Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zomato and Swiggy reported Chaayos retention is unheard of
“We hear from Zomato and Swiggy that the kind of repeat behaviors and retentions that we have for this business is pretty much unheard of in, in in any kind of delivery space.”
Opinion
Verma: Indians work much harder and hold higher aspirations than Americans
“The kind of level of hard work that you see in, in the Indian context versus say a developed economy. I can safely say that compared to my time in the US also, people, people work much harder. People have, Much, much higher aspiration.”
Insight
Combining value for money with aspiration is the only way to scale
“Value for money with the right aspiration, that's the key to That's the key to India, right? There is no other way to scale. Either if you're too expensive and you're aspirational, then you will be catering to a niche set of customers. If you are too, if your …”
Disclosure
Raghav Verma: Food accounts for almost half of Chaayos's revenue
“It's almost like half our revenues come from food”
Opinion
Verma: A Starbucks-scale chain in India must be built around chai
“What Chai is to India, Is what coffee is to the West. So if there ever is to become a Starbucks like brand in the country, it would have to be around chai.”
Insight
Verma: Offline startups should penetrate one catchment deeply before expanding
“I think if there is a possibility to go deep, we should only go deep. Like I was studying a friend of mine, he used to lead marketing for us. He's actually running a startup, which is in like a domestic health space. I told him if it's possible for you to just…”
Opinion
Verma: Dining out frequency in India has permanently declined post-COVID
“COVID and a lot of work from home has made us very comfortable with ordering food at home or with, you know, just being comfortable being at home. And I think the number of times that we used to go out before versus what we do now, that has definitely come dow…”
Insight
Verma: Indian chai brands have an easier path to global expansion
“While it is very difficult for, ah, for an Indian brand that is selling a western food or a western beverage, for an Indian brand, it is much easier to go outside of the country also. Why should a chayos not exist in a London or in a Dubai or a Singapore or a …”
Assertion Supported
Chaayos: Menu offers 80,000 permutations of customizable chai
“8000 is the number. So six different milk levels three different kinds of chai patti 15 add-ons, sugar, no sugar. So yeah, all, all of those permutations combinations from there.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Chaayos nearly missed payroll in both 2016 and 2018
“There have been a couple of times where we have been very close to not having money to pay the next payroll. I think those kind of situations and that, that, that happened once in 2016, that happened once in 2018.”
Disclosure
Chaayos committed to zero layoffs during initial COVID-19 outbreak
“We did not want to lay off anybody. And that's a decision that we took when COVID happened within the first month that we're not going to do any layoffs.”
Assertion Supported
Verma: Chaayos was one of Tiger Global's first offline investments globally
“At that point of time, we were Tiger's globally one of the first offline investments. They've done completely internet investments, right?”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Verma: 70% to 80% of Chaayos cafe managers are internal promotions
“I think about 70, 80% of people who are part of that, ah, actually come from within the system, which is a, which is something that we are very proud of.”
Insight
Verma: Culturally chai in India is always consumed alongside regional snacks
“Culturally chai is always consumed with some food in the country. Now every region has their own kind of chai snacks.”
