Chai Lije Wins ‘Green Brand of the Year’ in Small Business Award 2022 

Feeling hungry? Go get a tea. Out of ideas? Go have some tea. What happened, feeling dizzy? Go have a cup of tea. Tea has become a one-stop solution for almost all our problems. Even in life, people never miss an opportunity to tell us what our cup of tea is and what is not.

Tea is the second most consumed drink, after water, with a global consumption of about 6.3 billion kilograms in 2020. These numbers are expected to cross 7.4 billion kilograms by 2025. In India, approximately 1.1 billion kilograms of tea was consumed during the financial year 2021.

The market size of the coffee and tea industry in India was around INR 420 billion in 2017. Further, in the financial year 2018, India made over INR 115 billion Indian rupees.

The covid-19 outbreak, lockdown, and number of waves that came one after another, affected all the industries including food and beverages. People suffered with great need for brands that could provide them with good quality and hygienic. Chai Lije, a sub-brand of M/s. SuRaj Initiatives, Hyderabad came up to solve this problem by offering a range of tea and coffee variants, Snacks and Shakes.

The brand, started in 2015, was awarded the ‘Green Brand of the Year’ in Small Business Award 2022 Hyderabad organised by Franchise India.

Below is an exclusive interview with M. S. Rajashekhar, Co-founder of Chai Lije

Q. How does it feel to achieve the small business award?

A. It really feels great to have been recognised for the hard work that we have put in for the last six years. We thank the Indian Small Business and Franchise Association and the Jury of Small Business Awards 2022, Hyderabad, for judging us as the ‘Green Brand of the Year’ and giving us this platform to reach out to many more entrepreneurs through our Chai Lije® brand.

Q. When did you start your business?

A. We, Sudheer and I, are a team of bankers turned entrepreneurs. We started our entrepreneurial journey in the year 2015 after quitting our banking jobs.

Q. Why did you decide to start your own business?

A. After almost 2 decades of work life, we felt something was missing and hence decided to bring the zing back into our lives by starting something new, exciting and challenging. During the process, we wanted to support a few families by providing them with job opportunities in our company, M/s Suraj Initiatives. Of course, building our own brand and expanding it on a pan- India level is also one of the main motives.

Q. What was your first objective?

A. We always wanted to start a Food and Beverages business, but with a difference. We wanted to give healthy, affordable, quality and hygienically made products to our customers. We did rigorous research to develop unique recipes, and after having standardized and stabilized our range of products, we jumped into the corporate tea business.

Q. How many people work for your company?

A. We currently have 10 people on direct rolls of our company and at least 40 people working indirectly through our franchise outlets.

Q. What products or services do you offer?

A. We offer a good variety of Beverages both Tea and Coffee variants, Sandwiches, Snacks, Milk shakes. We are franchising our business with Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) format through Chai Lije® brand. We are also into the corporate high tea business through our Tea Kettle™ brand.

Q. What methods do you use to promote your business?

A. We use Social Media and other conventional methods to promote our brand and business.

Q. How difficult was the start, what was the motivation and what was the reason for starting the business?

A. We faced quite a number of challenges in the beginning. Quitting stable jobs with a number of benefits was the biggest challenge. Despite huge resistance from our family and friends, we took the decision to start with a stubborn confidence in our idea and a belief that we are doing the right thing.

Q. Please tell us what is the current industry trend of your sector?

A. Tea is a great unifier. It is truly the national drink of India. Tea, as a beverage, has a substantial chunk of the Food and Beverages business with INR 18000 Cr. market size as per year 2020 estimate. It is poised to go up further as the consumption numbers are growing rapidly.

Q. If you were not a businessman. What else would you have been?

A. That is a great question. If I had not started this business, I would have been running a Non-Government Organisation after quitting my job. My dream has always been to work towards creating a self-sustaining model of growth at the village level by leveraging on new research and technology in agriculture and allied sectors. I will pursue this dream after the task is accomplished.

Q. Do and don't for aspiring entrepreneurs?

A. I would urge the new entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and not listen to naysayers. Not to be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Never quit on their dream and leverage on technology.

Q. What motivates you the most?

A. Getting to the employees and handing them the paychecks on the first of every month is the biggest motivation that I get.

Q. How do you handle your competitors in the market?

A. We are very confident in our business model and products that we do not get overwhelmed with competition. Competition, I feel, is good as it enables customers to choose and understand what is better for them.

Q. Business is another name for taking risks, how do you overcome your fear?

A. I always think of the ‘Worst Case Scenario’ before I start anything new. Once I understand what is at stake, it becomes easy for me to brace the odds and then the voyage gets comfortable.

Q. Who were your Business Gurus?

A. I believe that anyone who learns grows. There are a number of gurus out there, our mistakes, customers, employees, competition and many successful people that I constantly learn from.

Q. Where do you see your company after 5 years?

A. Our vision is to see ourselves as a listed company in the next five years to come. We want to create wealth for all our stakeholders.

Q. What has been the role of stakeholders in your business in terms of support from the government?

A. We are the beneficiaries of the Central Government Micro Small and Medium Enterprises scheme called ‘Mudra Yojana’. This has given us the initial support in getting bank assistance for part of our Plant and Machinery requirement.

Q. How was the initial seed fund taken care of?

A. We are a bootstrapped company. We have used our Gratuity and Provident Funds, which we received from our employer, to fund our business venture with assistance from a government scheme.

Q. Which is the area of opportunity for small businesses today?

A. India, with its rapidly increasing young population, has a limited scope in the public sector to offer employment opportunities. In the private sector, the small business provides maximum employment. On the other hand, entrepreneurship is on an all time high in India. Significant number of homegrown brands have gone from being a startup to a unicorn in a very short span of time. It is a very exciting time for Small Business given its huge potential and the ever-growing role it plays in our country’s economy.

What learning does your business give to Small Businesses in India?

Chai Lije is a great example of how small businesses start and grow. It also gives an insight of how big India’s Food and Beverages market is. Moreover, the story also cues toward the consistent demand of good products in the market regardless of the number of big brands.