There are plenty of popular tea businesses in India. Besides popular ventures like ‘MBA Chaiwali’ and ‘B. Tech Chaiwali’, now Arpit’s ‘Chai Seth’ too has gained a reputation for its unwavering commitment to serve the best tea to its customers. His first tea business was shut down, but now he has over 47 outlets all over the country.
Delhi: India has such a culture of drinking tea that even the sweltering heat of summer cannot deter their desire from enjoying this hot beverage. From schools to canteens, colleges and offices, tea time is the gossip time. Poets write poetry about tea for amusement and people go so far as to make social media reels expressing their love about tea.
What’s more interesting is that, in this age of self-startups, people have found inspiration from their love of tea and are earning lakhs and crores from their tea startups. One such man is Arpit Raj, the founder of Chai Seth, let’s read about his story.
A tea stall is a small step
It all started when Arpit set up a small tea stall in Meghalaya in the year 2015. Those were his graduation days, and he had hundreds of dreams of achieving success. He mentions that after studying for the whole day at the university, he and his friends only had the time to explore the place during the night.
Since Shillong is known for its chilly climate, they always felt the need of drinking something warm on their night strolls. This very experience gave Arpit the idea of opening a tea stall. His idea was soon turned into reality, and the tea stall was given the name “Chai ki Tapri” before it eventually became “Chai Seth”.
Multiple jobs during college days
To achieve his ultimate goal, Arpit had to do multiple menial jobs to give his venture a strong foundation. He did a tiffin delivery service in his hostel. At the beginning of his university days, he faced some difficulties in living at the hostel. He later shifted to a flat with a bunch of his friends and helped the landlady deliver her tiffing boxes to numerous university students.
Chai Tapri
His plans didn’t go as planned when he was forced to shut down his tea stall after the completion of his graduation. According to the laws of the Northeast states, a person is supposed to own a business in association with the local residents; and Arpit was not a local. He said that he felt sad about having his shop closed but the experience gave him immense confidence to take his venture forward.
Resigning from job to restart the tea business
Dismayed after leaving Shillong, Arpit moved to Delhi in search of a job. The monotony of doing a job could not interest Arpit, and so he resigned to start another tea business in 2019. He consulted with his friends Prateek and Prem, a chartered accountant and a software engineer, and hopped on the boat of reaching his dream island. The three friends soon found a place and started a tea shop.
The cruelty of the pandemic
The impact of the pandemic was severe, and it affected everyone regardless of their age, religion, experience and everything else. The shops were shut down, people could not go to restaurants to eat out, and as a result, the companies suffered huge losses in their incomes. Arpit’s business was no exception. But this time, he was determined to keep the shop running irrespective of the circumstances.
He had learned to recover from setbacks after his experience in Shillong, and this time through unwavering commitment, he took his business to elevated heights.
The success of Chai Seth
Arpit’s commitment was the reason his business could thrive in such a difficult time. Chai Seth has over 47 outlets across the country. And to please the customers’ taste buds, he has added a variety of snacks and fast-food items to his menu.
As of now, over twenty types of tea are available at his shops, offering a diversity of flavours from all around the world. His company boasts of having a turnover of Rs 3.5 crore. Arpit’s dream is to open 300 outlets by the end of the year 2025.
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