending machines, and office coffee stations.
But chai? Real Indian chai? The kind you grow up drinking?

Almost nowhere.

At first, it felt like a small inconvenience.
But over time, it became a daily frustration.

And that frustration slowly turned into curiosity.

If chai is such a huge part of Indian culture…
Why does it not exist as a modern, organised café chain?

The Big Realisation After Returning to India

When Nitin moved back to India, something felt odd.

India is one of the largest tea-drinking countries in the world.
Chai is everywhere—homes, offices, streets, railway stations, meetings, interviews, late-night study sessions.

Yet when it came to cafés, the situation was completely different.

Coffee had:

Chai had… roadside stalls.

There was no national chai brand.
No organised chai café chain.
No premium chai experience.

That gap was massive.

And suddenly the idea became obvious:

What if chai got the same treatment coffee did?

That idea became the seed of Chaayos.

Meeting the Co-founder and Taking the Leap

Nitin Saluja teamed up with Raghav Verma, another IIT graduate.

Both founders had strong corporate careers ahead of them.
But they decided to take the risky path—building something new.

In 2012, Chaayos was born.

Their vision was simple but powerful:

Build a chai café chain for modern India.

The First Store — IIT Delhi

The first Chaayos outlet opened near IIT Delhi.

This decision was strategic.

Students:

It was the perfect testing ground.

And here, Chaayos introduced the concept that would define the brand forever:

“Meri Wali Chai.”

The Biggest Innovation — Customisation

This was Chaayos’ breakthrough idea.

Until then, chai in India came in one format:
One recipe. One style. One taste.

But every Indian drinks chai differently.

Some like:

Chaayos built a system that allowed customers to customise their chai.

Today, Chaayos offers 80,000+ chai combinations.

This was revolutionary.

Coffee chains had customisation.
Chai never had.

Chaayos brought mass customisation to India’s most loved drink.

The Biggest Early Challenge — Pricing

The toughest challenge wasn’t product.
It was perception.

India is a country where chai costs ₹10–₹20.

Chaayos was charging ₹100+.

People laughed at the idea.

“₹100 ki chai kaun peeyega?”

This was the biggest barrier the founders had to break.

Their insight was simple:

People don’t pay for chai.
They pay for experience, hygiene and consistency.

And once customers experienced the brand, behaviour slowly started changing.

Building the Café Experience

Chaayos didn’t just sell chai.
They built a full café ecosystem around it.

They added:

They designed stores where:

They turned chai from a drink into an experience.

Creating a New Category

Before Chaayos, organised chai cafés didn’t exist.

After Chaayos, the category exploded.

New players entered:

Chaayos had successfully created a new market:
Premium Chai Cafés.

Scaling Across India

Chaayos expanded strategically into:

Today the brand operates 200+ outlets across India.

They also focused heavily on:

This helped them scale faster.

Funding Journey

Investors quickly saw the potential in the category.

Chaayos raised funding from major investors including:

The company entered the ₹1,000+ crore valuation range.

FY25 — The Comeback Year

After a slow FY24, Chaayos staged a strong comeback in FY25:

This showed the business moving towards profitability.

Why Chaayos Worked

Chaayos succeeded because it understood India deeply.

It didn’t copy Starbucks.
It built for Indian habits.

Key factors:

  1. Mass customisation

  2. Chai-first positioning

  3. Delivery-friendly model

  4. Premium but relatable brand

  5. Strong snack pairing strategy

The Bigger Lesson

India didn’t need another coffee chain.

India needed a chai brand.

Sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden in everyday habits.

And Chaayos turned one of India’s oldest habits into a modern business.

From missing chai in America…
To building a ₹300+ crore brand in India.

That’s the Chaayos story.