Chai Kings served over 1 lakh fans during IPL outing

Chennai based Chai Kings was the F&B partner at the city’s famed MA Chidambaram Stadium for the recently concluded IPL cricket tournament. The company’s Founders and the team celebrated the successful outing recently at the venue.

During this period, the tea retail chain is said to have served over 1 lakh 18 thousand customers serving various varieties of food, tea and beverages. The company operated 17 stalls including other partners during the 9 matches including the Playoffs, that were played at the venue.

Almost 100 staff members served customers tirelessly in the sweltering summer heat that Chennai is infamous for. The company had created several innovations to ensure speedy dispersal of food items. Through continued social media posts, the brand urged fans to bring cash for payments as the internet network at the stadium was intermittent due to which EDC machines and UPI payments were severely impacted.

9 Matches
17 Stalls
95 Staffs
1.18 Lakh Customers
One Chai Kings family 🤗

“That’s IPL 2023 for us!”, wrote Jahabar Sadique, Co-Founder & CEO of Chai Kings on his Facebook post.

MA Chidambaram Cricket stadium is the second oldest in India after Eden Gardens , Kolkata. The stadium had a capacity of 40,000 seats which was increased by 10,000 ahead of the IPL 2023 season.

The cafe chain had created a number of interesting combos which went off the shelves whenever CSK matches were played in Chennai and at other locations.

Chai Kings was established by Balaji Sadagopan (COO) and Jahabar Sadique with a single store in 2016 at Chennai. The company has grown to over 70+ outlets currently by well utilising the WFH opportunities during the pandemic, serving the neighbourhood communities in the fastest instance.

The company had raised USD 1 mn from The Chennai Angels (TCA) in February 2020. Prior to that, the company had raised ₹2 Cr from TCA as well. The company is said to have an annual turnover of ₹80 lakhs to >₹1 Cr pa per outlet and manages store level profitability.

The chain has several innovative formats such as all-women cafes, ones run by the specially abled, etc. and operates at various corporate parks and public spaces.

There are an estimated 8,000 tea shops in Chennai and the city is unique among the others in India, where coffee outsells tea across these outlets.