Deals
Swish Tea Cafes Chasing Riches Reinvent Poor Man's Chai in India
- Tea startups say they are only "scratching the surface"
- Coffee revolution that brought Starbucks driving change
A vendor prepares chai in Mumbai.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
That sweet and milky tea concoction called chai is getting an image makeover in India. Driving the change is the other beverage -- coffee.
Rising incomes and demand for a refined experience transcending chai are spawning posh tea lounges in the nation’s biggest cities, a transformation mirroring 15 years of coffee revolution that brought Starbucks in 2012. Entrepreneurs are pooling their savings to set up these tea houses, inspired by the $175 million initial public offering planned by the parent of Cafe Coffee Day, a chain backed by KKR & Co.