Launched in November 2012 by Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma, Chaayos set out to redefine how India drinks tea. They spotted a gap between mass-tea brands and coffee-shop culture: people wanted good chai, made their way, in nicer surroundings.

What makes Chaayos unique is its zero-spend advertising strategy. Instead of traditional TV or billboard blitzes, the brand leaned heavily on experience, ambience, social media mentions, influencer love, and loyal customers sharing their own chai stories. The store itself, with its customised chai options and “meri wali chai” flavour promise, becomes the stage where the message spreads.

On the ops side, Chaayos now operates over 200 cafes, serves both chai and snacks (almost half its revenue comes from snacks), and has expanded across multiple Indian metro regions. Their tech-enabled personalization (over tens of thousands of chai combinations) helps maintain high customer delight.

The result? High recall, strong loyalty, and organic growth without pouring millions into adverts. Chaayos’ approach shows that in the food & beverage business, authentic customer experience can sometimes out-advertising the adverts themselves.