Chai and Nagpur - Still a Better love story than Twilight

Chai Tapri (Tea stall) has always been an integral part of Nagpur culture. Employees having tea and cigarettes on their break hours and having discussions of life, job, struggles, fun and everything there is are a common sight across Nagpur.

From Tapri to Outlet

Over time these tapris have also become a spot of hooligans and loud men making these tapris exclusive to men as a family and women always felt awkward to drink tea alongside such crowds. Taking advantage of this, many CHAI outlets and modern tapris have come up across Nagpur. Some cater to youngsters in particular others attract the common public in general.

Amrutalaya and Amrut Chaha are two such outlets you will find across Nagur that serve the common public. Just a couple of years ago no one knew the names of these outlets. Now they are like a chain brand opening new chai stalls every few months. From Variety square to Sakkardara, one can find at least five such chai outlets. They have come up with chai outlets which are clean, have a brand name attached to it and have well trained staff to talk to the customers. There’s nothing new in their product, it's the same old chai in a small glass. What’s even more interesting is the fact that these outlets have not listed themselves on google, yet there is always a queue to get a hand on their hot, often overcooked chai. The fact that these chai centres provide a sense of comfort to everyone through a decent outlet design, approachable customer care executives, accessibility and dirt cheap prices has made sure they are here to stay.

The Fancy Chai

The other kind of chai centres target mainly the youngsters. This can be figured from their names such as the ‘Chai Sutta Bar’, ‘Life of Chai' and even ‘MBA Chaiwala’, two of which are national chai chains. Even though these are at close proximity to one another, they have their own fan base. One outlet give variety in their chai, such as adrak chai, elaichi chai and even chocolate chai, while the other served chai in a kulhad (handle-less clay cup from South Asia that is typically unpainted and unglazed, and meant to be disposable) making it a more earthy experience. Some of these are gimmicks while others are truly wonderful tasting chai products which can liven a lazy soul. Whatever the case maybe, these outlets have started sprawling across Nagpur and have become a constant hangout spot for teenagers and adults alike.

Amongst all these modern outlets, one would imagine that the fate of a street side chai tapri is all but sad. Surprisingly, it is the opposite, these street side chai tapris are thriving more than they ever were, adapting with the trends, adding colours to their carts, becoming animated while preparing their chai and attracting more customers everyday, Also, because their fixed cost is much less than the outlets, their tea prices are very competitive. A prime example of this is dolly ki tapri on rabindranath tagore road in civil lines, Nagpur. The unique way of the owner of this tapri to make chai, handover money and even talk attracts people. Not only does this tapri sell chai and cigarettes, but also cheap sunglasses to capitalise on heavy footfall.

Nagpur’s startup ecosystem is as much on the ground as it is in the air conditioned offices. Nagpur is a tough city for a business which sells physical products as the people of Nagpur do not accept change easily and are very thrifty. However, this small chai ecosystem across Nagpur is a business lesson on how to make a niche in an over saturated market, and serve some refreshing chai while doing so.