Quarizon Invests Rs 1.5 Cr in Noida Based QSR Chain ‘Chai Thela’

Noida based startup Chai Thela, a quick service restaurant chain has raised Rs 1.5 Crore from Quarizon in a seed round of funding. Targeted at every tea lover, Chai Thela is a modernized version of a roadside cart offering hygienic tea at an affordable price point. Aditya Gupta, Chairman at Quarizon has led this round of funding and will also be taking a board position in the company’s board to mentor them further.

Though tea is consumed eight times more than coffee in India and is not confined to one particular region, not many players are disrupting this hot beverage market. Also, 96 % of chai is sold from a road-side cart and in an unhygienic environment. Addressing this 10 billion dollar sector, Chai Thela was founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneur, Pankaj Judge. Pankaj realized that people mostly have vending machines for tea in offices and institutions, which doesn’t satisfy their taste buds at all. To address this need gap, Chai Thela serves tea from purified water, sulphurless sugar and serve in ITC Food graded cups at a starting price of Rs 10 to not only corporates but also to people visiting malls and related places.

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.

The startup presently offers 30 different varieties of tea and 25 of snacks across 9 outlets in Delhi-NCR.