story of success: If your city has an outlet, you must have spent at least one night with your friends at ‘Chai Sutta Bar’, one of the trendiest cafe chains in the country. No one could have predicted that before 2016, selling tea would become such an important industry. Anubhav Dubey’s story dispels the myth that success can only be achieved by getting into IITs, IIMs or clearing UPSE. This is the story of a man who completely turned the sale of tea into a billion dollar enterprise.
Anubhav Dubey is the co-founder of Chai Sutta Bar, and his path is an inspiring example of perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit. Anubhav Dubey and his co-founder Anand Nayak started Chai Sutta Bar, one of India’s most popular cafe chains, despite failing exams for prestigious universities like IIT, IIM and UPSC. Anubhav Dubey is a living example of how amazing success can be achieved with dedication and enthusiasm. His company is currently flourishing and has crossed the Rs 100 crore mark.
Anubhav Dubey: Early Days
Anubhav Dubey was born in 1996 in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. The path Anubhav Dubey took to become an entrepreneur was unusual. Despite coming from a business-oriented family, Anubhav felt pressured to choose a different career path as his father wanted him to become an IAS officer. As a result, Anubhav studied for the UPSC exam in Delhi. But Karma had different ideas. After failing in every competitive exam, Anubhav realized that he was meant for entrepreneurship instead of a 9 to 6 career.
Chai Sutta Bar: The Beginning
Despite the odds, Anubhav chose to take a different path. He shook hands with another B.Com. Graduate Anand Nayak started a new business in 2016. Despite meager resources, the pair managed to raise Rs 3 lakh to start their tea company. In Indore, the first Chai Sutta Bar location opened its doors next to a women’s hostel, offering a unique experience to tea connoisseurs. The creative idea behind Chai Sutta Bar, which emphasizes the company’s dedication to health and wellness by providing ‘the taste of kulhad tea’ in a bar-like setting with strict no-smoking policies, has contributed to its popularity. Chai Sutta Bar has gained popularity among tea lovers across the country and beyond by combining modern aesthetics with rich Indian tradition.
Chai Sutta Bar: Days of Struggle
In its early stages, the tea-selling franchise lacked funding for other critical components of startup success, including branding, interior design and marketing. He built and opened Kulhad Chai’s first location next to a hostel in Indore, using whatever he could gather, using second-hand furniture and borrowing items from acquaintances. These young entrepreneurs demonstrated that a simple, popular idea can change the game and that money doesn’t play a significant role in branding. So, without giving it any thought, he picked up a useless piece of wood and hand-wrote “Chai Sutta Bar”; The name and theme, as we all know, are very well associated with young people.
Chai Sutta Bar: The Road to Success
Anubhav and Anand faced hardship in the initial days due to stiff competition and scarce resources. However, he vowed not to give up. He introduced “tea” in kulhads – traditional clay cups – and offered a wide variety of 20 flavours, combining his entrepreneurial zeal with the growing appreciation for tea in Indore. A rapidly growing customer base, especially college students, was attracted to their distinctive approach and dedication to quality. The popularity of Chai Sutta Bar grew rapidly through word of mouth advertising. Customers were enticed by the bar-like atmosphere as smoking was strictly prohibited, highlighting the brand’s emphasis on health. The aspirations of the youth and the company’s objective of offering tea in an environmentally sustainable manner are perfectly aligned.
Chai Sutta Bar: Unstoppable Popularity
The popularity of Chai Sutta Bar was unstoppable. Since its modest beginnings, the business has rapidly expanded its geographic reach, and has opened 165 locations in 195+ cities around India, Dubai and Oman. The biggest Kulhad Chai franchise in India is now Chai Sutta Bar, thanks to its stupendous growth. Serving tea at Kulhad is just one aspect of the company’s dedication to the environment. To ensure sustainable business practices that help local communities, Chai Sutta Bar has also provided opportunities for 250 potter families who make kulhads for their shops. This year the company’s revenue was Rs 150 crore.
For aspiring business owners and those facing setbacks in their chosen careers, Anubhav Dubey’s story serves as inspiration and motivation. His experience shows that failing doesn’t mean giving up; Rather, it is an opportunity to grow and rebuild. The experience has built a successful company, opened up job opportunities, and embraced sustainable practices by combining his love of tea with his business acumen. Anubhav Dubey’s journey will continue to serve as inspiration as Chai Sutta Bar continues to expand and make its mark on the Indian cafe landscape.